2006 Toyota Corolla

Oh, hi! I'm just reviewing my '06 Corolla. What a wonderful car! I have 60,000 miles on it due to a long commute, and I've never done any unscheduled maintenance on it, ever. None, nada, zero, zip. Even the scheduled maintenance is minor BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Whoops, sorry. That was the panic alarm on my Corolla. It was very poorly designed, a red button jutting out of the back of the keyless entry that I accidentally push at least once per day-- even just by sitting down when the keys are in my pocket. You'd think Toyota would have the same quality for their keyless entry fobs that they have for the rest of the car. Oh, well.

Anyway, the routine maintenance is very inexpensive-- oil changes, tire rotation (and, at 50K, new set of Kelly tires, much better than the original-equipment Goodyears), air filters, wiper blades, etc. Real-world gas mileage is great-- about 30 city driving, and 36 or 37 for highway driving with the cruise at 70. This is really a great car, with only BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Darn it! Oh,excuse me-- I have to turn off the panic alarm again. This time, I was just bending over with the keys in my pocket. That's all it take to trigger that alarm! On my GM cars, the panic alarm was recessed into the fob, so that it was hard to press accidentally. Well, it's only a minor fault, so let's move on.

The Corolla is also really fun to drive with a 5 speed. I don't know why they have limited this to only the S and XLE models for '08. I was lucky to get an '06 LE that has the 5 speed and no boy-racer body mouldings. The engine has plenty of torque and revs right up to redliBEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Ack! Sorry, the keyless entry again. Anyway, the Corolla's practical side doesn't take away from its being loads of fun to drive. Handling is tight and predictable, and the car is also good in snow. Also, it is built as tight as a drum-- solid as a Lexus.

Think of this: if you buy a Corolla instead of a Prius, you'll save about $8000-- if you give the money you save to Carbonfund or another carbon-offset program, that's enough money to offset the annual carbon footprint of about 16 American families! This would be a smarter environmental choice than the Prius or any other expensive hybrid.

When traveling and renting cars, I notice several things about Malibus, Sonatas, and Altimas that Enterprise gives me:

"Man, this car sure uses a lot more gas than my Corolla"

"Why aren't the controls in this rental car laid out as intuitively as they are in my Corolla?"

"Even though this car has more horsepower, it is not as much fun to drive as my Corolla."

"I can't wait to get home and drive my Corolla again."

"Boy, is it ever quiet without the panic alarm going off all the time."

"MAN, does this car use a lot more gas than my Corolla."

Yes, the Corolla is extremely practical and a ball to drive with the 5 speed and tight handling, but there are minor concerns:

-There is a startling lack of safety features-- no ABS, no traction control, no side airbags. I believe this has been rectified for '08. Even earlier models have good NHTSA crash-test evals, front and side, and the brakes are great and easy to pump in a panic stop.

-The clutch pedal throw is long, forcing me to sit a little closer to the steering wheel and more upright than I would like. If I move farther back, I have to push the clutch all the way out to my tippy-toe, or risk grinding some gears.

-I can't read the LCD radio display while I'm wearing sunglasses

-The rear seatbelt shoulder harnesses are very uncomfortable for us shorter people, cutting right across the neck-- we end up just using the lap belt and sitting on the shoulder part, giving up some of the safety. The front seatbelts are much better.

And then, of course, there is the one, deeply annoying flaw, the Achilles' heel, the keyless entry panic alaBEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP


AAAAAAARGH!!!! But otherwise, a great car!