A good friend of mine has a 2016 Toyota Corolla. When he first got it and I saw the automatic transmission, I’m not going to lie, I thought it was pretty boring. To add fuel to the fire, it also does not have a lot of power: 132 horses. The power figure could have been irrelevant as far as the fun-factor, the MX5 is proof of this. But Toyota didn’t give this car the right tools for the Corolla to be as fun as it could have been. The Variable Valve Timing, for example, is obviously designed to improve fuel economy. I can’t tell you when it engages, I just know it’s there because there’s a badge on the engine cover. The throttle body is electronically programmed to open gradually, even when you floor it… Why? I’m flooring it, my pedal is smashed to the ground, so give me the power, Toyota! Sadly, this isn’t the path Toyota chose. The Corolla was designed to save fuel at all times, no fun is allowed.
It’s understandable in a way, considering that we are talking about an economy car. But, Toyota gave the Corolla the mighty S trim. Last time I checked, S stood for Sport. So I guess I’m a little disappointed, because the Corolla has lots of potential; when you get the RPM up, it does feel lively, for a Corolla.  If only Toyota engineers would allow Corolla owners to forget about fuel economy once in a while, and allow them to floor it “correctly”, they would be able to have a good commuter/daily that would also be fun and zippy. Honda did it, you can do it too, Toyota, I believe in you.

The handling of the Corolla was outstanding for a car of this calibre. It’s an economy car, remember, retailing around $18,000 brand new, so you can’t possibly compare it to a Porsche GT3 RS which is basically the Holy Grail of Handling. If you compare the ‘Rolla within its own weight division, the Toyota Corolla is a good contender for the podium. To have as much fun as possible, you must put the car in “shift” mode. “Shift” mode stiffens the steering and, if the transmission is automatic, upshifts closer to the redline and downshifts earlier to keep you in the power band.  The upshifts were really fast, and the downshifts were precise and fast enough to not destabilise the car in corners. Flappy pedals are behind the steering wheel and are entertaining to use.

I’d personally want the driving mode to be called “Sport mode”, not “Shift mode”, and I’d like it to do more than it currently does. Let’s keep the great work done with the gearbox, but fix the throttle body to give us all the power when we floor it, and maybe give us a variable valve timing that gives a little more juice, say, for example, something like VTEC. Toyota doesn’t need to re-invent anything, the blueprint is the Honda Civic. Copy-and-paste it, job done. 

My friend and I saw the potential this car had. So we cracked open a few beers and, after a few nights of work, the ‘Rolla was on fully adjustable coilovers, a good set of wheels and tires, a little exhaust, ceramic brake pads and new rotors. The result was better than I expected. The Corolla became a blast to drive! Its centre of gravity was lower, it handled like a go-cart, sounded surprisingly good, and even backfired on downshifts. 

Looking back, I really appreciated the time I spent behind the wheel of that car. I had a lot of great driving experiences in the ‘Rolla, but more importantly, my friend and I ended up building more than just a cool, out of ordinary, Corolla. We built a totem, a symbol, representing the fun we had together.

Max,