2015 Toyota Corolla Road Test & Review

Once, in a conversation with a Toyota representative, we heard Corolla’s age demographic described as ranging from 17 to 70. This speaks volumes to the car’s popularity. That it holds appeal for such a broad spectrum of age ranges says the Corolla has near universal appeal.

And, in fact, if you’re looking for a car with an outstanding reputation for reliability, ease of operation, economical functioning, and strong safety scores, you can stop looking right here. Corolla’s long-term success has been solidly built upon those three pillars.

Now some of you will note the omission of the phrase “entertaining dynamics”.

To which we respond; “Yeah, so?”

For the 2015 model year, Toyota is offering the Corolla in four basic trim levels; with enhanced sub levels for each—save the base model L trim level. These include L, LE, LE Eco, and S. The sub-trim packages are designated “Plus” and “Premium”.

Offered at a base price of $16,900, the 2015 Toyota Corolla L’s standard equipment includes 15-inch steel wheels, LED low beam headlights and daytime running lights, full power accessories, air conditioning, a 60/40 split folding rear seat, a tilt and telescoping steering wheel with buttons for audio and handsfree telephone operation, Bluetooth telephony, and a four speaker audio system supporting an auxiliary audio input port along with a CD player and a USB interface.

To all of the above (or supplanting the above where logically indicated), the $18,515 Corolla LE adds 16-inch steel wheels, heated exterior rearview mirrors, variable intermittent windshield wipers, remote keyless entry, cruise control, an automatic climate control system, a rearview camera, a six-inch touchscreen monitor, Bluetooth audio streaming, and voice activation.

For another $400, LE Plus adds 16-inch alloys and foglights. Further, going LE Plus gets you the option of adding a sunroof ($850) or the Driver Convenience Package ($2,360); which consists of the sunroof, keyless entry and pushbutton start, satellite radio, HD radio, navigation, and mobile apps integration. For $21,975 you can get LE Premium, which adds all of the above for one price—plus heated front seats, vinyl upholstery, and power adjustments for the driver’s seat.

The engine and transmission in the efficiency oriented $18,915 LE Eco are configured to maximize fuel economy. Other LE Eco features include 15-inch steel wheels with low rolling resistance tires, and a tail spoiler. The $19,615 LE Eco Plus adds 16-inch alloy wheels, foglights, chrome window trim, and an Eco driving mode to the features of the LE Plus. The $22,675 LE Eco Premium brings all of the above, plus the features of the LE Premium package.

To the Corolla LE’s features, the $19,154 Corolla S package adds a chrome grille frame, foglights, body colored outside rearview mirror housings with turn signal repeaters, a tail spoiler, a chrome exhaust tip, sport bolstered front seats, a leather upholstered steering wheel, paddle shifters for the transmission, a sport driving mode, sporting oriented instrumentation, and a trip computer.

The $19,845 Corolla S Plus gets 17-inch alloy wheels, a stiffer suspension system to improve handling, and rear disc brakes. The S Plus package can be had with a six-speed manual transmission for $21,445. If you go with the manual transmission, you’ll also get the elements of the Driver Convenience Package offered for the LE Plus. For $22,905 you can get the top of the line Corolla S Premium, whose feature set includes all of the above (less the six-speed manual) plus, all of the features of the LE Premium package.

Perhaps the best word to describe the exterior styling of the Toyota Corolla is inoffensive. While not a standout by any measure, the look of the car — when you do pay attention to it — is reasonably attractive, and truth be told, looks more expensive than it actually is. This is the largest version of the Corolla ever offered, and you’d be forgiven for seeing it as more of a small mid-size sedan than the compact it actually is.

The lines of the Corolla do much to convey this impression. The slightly swollen fender flares, the boldly expressive face, and the extruded proportions of the Toyota all serve to add a look of substance to the economical four-door sedan. The large-mouth grille, which is in vogue these days (please make them pass quickly) looks oversized in this application, as it does on pretty much every Toyota it’s applied to. Fortunately, it’s less offensive on the L and LE trimmed models. Add the chrome trim of the S and it stands out a great deal.

While we’re on the subject of opportunities for improvement, the wheel choices for the Corolla look decidedly inexpensive. And yes, we get it, the car is inexpensive, but so is a Mini and they managed to at least fit the car with premium looking wheels. Of course, here once again, we’re judging based on enthusiast standards—and this car is way more civilian oriented than sporting intended.

All in all, the Corolla’s look fits in pretty much anywhere you’d care to go in the car.

On the other hand, this is the most stylishly appointed Corolla interior ever offered. You’ll be very impressed; particularly if you order the interior in ivory so you get the nicely contrasting two-tone ebony and ivory dash treatment. The look is positively premium by every measure. The two-tone grey and black is nice too, but the ivory really pops.

Keeping in mind the 17 to 70 demographic, Corolla’s controls treatment is the very epitome of easy to use. Everything about it is intuitive. The generously rimmed steering wheel’s integrated secondary function controls are simple, well labeled, and operate the way logic dictates they should. If we were to change anything, we’d move the mirror adjustment to the driver’s door so it isn’t hidden by the steering wheel on the dash, but other than that, we love the layout.

A large, readily legible speedometer dominates the instrument panel, shaded by a gracefully shaped hood. The speedo is flanked on the left by the tach, and to the right of it you’ll find the fuel level gauge. A small LCD screen lives in the lower right quadrant of the speedometer, offering the exterior temperature, engine temperature, and gear selection.

Our LE Plus trimmed test car featured the touchscreen display as the dominant feature of the dash—flanked by a pair of round knobs for the audio system. A digital clock and HVAC vents reside just above the monitor. Working your way down from the monitor, you’ll find the automatic climate control system’s controls positioned above a 12V DC power port and the auxiliary audio inputs. The transmission shifter and handbrake are handily positioned next to each other on the center console.

Legroom is (if you’ll pardon the pun) the Corolla’s long suit. There’s more than ample space for four adults. Headroom and shoulder room are good too. In addition to housing the most stylish interior ever fitted to a Corolla, this is also the most spacious. Toyota offers seatbelts for three seating positions in the Corolla’s rear seat, but we think going five passengers for an extended period is pushing it comfort-wise. Yes, the car will do it, but you’ll rather it didn’t—trust us.

Ample ranges of adjustment for the front seats make finding a comfortable position in them readily attainable. It’d be nice if there were a power adjustment option for the front passenger seat too, but it isn’t a deal breaker by any means at this price point. Further, the seats are quite comfortable, even after a couple of hour’s time. We also like the contrasting piping Corolla’s vinyl seats offer. By the way, don’t be put off by the word “vinyl”. A lot of cars use it; they just call it “leatherette”. At least Toyota’s being honest.

The trunk is good for 13 cubic feet of cargo, and with the split folding rear seats, Corolla’s also good for hauling longer items inside the car.

Corolla’s standard kit of safety gear includes stability and traction control, an ABS antilock braking system, front side airbags, side curtain airbags, a driver’s knee airbag and a passenger’s seat cushion airbag. A nice by-product of the six-inch touchscreen fitted to all models (save the base L trim), is the accompanying rearview camera.

It’s important to note, one of the ways Toyota keeps costs down on the Corolla is to fit it with rear drum brakes. This is still pretty commonplace in this segment, but if you can spring for it, we recommend going with the S Plus trim package so you can get four discs.

Nevertheless, according to NHTSA, the Corolla is one highly crashworthy automobile. That’s crashworthy as in it will stand up nicely to a crash, as opposed to being worthy solely of crashing. Seriously though, NHTSA gives Corolla five stars overall, which is its top ranking. Ditto the IIHS, pronouncing Corolla worthy of its highest (“Good”) ranking in all tests—save small overlap frontal crashes in which the Corolla earned a “Marginal” ranking. This is not to say Corolla’s a death trap; that small overlap test is a tough one to beat.

Regardless of your trim choice, the 2015 Corolla will come equipped with front-wheel drive and a 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder engine. If you go for the LE Eco trim package you’ll get 140 horsepower and 126 ft-lbs of torque. All others get 132 horsepower and 128 ft-lbs of torque from the engine.

While the standard transmission offering is a continuously variable unit for most trims, a six-speed manual can be had with the base L model, or as an option for the Corolla S. It should be noted, the L gets a four-speed automatic rather than the CVT.

Fuel economy is rated at 27 mpg in the city, 36 on the highway, and 31 combined with the four-speed automatic. The six-speed manual returns 28 in the city, 37 on the highway, and 31 combined. The CVT is good for 29 in the city, 38 on the highway, and 32 combined in LE trim. It does 29 in the city, 37 on the highway, and 32 combined in S trim. LE Eco is rated at 30 city, 42 highway, and 35 combined, while the heavier LE Eco Plus and Premium are rated at 30 city, 42 highway and 34 combined with the CVT.

As we mentioned before, Toyota’s Corolla is all about ease of operation. Transparent is probably the best characterization of the car’s personality on the move. It simply fades into the background as it goes about its designated task of moving you, your passengers and your cargo from Chick-Fil-A to Applebee’s.

Think of Corolla more as an appliance than a tool for entertainment and you’ll be thoroughly satisfied with the way the Corolla does its job. The Toyota compact sedan rides smoothly, is relatively quiet, easy to park, stops reasonably well, and is at least co-operative when driven on a winding road—if not exciting.

Long story short, the Corolla is competent—period.

As much as driving enthusiasts hate to admit it, there is a large segment of the driving populace for which zero to 60, top speed, and high skidpad numbers have no relevance. Of course, enthusiasts will posit these aspects of a car’s performance envelope have a direct bearing on the safety of said model, as they enhance its ability to avoid accidents.

And, yes, this is a plausible argument.

However, the truth of the matter is most people are more concerned with having their cars start every time, provide comfortable transportation, and consume long distances on as little fuel as can be reasonably expected. The Corolla does all of the above—and chalks up strong crash test scores too.

What’s not to love about that?

Pros: Outstanding reputation for reliability, good fuel economy, nice interior treatment

Cons: Nothing to write home about in terms of driver engagement, anonymous styling