“Ergonomics seem flawless”: Toyota Corolla experts
In just a month, on the eve of the international motor show in Geneva, the award ceremony of the laureates of the main automotive award in Europe will take place. This year, the new Toyota Corolla is among the seven finalists in the European Car of the Year 2020 competition. And we seem to already know who the main contender for the victory…
The 12th generation Corolla entered the Russian market in 2019 and immediately captivated both experts and buyers. According to the European size classification, this sedan belongs to the C segment, which is often called the “golf class”. Although, in fairness, this market segment is more correctly called the “Corolla class”. Firstly, the Toyota model debuted much earlier than Volkswagen, and secondly, it is much more popular. The total circulation of “Corolla” has long exceeded 45 million copies!
Design: chasing business class
Recently, the 12th generation of Corolla has been presented in the sedan body that is most in demand on our market. Literally from the very first day, this Toyota bathes in compliments about the design.
“If you had told me five years ago that Toyota would produce such attractive looking stylish sedans, I would never have believed it!” – Alexander Tychinin, an expert of the portal Motor.ru, admits.
“Something in the appearance of this car is reminiscent of the Camry business sedan, and in its more aggressive outwardly American version,” Auto.ru editor Alexander Miroshkin echoes his colleague.
The new bright and not quite typical design of the 12th generation Corolla, which is essentially democratic, is the merit of not only Toyota stylists, but also engineers. After all, this is the first model in the Corolla family built within the framework of the TNGA architecture. It implies not only the highest rigidity of the body, but also a lower center of gravity, which has a positive effect on the driving characteristics of the model and at the same time frees the hands of designers, allowing you to create more sporty, more spectacular images.
Interior: Thoughtful Comfort
The TNGA architecture helped the layout engineers build interiors that were close to ideal. “Ergonomics seems impeccable to me,” blogger Pavel Bludenov shares his impressions. “It's great that the cabin of the new Corolla uses climate control and entertainment system “twists”, they are much more convenient than push-button controls.”
It is what it is. The control controllers literally find the driver's hand themselves. You don’t have to reach for anything, you don’t need to look for something, to understand something incomprehensible. Everything about the Corolla's interior is clear on an intuitive level. Exemplary ergonomics are complemented by two more fundamentally important advantages – improved quality finishes and a spacious interior.
“There is really a lot of soft plastic in the cabin,” Pavel notes. – It's nice to even just run your hand over the panels. Finishing materials create the atmosphere of a car of a higher class.”
“Personally, it’s very convenient for me here,” Oleg Rasstegaev, an expert at Autoreview, gets behind the wheel. – With my 190 cm, I sit down absolutely freely, and there is still a margin for the adjustment range. There is also plenty of leg room in the back, even for tall passengers.”
Ride quality: just the way we like it
Recently, the new Corolla is available with a modern and reliable 1.6-liter gasoline engine with 122 hp. with., which is combined with both a 6-speed manual and a stepless CVT variator. In any case, the sedan pleases with quite dynamic acceleration, does not bother when overtaking and, like all models based on the TNGA architecture, pleasantly surprises with handling.
“In this sedan, you want to go to the mountains, find a twisted serpentine, just to drive for fun,” says Mikhail Tataritsky, editor of the 5 Wheel magazine. – I would even like to see a more powerful engine appear in the range of Corolla power units for the last time. He's definitely not in the way!”
It's nice that the noticeably improved handling of the new Corolla compared to the previous generation model did not affect the traditional level of comfort.
“Listen, well, the smoothness of the ride here is just awesome!” – Alexander Tychinin is not shy in expressions.
“The high level of driving comfort, for which we love Toyota, is fully preserved on the new Corolla,” Oleg Rastegaev agrees.
So, in the bottom line, the new Toyota Corolla is a beautiful car with a perfectly thought out spacious interior, a high level of equipment and a cool balance between ride and handling. Now tell me, what are the members of the jury of the European Car of the Year 2020 contest waiting for?! After all, we all already know who should get the main prize.