I think it's cool that toyota is starting to put a little styling and dynamics back into their cars.. it's been gone too long..
Good news, everyone: The stick is not dead. The new Toyota Corolla Hatchback can be ordered with a six-speed manual transmission–and, as the name suggests, it’s available in a hatchback, a fan favorite going back decades.
This manual transmission even gets a special name: iMT, short for Intelligent Manual Transmission. What makes it so smart? Rev-matching.
According to Toyota, it’s not only smart, it’s all new: “Compared to the existing manual transmission, the new gearbox is lighter (by 15 pounds; total weight of 88 pounds) and shorter (by 0.94 inches), making it one of the world’s smallest transmissions. Its small size contributes to improved fuel efficiency.”
What else is new? Well, the Corolla Hatchback has returned to the model lineup. Okay, it’s a five-door hatchback vs. the old-school three-door, but still, that’s cool, right? Underneath you’ll find struts up front along with a multi-link rear suspension.
Now the big letdown: Sadly, we have yet to drive the stick shift model, as our tester featured the CVT.
The latest Corolla–especially in hatchback form–is so tantalizingly close to being an A+ compact I’m tempted to overlook the few flaws separating it from true econobox greatness.
Dynamically it’s a delight. The Corolla feels small in all the best ways–easy to place in traffic or a parking lot, good visibility and feel for where the corners of the car are–but never feels cramped or overly compact.
The hatch is a nice touch in a world that seemingly forgot how awesome hatchbacks were for a while, and turns an already economical small car into a useful economical small car. Even the transmission–some sort of CVT that bills itself as a nine-speed auto–feels and acts more like something from Toyota’s Lexus lineup rather than on one of the most inexpensive cars in its stable.
But there are faults, and for what purports to be a useful appliance that’s also satisfying to drive, one fault in particular is kind of glaring. Aside from the dual cupholders between the driver and front seat passenger, there’s no real place to put anything. Phone? Garage door opener? Bag of Twizzlers? Those will have to go in the passenger seat, or in the passenger’s lap. The previous Corolla was a modern marvel of cubbies, nooks, even the occasional squirrel hole, but not so much with this current model.
Is this enough to knock an otherwise great car out of contention? Man, it comes close. Only better-than-deserved driving dynamics and that hatch-accessed cargo area keep it from being a fatal flaw.
First, wow, it’s stunning. I know, right, I’m referring to a Corolla as a stunner. It really looked good. It’s not weird or awkward. Our car wore Classic Silver Metallic, and it looked classy.
And inside it looked and felt good, too–very upmarket. Smarty stitched leather covered the surfaces, including the dashboard. This is really a Corolla?
The interior doesn’t feature a ton of storage, though. It’s not as stark as an MX-5 in there, but just be warned that the Corolla Hatch doesn’t offer a zillion cubbies and cubicles.
Sadly, no, we didn’t get to drive the stick shift. Our tester had the CVT that simulates 10 sequential shifts. How’s it work? Not bad. You can toggle up and down through the gears with little to no delay. (I admit, after a few minutes, I got bored and let the computer do the work.)
The Road Sign Assist feature really does work. What’s that? The car can recognize certain road signs and relay that info to the driver–in case, like, you didn’t see them.
Closing thoughts: I’m not calling this the second coming of the FX-16 or even the hachiroku, but props to Toyota for offering the first sporting Corolla in decades.
I think it's cool that toyota is starting to put a little styling and dynamics back into their cars.. it's been gone too long..
Yeah, I'd venture to say that's a good looking car!
I got to sit in one and crawl around it at the Toyota headquarters outside Dallas last spring. Nobody could really answer any questions for me, but I really liked it from an ergonomics and style standpoint. I would really like to drive a manual version of the car.
You and I both Seth, I did a quick drive of the Scion iM when it was at the office. The chassis dynamics were... decent, but power was utterly nonexistent with the 1.8L. Like, a 1ZZ felt a lot more willing in older Corollas.
I'm curious if the nice flat 2.0L in this new iteration can improve an already good chassis. I don't see why not. Good on Toyota for making the ever-dwindling list of ads featuring a manual shifter.
That....looks pretty damn good.
Gonna have to do a 2019 hatchback battle at some point. Saw a video showing off the '19 Euro Focus hatch and....wooooo buddy. Makes me wish I was in the market for a brand new car.
Personally, I think the car is really good looking. I love the blue color in the posted photo. Could this thing be a serious Mazda3 fighter?
Toyota, why do you only give it 168hp? C'mon...how hard would it be to drop 225-250hp into the thing and make it a true hot hatch?
Fueled by Caffeine said:I think it's cool that Toyota is starting to put a little styling back into their cars.
Yeah, "a little styling" is what they've needed after a few years of "way too much styling".
I don't know if there are many similarities between this and the iA (Yaris). I know the iA is actually a Mazda2 (?!).
For what it's worth I drove the iA as my last extended rental, 1 week in California a few months back. It didn't have a lot of power, but as small as it is, the engine felt better than the Nissan Versa I had (which wasn't hard).
The beauty of the car was its handling. It handled amazingly, and I'm used to my 2004 turbo Mazdaspeed Miata, so the bar is pretty high. I kept throwing it in faster and faster corners and it held on tenaciously every time. I was really impressed with that little car, and the gas mileage it got. Sadly the engine wasn't a turbo, but otherwise a great little car.
But again, not sure how much it shares with this Corolla.
So it is available with a manual, but no one has ever seen or tried it? Good luck finding one at a Toyota dealership. BTW, the Corolla sedan is also available with a manual transmission....ever see one?
I forgive the lack of storage cubbies, what I want to know is: with about average power for a non turbo, does this have direct injection?
In reply to Carsandbikes :
Direct and port injection. No need to walnut blast or whatever!
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