Word on the street is that there's a new Toyota Corolla coming out. So what better time to consult the trusty Toyota family tree and dive into a bit of Corolla heritage?
Tracing the venerable vehicle back to its roots, the first thing we noticed was, whoa, the Corolla badge has been slapped on a lot of vehicles over the past 47 years. We're not just talking about its 11 generations -- each generation itself contains a dizzying range of body styles and engine and transmission options, not to mention the variants produced for the North American and Japanese and other foreign markets.
The second thing we noticed is that, like the BMW M5, each successive generation of Corolla has tended to get bigger and heavier, but also more powerful.
Join us as we take a quick journey through Corolla history, pausing only on the highlights(?), and let this be the first, and last, time we compare the sensible if often snooze-worthy economy car to BMW's brash Bahn-burner.
Note: all specs printed are for North American Corollas. It's easier this way, trust us. If you want more Corolla facts than you can reasonably hope to digest, check out that Toyota family tree.
With its inline-four, the relatively basic 1966 Toyota Corolla was still a step up from its even more basic predecessors.
Here's where it all began. It's not much to look at, wasn't much of a performer and certainly wasn't built to lure American drivers away from their plush luxo-barges. But with its water-cooled inline-four and four-speed transmission, the first-generation Corolla represented a big step forward for Toyota -- especially compared to its previous vehicles, like the two-cylinder boxer-equipped Publica.
Engine: 1.1-liter I4, 60 hp; 1.2-liter I4, 65 hp
Transmission: four-speed manual, two-speed automatic
Curb weight: 1,521-1,565 lbs.
Fortunately for members of the buying public, automotive journalists never engage in hyperbole.
The 1970s fuel crisis made gasoline increasingly unaffordable for American drivers -- which meant that American drivers could no longer afford to ignore small, relatively fuel-efficient imports like the third-gen Toyota Corolla. Unfortunately for Toyota the Corolla wasn't the only Japanese economy car contending for American market share -- it faced growing competition from the likes of the first-gen Honda Civic.
Engine: 1.2-liter I4, 55 hp; 1.6-liter I4, 75 hp
Transmission: four-speed manual, five-speed manual, two-speed automatic, three-speed automatic
Curb weight: 1,731-1,940 lbs.
Humble economy car or the Ghost of Mt. Akina -- can't the fifth-gen Corolla be both?
The fifth-generation Corolla was something of a global breakout for Toyota, with roughly 3.3 million of the utilitarian vehicles built and sold. Most of these little inline-four powered sedans, coupes and hatches were built on a front-wheel drive platform, putting yet another nail in the cheap, ubiquitous rear-wheel-drive fun coffin.
But, this was also the generation that spawned the lightweight, rear-wheel drive AE86 -- you know, that black-and-white driftmobile from “Initial D.” When you absolutely, positively have to Rage Your Dream harder than anyone else on the mountain, accept no substitutes.
Engine: 1.6-liter SOHC I4, 90 hp; 1.6-liter DOHC I4, 112 hp
Transmission: five-speed manual, three-speed automatic, four-speed automatic
Curb weight: 1,852-1,918 lbs.
No, my friends, transportation appliances don't get any finer that this.
Arriving in North American markets in 1993, the seventh-gen Corolla didn't really try to be anything more than a reliable, affordable transportation appliance for a market craving reliable, affordable transportation appliances.
It was beige, but so what? We still see these Corollas on the road occasionally, even in salty Michigan -- which is a pretty strong testament to their reliability. We'd probably see them even more often if their styling didn't keep them from flying far, far below our visual radar.
Engine: 1.6-liter DOHC I4, 100 hp/105 hp; 1.8-liter DOHC I4, 105 hp/115 hp
Transmission: five-speed manual, six-speed manual, three-speed automatic, four-speed automatic
Curb weight: 2,315 lbs.
Big bad beige.
When these babies went on sale in North America in 1997, they were home grown – built at the Fremont, Calif. NUMMI plant and in Cambridge, Ontario. Wagons, coupes and hatches were offered overseas, but we only got the sedan. According to sales materials and JDM-community legend, these Corollas were offered in a wide variety of colors. We've only ever seem them in beige and a particular shade of faded white.
Engine: 1.8-liter DOHC I4, 120 hp/125 hp
Transmission: five-speed manual, three-speed automatic, four-speed automatic
Curb weight: 2,414 lbs.
Bet you could tell right away that this is a Toyota Corolla LF special edition.
Oh, hey! If you're reading this, it means the previous Corollas didn't put you to sleep -- congratulations, we guess. By the time the 10th generation debuted, the Corolla had morphed from functional, affordable and efficient vehicle with a certain quirky charm to a functional, affordable and efficient vehicle with zero charm.
Or perhaps the first-gen Corollas only seem charming from the perspective of 40 years' time -- the author, at least, never had to live with one as a primary source of transportation.
Anyway, they were still making Corollas in 2006, a whopping 40 years after they started. We got the 10th generation cars in 2008 as 2009 model year vehicles.
Engine: 1.8-liter I4, 132 hp
Transmission: five-speed manual, four-speed automatic
Curb weight: 2,734 lbs.
The new face of Corolla. Expect to see it everywhere.
Look, as much as we rib the Corolla for being bland, it wouldn't be entering its 11th generation if it didn't deliver the goods to the segment interested in buying cars like it in the first place.
The upcoming Corolla looks to the Avalon (compare that to the Camry-mimicry of the 10th-gen car), and who knows? Perhaps its driving dynamics will get a bit spicier along with its sheetmetal. We won't know until we get one in our test fleet which, truth be told, we're not entirely unexcited about.
One thing's for sure, though: They're going to sell a boatload of 'em.
