With the launch of the new-generation Toyota Corolla models, Toyota in Ireland has tidied up its naming programme for the car. The Corolla range is now part of a trilogy of cars, hatchback, saloon and touring sports or estate, to you and me. The Auris name is now gone from the range.
Toyota in Ireland is also putting huge emphasis on its hybrid engine choice as diesel engines are now gone from the range. The Corolla choice is now between petrol power and petrol-boosted self-charging hybrid electric power.
I’ve had all three models from the Corolla range on the road in recent weeks and I feel that a comparison within the Corolla range will do justice to the car that has last month become Ireland’s best-seller. Toyota now also offers petrol engine versions of all three Corolla models, but the hybrid versions are more economical and much better to drive. And it was hybrid versions of all three Corolla models that I drove.
The Toyota Corolla hatchback versions have a sportier styling. Entry prices for the Luna grade start from €26,995 or £25,830 for the Design grade.
Park all three Corolla options in a row and from the front it will be difficult to tell the difference. The similarities outweigh the differences other than in space and external styling.
Having driven almost 2,000km across the three Toyota Corolla models, I got comfortable and close to the car’s ability in its different guises. The saloon was my first drive and this car impresses because of its size. It feels bigger than the Corolla of the past and comes with a spacious boot.
The Tourer Sports was next up and the extra load space was the most noticeable difference. This was followed by the hatchback version that had a more sporty feeling to it, influenced by its pearl red colour.
There is a bigger feel to the Corolla Touring Sports model and larger boot space. All three models come with impressive reversing cameras for ease of parking.
Instinctively, each car brought out different driving approaches, but all the time I was mindful of the need to manage the hybrid drive for maximum efficiency.
From the driving position what is common on all three models is the dash layout while dash styling choices can change. There is a large 8in centrally mounted information screen that includes a row of tactile buttons, as well as the touchscreen facility. This is the Toyota Touch 2 system and it is common across all models, depending on the specification level, which in this case I have chosen the Luna specification.
Setting the system to get your mobile into a driving safe mode takes a little effort, even with the direct USB, which was absent from the hatchback version.
While once set up it was reliable, I would prefer to see an easy to use Apple CarPlay or Android choice on the screen.
The Corolla range comes with the latest Toyota Safety Sense system which is impressive in every way. Toyota’s practical approach to safety monitoring makes this Corolla range one of the safest cars on the road and that’s backed by its recent impressive Euro NCAP rating.
Everything else about driving the cars was simple. The Corolla uses a continuously variable transmission (CVT) drive system in all of the hybrid models, which is smooth and effortless to use. The car accelerates from start in a virtually silent electric mode and meets power demands from the petrol engine in a seamless way. That electric mode facility is what is behind Toyota’s claims of good fuel economy. This works well and delivers its economy promise on short runs and town driving.
The economy figures will change on the longer runs, where the car, irrespective of the models chosen, will consume more fuel than former diesel counterparts. Toyota has carried out some research on the hybrid usage levels and that confirms that the longer the journey time on a hybrid model, the lower percentage time is spent driving in the most fuel-efficient electric mode.
UCD research showed that in the greater Dublin area commutes, some 66% of the driving time was in zero-emission electric driving mode compared with 56% of the driving time for longer commutes from the likes of Drogheda and Aughrim, Co Wicklow.
That too was my experience. I achieved the best economy from the saloon version of the car, with a rating of 4.9l/100k (20km/litre or 58mpg), which was impressively close to the new real-world rated figure given by Toyota. Each time I took the respective cars for a drive, I found that I failed to achieve the rated range figure from the previous driver.
So that confirmed to me that my longer commutes where I regularly drive an hour each way, between the Dublin region and Portlaoise, required a different driving style. For that, I soon learnt to adapt using the Eco driving mostly, while I still longed for the longer diesel range. Across all three Corolla models, I averaged 657km of driving and returned an economy figure of 15km/litre (6.6l/100k or 42mpg).
The Corolla hybrid prices are competitive relative to diesel competition with the entry-level Corolla hatchback version in Luna grade starting at €26,995 or £25,830 for the Design grade in Northern Ireland. The north-south price differences are not significant, while the specification levels are now well matched in what are now high-specification cars.
With the launch of the new-generation Toyota Corolla models, Toyota in Ireland has tidied up its naming programme for the car. The Corolla range is now part of a trilogy of cars, hatchback, saloon and touring sports or estate, to you and me. The Auris name is now gone from the range.
Toyota in Ireland is also putting huge emphasis on its hybrid engine choice as diesel engines are now gone from the range. The Corolla choice is now between petrol power and petrol-boosted self-charging hybrid electric power.
I’ve had all three models from the Corolla range on the road in recent weeks and I feel that a comparison within the Corolla range will do justice to the car that has last month become Ireland’s best-seller. Toyota now also offers petrol engine versions of all three Corolla models, but the hybrid versions are more economical and much better to drive. And it was hybrid versions of all three Corolla models that I drove.
The Toyota Corolla hatchback versions have a sportier styling. Entry prices for the Luna grade start from €26,995 or £25,830 for the Design grade.
Park all three Corolla options in a row and from the front it will be difficult to tell the difference. The similarities outweigh the differences other than in space and external styling.
Having driven almost 2,000km across the three Toyota Corolla models, I got comfortable and close to the car’s ability in its different guises. The saloon was my first drive and this car impresses because of its size. It feels bigger than the Corolla of the past and comes with a spacious boot.
The Tourer Sports was next up and the extra load space was the most noticeable difference. This was followed by the hatchback version that had a more sporty feeling to it, influenced by its pearl red colour.
There is a bigger feel to the Corolla Touring Sports model and larger boot space. All three models come with impressive reversing cameras for ease of parking.
Instinctively, each car brought out different driving approaches, but all the time I was mindful of the need to manage the hybrid drive for maximum efficiency.
From the driving position what is common on all three models is the dash layout while dash styling choices can change. There is a large 8in centrally mounted information screen that includes a row of tactile buttons, as well as the touchscreen facility. This is the Toyota Touch 2 system and it is common across all models, depending on the specification level, which in this case I have chosen the Luna specification.
Setting the system to get your mobile into a driving safe mode takes a little effort, even with the direct USB, which was absent from the hatchback version.
While once set up it was reliable, I would prefer to see an easy to use Apple CarPlay or Android choice on the screen.
The Corolla range comes with the latest Toyota Safety Sense system which is impressive in every way. Toyota’s practical approach to safety monitoring makes this Corolla range one of the safest cars on the road and that’s backed by its recent impressive Euro NCAP rating.
Everything else about driving the cars was simple. The Corolla uses a continuously variable transmission (CVT) drive system in all of the hybrid models, which is smooth and effortless to use. The car accelerates from start in a virtually silent electric mode and meets power demands from the petrol engine in a seamless way. That electric mode facility is what is behind Toyota’s claims of good fuel economy. This works well and delivers its economy promise on short runs and town driving.
The economy figures will change on the longer runs, where the car, irrespective of the models chosen, will consume more fuel than former diesel counterparts. Toyota has carried out some research on the hybrid usage levels and that confirms that the longer the journey time on a hybrid model, the lower percentage time is spent driving in the most fuel-efficient electric mode.
UCD research showed that in the greater Dublin area commutes, some 66% of the driving time was in zero-emission electric driving mode compared with 56% of the driving time for longer commutes from the likes of Drogheda and Aughrim, Co Wicklow.
That too was my experience. I achieved the best economy from the saloon version of the car, with a rating of 4.9l/100k (20km/litre or 58mpg), which was impressively close to the new real-world rated figure given by Toyota. Each time I took the respective cars for a drive, I found that I failed to achieve the rated range figure from the previous driver.
So that confirmed to me that my longer commutes where I regularly drive an hour each way, between the Dublin region and Portlaoise, required a different driving style. For that, I soon learnt to adapt using the Eco driving mostly, while I still longed for the longer diesel range. Across all three Corolla models, I averaged 657km of driving and returned an economy figure of 15km/litre (6.6l/100k or 42mpg).
The Corolla hybrid prices are competitive relative to diesel competition with the entry-level Corolla hatchback version in Luna grade starting at €26,995 or £25,830 for the Design grade in Northern Ireland. The north-south price differences are not significant, while the specification levels are now well matched in what are now high-specification cars.
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