irishcar.com - Toyota Corolla D4D

It’s not always a good idea to give a journalist a diesel version of one’s new car first. Unless the particular journalist is a dieselhead, the usual less refined oil-burning characteristics can seriously set an impression for a car that’s less than it deserves.

It seems Toyota have no such fears. Though I’ve previously driven the new Corolla on launch days, the one I’ve been driving this last week for my first extended appreciation is the D4D two-litre turbodiesel.

I guess, though, since I’ve previously written with enthusiasm of the Avensis with the same power-plant, they’re on safe enough ground. Well, let’s see.

The new Corolla is one heck of a change from the car just gone. Bigger, styled more substantially, and with a couple of interesting variants, such as the Verso MPV, available from the word go. And a range of engines which Corolla has rarely enjoyed.

The front end is strongly-styled, even aggressive in a Clark Kent-becomes-Superman kind of way. Rich curves in the lights cover, and a definite sculpt just over the Toyota logo in the grille, say this car is proud to be a Toyota no matter what anyone else thinks.

And the rear end of the five-door (which is what we were in so far) has the same kind of ‘strength’ elements, particularly with the substantial bumper area, the wide C-pillar and a strongly-curved back window.

In between those are sets of wide doors for the class, giving clear indication that there’s not a shortage of room front or rear. Which proves to be true.

When Trish and I were in Frankfurt Motor Show last September 11 (we’ll never forget it, will we?) where the official launch of the new Corolla was a feature, we spoke with Johannes Thammer, director of product and research. He was particularly proud of the interior of the new car, and of the overall work on giving the vehicle a real ‘quality car’ feel in the quality of the materials and trim. This is possibly more an important issue for Europeans than buyers in many other markets, he suggested.

“It is only Europeans who get into a car and the first thing they do is tap the dashboard,” he said.

Which is a point when you think about it. I’ve found that cars built for US and Pacific Rim markets more often than not have a hollow sound to a dashboard tap. Not so most European cars in the Corolla segment. And now not so in the latest Corolla.

The trim doesn’t just look solid, it IS solid. And well presented. And that sense of strength goes all the way to how the doors close. You’ve probably seen early TV ads where they just repeatedly thunk the new Corolla doors closed. Because it actually does has a sound and feel that you;d normally only previously have associated with German top-level brands.

The instrumentation is also a serious upgrade, with all but the entry-level version equipped with the ‘Optitron’ electronic dials familiar to that rarified band of Lexus owners. They are exceptionally bright and clear, way ahead of the standard backlighting of conventional instruments.

The hatchback has a high seating position, but with more than adequate headroom. In all important areas. This is another of those new generation cars where accessibility is recognised as most important. The seats themselves proved to be right up there with the best in the business, and these days you’re no longer competing if you don’t provide the comforts, in an segment. Long live competition.

There are three levels of specification in the new Corolla: E, Terra and Luna. All come with ABS and electronic brake force distribution, though side airbags are not available at all on the E and only as options on the Terra and Luna. All have high-tech seatbelt systems with force limiters.

The D4D came to us in the Terra specification, with electric windows and a CD player. No air conditioning, which in a way is a surprise given that at least one new competitor is giving air as standard right across its range.

The performance improvement in the D4D was immediately evident against the diesel in the outgoing car, with the 58% increase in torque giving a feel of low-end performance which made the car quite joyful to drive even in the metro traffic-light derbies. If you’re feeling lazy, you can get away with using just 2nd and 4th quite comfortably in most non-highway driving. Economy in a period of mixed country and town driving showed up at close to 43mpg, and we’re pretty convinced that substantially greater ranges are available on the long distance.

The D4D is perhaps still not the quietest diesel on the market, but is among the very top from Japan. And the interior sound-proofing in this new Corolla is way ahead of what we’ve been used to from the model, which again brings it up to the best-in-class of Europeans.

The D4D is not perhaps the right one for sheer dynamic performance reviews, but I do know from brief drives in the petrol versions that this is a car at least as good in drivability and dynamic returns as the benchmark Ford Focus. We’re both looking forward to more experience with the new car, including the wild 1.8-litre 192bhp T-Sport version.

The saloon comes towards the end of February. Meantime, this D4D hatchback comes in at euro 22,896 (£18,032 in that funny old money). OK, so you’ll want to have a reason to go that extra five eurogrand for the diesel, such as a lot of long distances. If you have that reason, you can now have a Corolla that gives you the long life and economy of oilburning, and can be an interesting drive too.

Take it for a spin, anyway.

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