Toyota may not have realised it at the time, but the launch in June 1967 of its new, Australian-built two-door Corolla sedan set the stage for the company's future domination of the local new-car market.
As the Corolla's previous siblings – which included the then mid-size Corona and the Crown large car – died off, the little 1.1-litre rear-drive Corolla spread in popularity around the country.
It morphed over the years from being a basic, cheap but stylish two-door to a reliable if somewhat bland four-door sedan and, ultimately (in 1985), to a front-wheel drive car offering a choice of five-door hatch or four-door sedan body styles.
The Corolla steamrollered its way into the Australian consciousness and today is a stellar performer that has many times been the country’s top-selling local car, bar none.
Despite this overwhelming presence, the much-favoured Corolla has never really been seen as much more than a reliable, well-made and capable but ultimately uninspiring entrant in the small car class.
That might be changing with the latest model.
Introducing the new Corolla hatchback locally in late 2012, Toyota went to great pains equipping it with enough style, space and capability to head its competitors – which include the likes of Volkswagen’s seventh generation Golf and Ford’s Focus – off at the pass.
Most observers look at the Corolla today as more Euro in its looks than much of its Japanese and Korean competition. It avoids modish, dramatic, complex shapes and presents an attractive, clean, well-proportioned look that should stand the test of time better than most.
Our test car was an S-CVT transmission-equipped, top-of-the-line Levin ZR, which expressed effectively all that is good about the Corolla.
With standard sat-nav, adaptive Xenon headlights featuring auto high-beam, a reversing camera, dual-zone climate-control, smart unlocking with an engine start-stop button, partial-leather seats (heated at the front), 17-inch alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights, an electro chromatic rear-view mirror and one-touch power windows on all four doors, the top-shelf Corolla closes most of the gap to the best of its competitors – although it does miss out on the now-ubiquitous systems available in some top-shelf small cars such as auto parking, adaptive cruise control and blind-spot monitoring.
Perhaps the most important point though is the implied street-cred that comes with the new car. Like we said, in its latest incarnation the Corolla appears to have shed, Volvo-style, most of the lingering misconceptions that have dogged it in the past.
It has taken a step that elevates it to a new flavour beyond vanilla. The clean, crisp look is supported by a tasty interior with improved space for passengers, the handling is tidy and the steering is nicely communicative.
It is easy to get comfortable behind the wheel of the new Corolla, although taller drivers may feel headroom is slightly compromised by the car's lower-slung stance.
Back-seat legroom isn't too bad either, although the boot, with a capacity of 280 litres, is far from being best in class despite the use of a space-saver spare. The sedan version will undoubtedly up the ante in this respect.
We were of two minds about the Corolla's engine/CVT transmission combination.
Granted, Toyota has done some good work bringing the dual VVT four-cylinder into contention with some of its peers (there's now a variable-length inlet manifold to help power production at high and low rpm) and 173Nm of torque isn't too bad for 1.8 litres displacement, even if it doesn't appear until 4000rpm (which is nevertheless 400rpm lower than previously). But 103kW of power does leave it at a bit of a disadvantage, especially compared with some of its forced-induction competitors.
And the CVT, even giving Toyota credit for engineering it to behave in an acceptable manner, gets less enjoyable the longer you live with it.
At first it appears to behave more like a conventional auto than a CVT, but after a few kilometres the least impressive CVT characteristic – the dreaded slipping-clutch effect – becomes increasingly noticeable. This certainly helps the engine quickly find the most effective rpm range, but it is anything but pleasant, especially for a driver seeking a bit of occasional acceleration. Shift paddles that enable the selection of seven specific ratios do help somewhat.
The bottom line though is the CVT helps compensate for the Corolla’s paucity of punch. Provided you can ignore the constantly elevated rpm, it always feels quick enough – quicker than the official 10 seconds it takes to accelerate from zero to 100km/h – but it's still nevertheless the least impressive aspect of the new model.
On test, the lighter, more aerodynamic Corolla proved economical enough, matching the (improved by as much as 12 per cent over the previous model) 6.6L/100km official figure although much of our time with the car was spent on the open road. In mixed urban/country conditions it would be struggling to match that.
It cruised quietly and comfortably enough at highway speeds and the weighting of the electrically assisted steering was well judged to find the right balance between light and heavy. It went from lock to lock in a quite quick 2.6 turns.
The Levin ZR's cleanly styled (soft-touch) premium instrument panel complete with decent-size LCD screen, well-placed controls and comfortable driving position including power lumbar support adjustment on the sports seats, made for a good experience comparable to its Euro competitors.
Call us Luddites, but we did find it difficult getting along with the Bluetooth system and we couldn't figure out why the clock was located way off to the left of the main instrument panel displays.
Competitively, in a world where small cars are no longer basic, uninspired, or even particularity cheap, the new Corolla sits more comfortably than it probably ever has.
With five-star safety, high levels of quality and passenger accommodation, and a nice ride-handling compromise – with the rider that its drivetrain is nothing special – it is now a car to be thought of in the same breath as its European competitors. Not something you really would have previously said of the Corolla.
2014 Toyota Corolla Levin ZR pricing and specifications:
Price: $30,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 103kW/173Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 6.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 152g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP
What we liked: | Not so much: |
>> Quality styling job | >> CVT transmission |
>> Interior space | >> Small boot |
>> On-road competence | >> Tricky Bluetooth function |