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Today's Featured Head-Fi Blog: A Japanese headfier's monologue (Sasaki)
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I used to drive a 2002 Corolla and yes, it's solid but I did not like how it handled bumps and pot holes. Due to the relative light structure of the vehicle and suspension, I think it caused my tires to tear more easily since it seemed more stressful on my tires. As a result, I got quite a few flat tires where I had to replace the tires because they were torn from slamming impacts of pot holes.
If you are getting a Corolla, I highly recommend that you get high quality tires. Right now, I am driving the new 2008 Camry :-) While the Corolla is solid, the 2008 Camry is finer!
The newest couple of generations of Corolla are ok (with the 1.8 VVTi engine), especially the Sportivo, but the models before that are very ummm ... whitegoodsy.
Until you get back to the AE-82 series, that is! I had one of those with a 4A-GE, and it was an absolutely sensational car. Much better than both the 2003 model Sportivo and base model Corolla I test drove.
Of course they're old, and probably very high mileage now, but if you can find a well-loved one (with lots of work done) I'd jump on it!
Disclaimer: No one I know agrees with my thoughts on cars. I also sold a very nice MR2 for an old bomb of an Alfa 33 which I love dearly. So take my advice with a grain of salt!
In the end we bought a Matrix, I have always liked hatchbacks (practical) , we got a 2008 XR 5sp manual. Nice, gearchange is a touch notchy, very comfortable and reasonably nippy for a bog-standard car. no real complaints so far...
I don't like the transmission in the Corolla. I haven't driven too many manuals to compare but I found the shifter to be really vague (sometimes hard to tell if the gear engaged!) and the clutch takes a lot of effort. I also dislike the fake wood trim in the regular Corolla, but I like the S a lot.
The engine's got a fair amount of kick (more than enough for anything short of drag racing), and is rather efficient. My only issues were that the pedals seemed to be a bit close together and as I moved my right foot from the brake to the gas my shoe occasionally caught behind one of the pedals (the clutch, however, I rarely have issues with) and the fact that there is no comfortable setting of pedals to steering wheel for me - I'm always cramping the legs or straining to reach the wheel. The car itself, however, is fantastic.
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