The Netherlands November 2020: Toyota Corolla, a car with no need of an introduction. A model in the compact hatchback genre, that has been around since October 1966 (Toyota Corolla KE10 or E1 for The Netherlands). A bestselling car worldwide for many years and probably the most recognized Toyota. Now, for its twelfth generation (Corolla E210), Toyota introduced in 2018 a brand new platform, a unique back end curve and a sporty front grill. We are grateful to Louwman (Toyota) Groningen who provided us this beautiful Toyota Corolla Business edition, so we can delight your senses regarding this fun hatchback.

Text: Roley Richardson, Benjamin Wefer
Picture: Benjamin Wefer, Roley Richardson

In 2006 Toyota introduced the name Auris for the European market and sold it as a replacement to the Corolla. For its 12^th generations Toyota put the Corolla on the newest TNGA-C platform, unified the names on a global level and therefore the name “Corolla” made a comeback on the European market. The new platform is more rigid and therefore increase stability on the road and provide a quick steering response.

In The Netherlands, the Toyota Corolla has a variety of exterior colors to choose from, including two tone options. Remarkable is the lack of color combination for the interior. Depending on your model you will have fabric with either black or grey stitches or combination of fabric/Leather with red stitches.

Car Exterior Color “Night Sky Metallic”

Interior color: Black Fabric interior with silver trims

First noticeable when taking place in the front seats is the 8 inch multimedia touch screen with the possibility to configure your day to day wishes from the steering wheel, it feels like a blessing. The dashboard has a quite sporty look, decorated with stiches well positioned from the air-condition grill all the way to the center console give it a nice contrast.

The seats of the Corolla have a wide variety of adjust-ability, it won’t take long before it feels like home. The 8 inch touchscreen multimedia system is very user friendly and at eye level, although can be sometimes a bit far away to reach. This Hatchback has total length of 4.3 meters bumper to bumper (Wheelbase is 2.6 meter) and average turning circle around ten meters (not the tightest one). On the interior, there is a moderate leg space of 106 cm for the driver and a 75 cm leg space for the back row, which makes this a suitable family hatchback. The Corolla offers a competitive trunk space of 361 liter with the seats in place.

The Toyota Corolla Hybrid is powered by the Toyota’s 2ZR-FXE normally aspirated 1.8 liter four cylinder engine and produces around 122 horsepower at 5300 rpm.The Corolla weighs around 1250 kg including  the battery pack, but feels much lighter due to a good throttle response. It gets from 0-100 km/h in just under eleven seconds. The Hybrid Corolla uses a continuously variable transmission (CVT) which keeps the engine around 2.000 rpm on the highway. This reduces engine noise and increase comfort.

The Toyota Corolla has been around since forever, had a substitute name for 12 years in Europe, but Toyota brough back the name Corolla for its 12^th generation. On the exterior Toyota really nailed it with this daring body shape. Interior choice could have been more, but still this car is really fun to drive and meets European emission standards (Only 101 kg/km). Showing that although it has a lot of history, the name Corolla isn’t history and has lot to offer in this competitive compact car section!