irishcar.com - The new Toyota Corolla first view

This coming year is going to be one of the most competitive ever in several segments of the car market, with many major manufacturers coming up with brand new models and seriously targeting each other to poach new customers.

In what’s generally known as the ‘Corolla’ segment alone, there’s a serious grudge match coming up between a new version of the car that gives the class its name, and Fiat’s new Stilo. And, boy, is that going to be a headline contest, without even mentioning the various other contenders which have been introduced here in the last year, such as the Peugeot 307, winner of the European Car of the Year 2002, and the now full range of Honda Civics.

And having just taken my first drive in the new Corolla, I’m booking ringside seats for the final bout. Because this is not going to be a dancing contest. It’ll be as vicious as the famous bare knuckle fight that made Dan Donnelly the Irish fighting champion near my home back in the 1800s.

I’ll put it into perspective. I wouldn’t have bought the outgoing Corolla for myself. Not that it was a bad car, but just because it looked like a wimp, even after its somewhat rushed midlife facelift. Secondly, as you’ll have seen the TV advertisement by the time you read this, they now have a car they can ‘clunk’ closed and be proud of a non-tinny sound.

Toyota now has a car which, apart from the actual build quality and reliability which we’ve long taken as a given from the ‘best built car in the world’, now has snazz and pizzaz, and a performance in some versions which is going to make some of the established competition sit up and take notice. And maybe have to cough in someone else’s exhaust for the first time.

Not just in the ‘hot hatch’ strata, either: it’s really too soon to confirm it, but my admittedly short experience with the basic Corolla hatchback is leading me to a belief that now there is a car which at least matches the current benchmark in the class for driving dynamics, the Ford Focus.

And it looks good too. From the moment I saw it in the metal at Frankfurt in September, I was taken by it. Right up to our sensibilities and requirements requirements on this side of the world, which are quite different to those in Pacific Rim countries.

The new Corolla, they tell us, was designed in Europe for European tastes’. Probably true, for why would they say it otherwise? But it is more, much more, than several generations of Corolla which we’ve been used to here.

For instance, for how long can we remember that you could have just two engines in Corolla - a fairly flat workhorse 1.3 petrol or a lumpy 2-litre diesel?

No more. With the arrival of VVVT-i high-tech engines with the Yaris, and the D4D direct injection diesels we’ve become familiar with in Avensis and Land Cruiser applications, improvement was already on the way.

Now, with the existing 1.4-litre engines already upgraded, you can also get a 1.6-litre 110bhp for the new generation Corolla and the wild 1.8-litre 192bhp unit used in the Celica T-Sport and now propelling the Corolla T-Sport through a six-speed gearbox. The D4D 2-litre engine replaces the older diesel.

A good diesel is becoming increasingly important in Europe, with 35% of the sales in the segment being oil burners.

Body versions are also extended, or diversified maybe - the old ‘liftback’ is gone in favour of the 5-door hatchback, while there’s still a saloon and estate, and a Verso MPV-style vehicle provides a comfortable and roomy option for family leisure and commuting motoring. Learning perhaps from the Yaris experience, the Corolla Verso is less oddball but just as versatile, and even good-looking. Verso also gets the D4D turbodiesel.

The interiors of the new Corollas are substantially improved and a darn sight more interesting than we’ve been getting in the model in recent incarnations. The dashboard is built of good quality materials, and elements such as radio and information systems are high placed and with easily distinguished and big-button controls.

All but the entry-level version have ‘Optitron’ instruments, which are exceptionally bright and clear and were available just a few years ago only in Lexus luxury cars.

The hatchback I drove mostly has a high seating position, but with more than adequate headroom. In all important areas, the new Corolla is larger than what it replaces, and a visual clue to the stretched wheelbase can be seen in side view, where there is no wheel-arch cutout into the rear doors. This is another of those new generation cars where accessibility is recognised as most important.

There are three levels of specification: E, Terra and Luna, and then there’s the T-Sport. 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 - rather bucking the trend of the key competition and even lower segments. All have high-tech seatbelt systems with force limiters.

The E has manual windows and a tape player; the others electric windows and a CD player. Air conditioning is standard on the Luna versions, as are radio controls on the steering wheel. All Luna versions come with 15” alloy wheels, against standard 14” steel wheels on other 1.4-litre versions and 15” steel in 1.6s.

Against key competitors, most new generation Corollas score minor to significant wins in power, performance and efficiency. Against its predecessor car, the performance improvements represent quantum leaps in some cases, particularly the D4D which boasts a 58% increase in torque.

From launch, all versions except the saloons are available in Ireland. The saloon comes towards the end of February. Prices range from EUR 17,645 to EUR 22,896 (D4D) for the hatchbacks, while the estate is EUR 22,661 and the Verso starts at EUR 24,121. The T-Sport is EUR 28,470 and will hotly compete with the Honda Civic R for buyers when that car comes available in March. But the Toyota is here now.

And now Toyota don’t just have a Corolla I’d be quite happy to buy, but a range of them which would appeal to me. They’re hoping to get enough supply to sell up to 7,000 units in the coming year, and 10,000 in a full year.