wntrwhte

Well, I had a scion, and at its price point, it came with more standard features than any other car at the time. It was a great FIRST car. I wouldn't buy a second one, because it lacks a "grown up" feel. It feels a little like a toy, a Tonka My First Car.

They really did try to make Scion into a more performance oriented brand, what with the bolt-on supercharger for the tC, but I think they've given up on those as cars for the modification community.

But what the scion and corolla lack is refinement. There is a way to do cheap without rubbing in your face that the car is cheap, and toyota hasn't remembered how to do that yet.

My0gr81

Are these out already? I saw 2 corollas today that looked more like the last gen Malibu from the back than the familiar corolla.

spwolf

toyota never had interiors that felt good in cheap cars... but what they had is mechanical quality regardless of car class.

-J-P-L-

You mean this? This is just the face-lifted 2011 Corolla. It's not the "next generation".

wntrwhte

Yeah, you know, I drafted a response and then decided it wasn't worth it.

The corolla remains a dated, uninteresting vehicle with the least trim and option choices in its class.

No wonder the civic is trouncing it.

spwolf

civic trouncing what, where?

-J-P-L-

Yeah, it sucks. Except that the Corolla is the best selling car in its class.

Corolla = 136,747 YTD in US....18,872 in June.
Civic.... = 127,571 YTD............17,485....."

What's that about the all new Civic trouncing the 4 year old Corolla?

spwolf

5 years old now (worldwide)... but i dont think next gen will be radically different.... it will be a change like Yaris at best.

84Cressida

The prior generations Corolla were much better than the current car in the interior department. Gone are the padded surfaces on the door panels and other areas that were present in the older models.

spwolf

thats only in US market... in Europe, we still have soft interior in Corolla.

However if you had old Corolla like I did, you would know that those plastics were prone to creating all kinds of sounds, and even deform under sun after some time, while if you had new Corolla (well Auris), like I did, you would know that those hard surfaces were a lot better wearing than old soft ones.

Yaris, Corolla/Auris and Rav4 introduced in 2006 had significantly better build and overall engineering/materials in the interior that developed far less rattles and squeaks than their previous generations, even if some surfaces were hard.

I know because I had them and previous models. And while I loved the engine in my Corolla TS (2zz-ge), damn thing had million rattles everywhere, despite soft plastics in the interior and had 1" hole develop between stereo and soft padded dash (TSB was out for it).

Auris on the other hand, had far less issues with interior, even if it was hard to touch. And nothing changed its appearance after 3 years of hard use.

scgt652

You are WRONG. Here is why:

1. The official unemployment rate among 18-25 year olds is 24%. It is even higher than that if you include individuals who are "underemployed", or have simply given up looking for a job.

2. The average recent college grad has $23,000 in student loan debt.

So the youth market is not filled with highly paid individuals with lots of disposable income. Quite the contrary in fact.

Also, as Spywolf mentioned, you obviously didn't see the recent study which shows that Scions and Corollas are very popular with Gen-Y.

GS69

Expect Big Change for Corolla

Car buyers will see a big change in the Toyota Corolla when the new model arrives in the U.S. next year.

The next generation of Toyota's 2nd-best selling car will be a clear departure from the current model, the division’s new vice president says.

"Some (within Toyota) have said it is an even more dramatic change" than the Avalon’s recent metamorphosis, Bill Fay, general manager for the Toyota and Scion brands in the U.S., tells WardsAuto at a media preview of the new RAV4 EV here.

The large Avalon sedan’s design evolved from boxy to fastback, with a 4-door coupe appearance.

The current-generation Corolla, introduced in late 2007, was a subtle redesign of the previous generation. However, Toyota managed to maintain sales volume and market share through this year even as newer, flashier competitors e entered the fray.

Corolla deliveries this year rose 11.0% through June, compared with 1st-half 2011, according to WardsAuto data.

The Corolla was the No.5 best-selling car in the U.S. last year, with232,159 units, outselling by a wide margin the Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus and Volkswagen Jetta. It also topped the Chevy Cruze, which saw 231,732 deliveries.

The Corolla even outsold its longtime rival, the Honda Civic, in 2011 by roughly 10,000 units. In recent years, the Civic has topped the Corolla, even without Toyota's Matrix hatchback mixed in.

The new Corolla will face some updated competition when it launches next year in the hard-fought compact segment. The new Nissan Sentra arrives later this year, and the next-generation Kia Forte goes on sale in 2013.

cschweinsberg@wardsauto.com

chikoo

apparently customer feedback has not helped much since 2009 since the inside of a corolla feels like I was seated in a ball, absolutely drove like a boat and the interior materials were "yuck".

stlgrym3

iTrader: (4)

big changes: RWD?

TRDFantasy

Nothing we here at CL didn't know already. We've heard from all kinds of sources that the next-gen Corolla will be a huge change compared the current model. Toyota's main challenge will be to not alienate or push away existing Corolla buyers. The new model should definitely help attract new customers.

Uh

This was customer feedback for the next-generation Corolla, which comes *next year*. Not the current model. New models aren't created and produced overnight. Prepare to be surprised with the new Corolla next year.