I don't know why I'm sharing this with Prius Chat. Plus I'm not sure this is actually the right sub-forum. But unfortunately since I've bought my Honda Fit, I've had 2 experiences where I've had to rent a Toyota Corolla. I rented one for a day, while the dealership was intstalling some extra's I had put on The Fit, and I have one now, as (long story) I unfortunately have to have some body work done on my new Fit. I don't know but I'd just like to say, each time I've been really impressed with the good old Corolla. It's amazingly smooth and quiet for such a budget car. It get's close to Honda Fit numbers as far as gas mileage. It has a nice balanced ride. Don't get me wrong. I love my Fit. But for a automobile that wasn't even on my purchase radar, I now think The Corolla should of been. NOTE TO TOYOTA: I really think the Corolla is an under rated vehicle right now. It's a really nice machine. BUT.... Improve the guages. The Speedometer and RPM guage. They are one dimensional painted on decals. Everything in the vehicle looks nice enough given it's price range..but the guages, which you sit infront of and see constantly as a driver, look cheap. It's a big psychological mistake. It's an excellent car, but people often make purchased based on first impressions, and I'd say The Corolla gives a good first impression with the exception of the flat, decal looking guages. If I get hit in my Fit again? I'm probably going to freak out and start looking for another vehicle....It would probably be a Prius, but I've been impressed with my rental Corolla's....with the exception of the main guages which I think really look too economy and bargain basement. Sorry just needed to vent that observation. I know in Prius Chat nobody is really going to care much about an evaluation of The Toyota Corolla.
I rented one, and got an S model. I don't have huge hands, so the steering wheel felt like it had a little too much diameter to hold on to confidently when tossing the car around (a little) around curves. I hated the fact that the clock was on the driver's gauge panel as opposed to the center console. The Fit is actually a tough car to compare against in terms of handling since the suspension of the car is notably good (especially the Fit S). Opening and closing the glove box and upper compartments, we had the immediate reaction of "wow, this feels a lot cheaper than the Prius (and other Toyotas we have been in historically)." Over all, I'd rate it a better-than-average rental car, as far as rentals go, but not something that I was particularly positively surprised by.
You probably got a CE model (or standard.. whatever you call it in the US). Uplevel models (LE in Canada, XLE in the US) get Optitron gauges. Those look a lot more upscale imo than the standard orange back-lit gauges. I share your impressions with the latest iteration. It's well built, well priced (in Canada) and well equipped (Canadian LE models have SKS, automatic climate control and optional 10-way power driver's seat). They're quiet and decently roomy (much more so than our old Corollas... 1997 and 2000). Back in 2008, I had two choices - buy a smart and upgrade to a Prius later or buy a Corolla and keep it for as long as possible.
