I push the small silver release button on the key fob. The key springs out, eager to be used. I crane my neck to the right to insert it. With my right foot on the brake pedal, I gently turn the key away from me. The dashboard lights appear. The low hum of the engine seeps into the cabin. I release my fingers from the key as it snaps back into its resting setting. Wow, old style!
My wireless Apple CarPlay appears on the infotainment touchscreen. I pull the traditional gear lever from park to drive and set out to drive by my childhood home for a reminder of what life was like 30 years ago.
In a world of bigger, better, faster, dominated by SUVs, a base model compact sedan shouldn鈥檛 be as good as the Corolla L. Yet, here we are, with Toyota鈥檚 most affordable vehicle emphasizing its 鈥渃heap and cheerful鈥 value. If choosing a new car simply involves meeting your basic transport needs, this L trim Corolla goes over and above.
Toyota hasn鈥檛 skimped on safety. It’s included its 鈥淪afety Sense 3.0,鈥 which includes Radar Cruise-Control, Automatic High Beams, Lane-Tracing Assist(ance), Lane-Departure Alert, Road-Sign Assist(ance) and a Pre-Collision System.
The instrument cluster has two large analogue dials and a small, yet useful, 4.2-inch digital screen.
An eight-inch infotainment screen 鈥 it’s the same one on all but the top-trim聽鈥 is well designed, user friendly, and, surprisingly, features both wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Toyota has included a manually operated height adjuster for the driver鈥檚 seat, but the passenger seat doesn鈥檛 get the same feature, unfortunately.
A quirk is that the climate control functions do not feature numerical temperature readouts. Instead, it simply has 鈥渃ool鈥 and 鈥渉ot鈥 as the parameters, with the selection being made by twisting a dial to control the cabin temperature.
On the road, the Corolla L drives like all the other versions of this car in the gasoline lineup as it shares the same engine, which is a plus. It鈥檚 adequately powered, so reaching highway speeds isn鈥檛 an issue, even if the engine does get a little loud in the process. Plodding around the city is comfortable and the drive is respectably smooth.
Its smaller footprint makes for good manoeuvreability in the city, especially in tighter parking spaces.
With its low fuel-consumption rating, the Corolla L can go 701 km on a full tank of fuel.
The L trim doesn鈥檛 have any drive modes. No eco or sport; just normal. When you do go easy on the throttle, a green eco light appears on the instrument cluster.
LED headlamps are standard, which is a nice touch, and, while the 15-inch steel wheels and hubcaps aren鈥檛 as attractive as alloy rims, this reduces your replacement costs for both summer and winter tires. Smaller tires come with a lower price.
While you have to insert a key to start the Corolla L, you can lock and unlock it remotely from the key fob. You can also open the trunk from the key fob, but there鈥檚 no button on the trunk lid to open it. Annoying.
There are some sacrifices you鈥檒l make here, as the Corolla L does not come with heated front seats, nor a heated steering wheel, and it has just one USB port, one setting for the intermittent wipers and no rear centre armrest.
Here comes the wrench: for only $995 more, the next trim up, the LE, features 16-inch wheels, a windshield wiper de-icer, automatic climate controls, heated front seats, Blind-Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and Safe Exit Assist(ance).
The LE trim sits below $25,000, adds plenty of features for everyday use and seems to be the strongest competitor to this L trim.
New car prices will only increase and the Corolla L delivers high value at a low price. If you鈥檙e looking to maximize every penny for a new car, this is one of the best ways to do this. Only the Hyundai Elantra comes at a lower price, by a touch more than $1,000, in this compact sedan market.
The Corolla L is certainly a function-first vehicle, but, more importantly, it reduces the barrier to vehicle ownership at a time where the average price of a new vehicle is nearly $70,000, in 2024, at least.
There are enough modern amenities, a decent driving feel and it accomplishes the basic 鈥済et you from A to B鈥 task quite well.
It may not be stylish, trendy or popular, but the Corolla L will give you everything you need, as long as your expectations stay in the right lane.
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