Car and Driver: 2014 Toyota Corolla First Drive

by Kevin Wilson of www.caranddriver.com

News that quickens the pulses of actuaries everywhere: A new Corolla is shipping to dealerships from Toyota factories in Mississippi and Canada. We've finally driven the 11th-generation 2014 model and, well, it's a Corolla. A quieter, bigger one with better seats, a smoother ride, crisper steering, a “seven-speed” CVT function that's actually preferable to a traditional automatic, and a special fuel-sipper model rated at 42 mpg. It’s all wrapped in styling that merits the use of the word, and it’s packed with the infotainment features modern marketing demands. 

Parked alongside last year's model under San Diego's high August sun, the new Corolla glistens handsomely, looking less like that Nokia candy-bar phone your mother still uses. For all the standard LED headlamps and crisp folds, though, the creative metal bending stops well short of the inspiring Furia concept on which the production model is based. The 2014 Corolla comes only as a sedan—memories of Corolla hatchbacks, wagons, and coupes remain in history's dustbin alongside the hot-hatch FX16 and the rear-drive AE86. 

Quieter, Smoother
A 3.9-inch wheelbase extension smooths out sharp ride motions and expands rear-seat legroom—by Toyota's measure, there are 5.1 inches of additional space for stems in the back. The front seats are a significant improvement; the S model's bigger bolsters feel awfully soft for a “sport seat,” but the entire range has added thigh, lumbar, and lateral support. That will make journeys longer than a typical commute less punishing, as will sound-insulating measures (seals, insulation, glass) and the longer overdrive ratios that quell highway hubbub. 

Corolla's traditional L, LE, and S models use a carry-over 1.8-liter twin-cam VVTi four-cylinder, rated at the same 132 hp as last year. Efforts were made to minimize mass, but curb weight rises with the added length. You might anticipate a commensurate loss of performance, but the car feels a tad livelier. Credit the pair of new transmissions: a CVT for the shiftless, which offers a “stepped seven-speed” function in S models, and a fresh six-speed manual. Clutch-pedal availability is limited strictly to frugal-minded buyers of the base L model or the indulgent experience-seekers who opt for a nearly loaded S. 

On the road, the electronically managed CVT—branded as “CVTi-S”—banishes the form's usual drone, instead emulating the feel of a traditional automatic while being more efficient, quieter, and offering a better range of ratios. It’s certainly among the best CVTs ever, but can't mask the 1.8-liter's lack of low-rpm punch. Engaged drivers will prefer the new six-speed manual. The shifter throws are long but crisp and the clutch feel is good. Predictably but sadly, the pedals are so far apart as to negate heel-toe downshifts; if you expected Toyota to let you find the brake and gas pedals with the same foot, you haven’t paid attention in a long time. 

Drinking Less
The new LE Eco (leak-o?) model has more power (140) but less torque (126 lb-ft vs. 128), thanks to Valvematic, a tweak to the variable-valve system that minimizes intake valve lift at small throttle openings to reduce parasitic pumping losses. Hypermilers can also upgrade to Plus (alloys supplant the 16-inch steel wheels, plus fog lamps) or Premium (adds faux leather upholstery) trims. With the “Eco” button/electronic hair shirt enabled—it lives next to the shifter—the computer dials back the climate control and remaps the first half of the throttle travel to be less responsive. Base price on the LE Eco is $19,510, for which you get as high as 42 mpg on the highway. (Other ’Rollas can manage a up to 38 mpg highway.) 

The base L model keeps the starting price low, although it's hardly a stripper. At $17,610, it's $570 pricier than a year ago, you'll settle for 15-inch steel wheels, a groaning four-speed automatic or the fresh manual, but still get the LED lights, Bluetooth connectivity, air conditioning, power locks and windows, and eight airbags. A practical reason to get the stick: The four-speed slushbox returns the worst fuel economy of the bunch, at 27/36, and really has no business being offered in a new car. It’s not that it’s a terrible four-speed, it’s the fact that it is a four-speed in a world where most competitors offer six forward ratios—some from dual-clutch automatics—and some are ramping up to nine- and 10-speed ’boxes. We wouldn’t be surprised to see it canned in the near future, or to see Toyota to install the newer Eco engine across the board.

Stepping up to the LE brings the CVTi-S, with 16-inch wheels, a backup camera, automatic climate control, cruise control, keyless entry, and Toyota’s Entune infotainment suite, which operates via a 6.1-inch touch screen. Again, Plus and Premium trims up the content, while the options are a moonroof and a Driver’s Convenience package that adds upgrade audio, navigation, and keyless start. 

At $19,810, the 2014 Corolla S is down ever so slightly from last year. It adds a leather-wrapped steering wheel, shift paddles on CVT cars, and dual-upholstery seats, and you might want to spend extra for the S Plus to get rear discs in place of the standard drums. The CVT in S models offers a “Sport” automatic mode that delivers higher shifter points and holds each “gear” under braking; the driver can also choose from among the seven preset ratios using the shift lever or the set of paddle shifters behind the wheel. The manual-gearbox S comes only in a loaded, $22,110 edition with moonroof, navigation, keyless start, and 17-inch wheels. All S models have a nice stitched leather steering wheel that feels like it's actually connected to something; while the handling is hardly inspired, it’s competent enough to make you wish the Corolla had more engine. The S tuning feels more buttoned down than the LE’s, but not to the point of diminishing ride quality. Grooved pavement on the I-5 induced moderate on-center wander in all trims, although it was worst in the LE Eco. 

The S is denoted by piano black trim both in the grille and the interior, and a revised gauge cluster with a TFT driver’s-info display centered between the equally sized speedometer and tach. (Other models get three gauge pods, including a giant fuel gauge on the right.) The S also has a modest rear spoiler that looks less silly than the overstated one on last year's car, as well as a chrome exhaust tip. If you like to drive but must have a Corolla, the S is the one to have, but even here driving enjoyment takes a lower priority than Toyota's traditional ones: implied quality, durability, and reliability.  

If Toyota's touted quest for more passion in its cars raised anyone's expectations for a driver-centric Corolla along the lines of, say, the excellent and equally new 2014 Mazda 3, they underestimated the aversion to risk characteristic of the world's largest automaker. As the bestselling model of all time—40 million and counting, and 38 percent of all Toyotas ever sold in America—the Corolla's ubiquity defines mainstream conformity. It's not hard to find a Corolla owner professing “love” for the car, but if you ask why, the answers about “trouble-free” miles and fuel economy speak to passions that also drive excitement for leaf blowers and laundry equipment. It wasn't always thus, but today’s Corolla caters to people who equate driving with a chore and define a good car as one that minimizes their pain. By those standards, the new, improved 2014 model should still be a smash hit—it’s as painless as ever. 

Source (with a ton of pix);
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2014-toyota-corolla-first-drive-review