Wife bought 2020 corolla my first impressions

The 2019 Mazda3 has tons of improvements and many automotive journalists say they don't notice a big difference with the rear suspension.

Mazda3 still uses the excellent automatic transmission and 2.5L SkyActiv engine from MazdaMonkey's 2018 Mazda3. Very reliable powertrain.

Maybe she won't like the new Corolla and force him to trade his car for Mazda ?

smile.gif
 
We had a 2018 Corolla with a CVT as a rental when the Leaseon Sentra was rear ended.

It was a really nice car. I actually really liked the way the CVT worked in it. Held a constant RPM when accelerating as it should. No fake shifts. And if you matted the gas, it would quickly drop into a lower ratio and hold the revs stead ... as it should.

And the headlights ... WOW! This car had the LED headlights and are easily the best headlights with which I have ever driven!!
 
Originally Posted by joekingcorvette
I probably would have bought the Corolla used because they just about give them away. As far as comparing the car to a Mazda I don't know what people expect. They in-expensive cars new and you can't really expect too much other than reliability when you are taking off the bottom shelf. A Corolla will never be an Avalon or a Lexus and you can't expect that out of a lower priced car. I had a Corolla and it was trouble free but definitely a no frills car even in the LE package. Not to compare but the Honda Civic would have been my choice for a low-baller.


Not sure what you mean by saying a Corolla is an inexpensive car. OP said himself that his Mazda 3, which costs the same as this Corolla has much better interior quality and the base Mazda 3 is actually cheaper and still has better quality.

Corolla is actually one the pricier side of the economy segment. So there is no excuse if it being inexpensive because it is not.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Sayjac
For follow up reference purposes to my prior post, here's the MT article I read regarding Mazda 3 series change from independent suspension to a torsion beam based one. As noted MT at least, not enamored with the change.

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/hon...ota-corolla-2019-mazda3-comparison-test/


The vast buying public could care less and enjoys the feature content increase somewhere else with no price increase typically.
 
I had one as a rental last year for a weekend trip. For the most part I agree with you, it's an appliance car, nothing special about it but nothing horrible either, I generally liked it. It was pretty quiet and behaved well around town, on the highway and returned 37MPG over the time I had it. I found it to be more quiet and I liked the interior better than a Mazda 3 I had as a rental prior to the Corolla. I'd say the interior of the Mazda 3 was overall nicer, but I found it boring to look at compared to the Corolla. I did like the power delivery of the Mazda 3 better, although it was raspier and louder or not as smooth in a way.

Would I be excited to own the Corolla, probably not . Will it serve you as reliable transportation for many years to come, I'm sure it will!

I do have to say that I have driven Nissan and Subaru CVT equipped vehicles, the Corolla was my favorite by far. I believe it has a traditional first gear then switches to the CVT, a hybrid trans of sorts.

My only real complaint about the Corolla during the 800 miles I had it was the seats. The seats are short, hard and flat. They absolutely murdered my lower back and probably the only real reason I 'd hesitate to own one long term. My girlfriends RAV4 seats are pretty bad too, I think it's just a newer Toyota thing. I had a 06 Sienna and the seats in that were great.

IMO they are nice little cars and I don't think you can go wrong with a Toyota, congrats to her.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by mazdamonky
I am not sure I can possibly understand how this is the best selling car in the world.

Final conclusion on the Corolla:
It's a car. It goes from point a to point b and will probably do so for a long time.


The New Hyundais and Kias are going to completely destroy Toyota's market share if this baloney keeps up.
 
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Why not buy a 2020 Mazda3 with the same 2.5L engine & transmission as the previous generation ?

Crazy deals on closeout 2019 Mazda3...



Sadly there is no Mazda dealer where she lives (not living in the same city at this time due to work) and had access to. She was looking into a hyundai veloster, but the dealer there is about one of the worst to deal with. They have horrible shady business practices and have run her credit several times without her consenting. Sadly, they have her on file due to a prior purchase and started running credit as soon as she called them to ask questions.

Originally Posted by Sayjac
Reading the OP, it reads like your wife made the call if not entirely, close. That being the case, how's your wife feel about it? Happy wife, happy life?


As long as she doesn't crash it, I suppose she should be happy enough. It is going to get quite a bit of mileage, and I refuse to let the 4 year old ride in my vehicles because she is messy and likes to stick her boogers everywhere. When it is paid off, pretty much it will become the beater if it continues to be unimpressive.
 
Originally Posted by KrisZ
Originally Posted by joekingcorvette
I probably would have bought the Corolla used because they just about give them away. As far as comparing the car to a Mazda I don't know what people expect. They in-expensive cars new and you can't really expect too much other than reliability when you are taking off the bottom shelf. A Corolla will never be an Avalon or a Lexus and you can't expect that out of a lower priced car. I had a Corolla and it was trouble free but definitely a no frills car even in the LE package. Not to compare but the Honda Civic would have been my choice for a low-baller.


Not sure what you mean by saying a Corolla is an inexpensive car. OP said himself that his Mazda 3, which costs the same as this Corolla has much better interior quality and the base Mazda 3 is actually cheaper and still has better quality.

Corolla is actually one the pricier side of the economy segment. So there is no excuse if it being inexpensive because it is not.


Correct, Maybe it was the dealer, but she said they would not give her much wiggle room and would not do much even with me on the phone. If she had the ability to make it to a Mazda dealership she could have gotten a Mazda 3 sedan for about the same or cheaper. I told her to check the Honda dealer for a civic, but she says she didn't have time. Sadly she didn't listen to me several weeks ago when we were looking at trading in her Tuscon anyways to go test drive several vehicles and see what she likes so she didn't have to try to visit 5 dealers in one day.
 
Originally Posted by madRiver
The vast buying public could care less and enjoys the feature content increase somewhere else with no price increase typically.


Have to disagree, the ONLY reason I'd consider a Mazda 3 is the driving experience. I could care less how fancy the interior looks or feels, rather how long it lasts.

The vast buying public agrees, Mazda sales are nothing compared to Toyota for this reason and that's BEFORE Mazda ruined the one thing the Mazda 3 really had going for it to differentiate from the rest of the budget class.
 
todays toyotas are like most others overpriced + over rated + living on their past reputation!! they surely lave had issues + a CVT will never be in my ownership!!
 
Originally Posted by skyactiv
Guys, the OP's wife bought the lame LE model. The sad thing is that the Corolla SE has a larger engine, more power and better fuel economy. The 2.0L Corollas also have a better CVT, a CVT with one actual gear to make it perform and feel better. The SE also has a sport tuned suspension which probably still rides decent.

The Corolla LE with 132 HP and 128 LBS torque is rated 30 city, 38 highway. The SE model has 169 HP and 151 LBS of torque and is rated 31 city, 40 highway.

I had a Sentra SE and opted for the 2.0 instead of the 1.8. It was a great choice. The 1.8 was plagued with HG issues and was a dog. The SR20DE was one of the best engines Nissan ever produced..second (possibly) to the VQ 3.5.
 
Originally Posted by Al
Originally Posted by skyactiv
Guys, the OP's wife bought the lame LE model. The sad thing is that the Corolla SE has a larger engine, more power and better fuel economy. The 2.0L Corollas also have a better CVT, a CVT with one actual gear to make it perform and feel better. The SE also has a sport tuned suspension which probably still rides decent.

The Corolla LE with 132 HP and 128 LBS torque is rated 30 city, 38 highway. The SE model has 169 HP and 151 LBS of torque and is rated 31 city, 40 highway.

I had a Sentra SE and opted for the 2.0 instead of the 1.8. It was a great choice. The 1.8 was plagued with HG issues and was a dog. The SR20DE was one of the best engines Nissan ever produced..second (possibly) to the VQ 3.5.


Nissan engines in my experience have been indestructible. I've had three. Inline 6,turbo V6,and an n/a V6. Best cars I've ever owned.
 
Originally Posted by JimPghPA
The 2017 Ford Fiesta may do well in a flat state like Texas, but I wonder how they do in an area with lots of hills like south west Pennsylvania?


Not sure if you are concerned about the trans specifically. or the vehicles overall performance. I can tell you this, we have a lot of waterways in SE TX and some really tall bridges. My Fiesta absolutely zips over them effortlessly.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/RainbowBridge_%28Texas%29.jpg
 
His wife won't be carving any corners or driving fast.

Basic Corolla is just fine for her to drive around and transport the kids.
 
Sadly she didn't listen to me ..... Boy do I know that reality. I could elaborate further about the brain trust I'm married to but that would just crash the server here at bitog.

BTW thanks for the review.
 
Originally Posted by Dave9
Originally Posted by madRiver
The vast buying public could care less and enjoys the feature content increase somewhere else with no price increase typically.


Have to disagree, the ONLY reason I'd consider a Mazda 3 is the driving experience. I could care less how fancy the interior looks or feels, rather how long it lasts.

The vast buying public agrees, Mazda sales are nothing compared to Toyota for this reason and that's BEFORE Mazda ruined the one thing the Mazda 3 really had going for it to differentiate from the rest of the budget class.


I have not driven the newer 2019+ Mazda 3 so I cannot comment on it, but comparing the vehicle to my 2018, the price difference was less than 10% and There is absolutely no way the corolla feels better than the 2018 3, except that it has radar guided cruise control and no blind spot monitoring and my 3 has blind spot with no radar cruise. I have averaged 36.2 mpg lifetime on the vehicle when it was rated 27 and 35 combined at 31. It is faster, peppier, handles better, has a similarly smooth ride, while also having better interior feel and materials with roughly the same reliability. (have had 4 different Mazdas in the family with over 250k miles before being sold or totalled)

Based on my experience, I would assume the vast majority of drivers just buy a car because of a name because I would like to imagine a 2 year newer vehicle shouldn't be inferior pretty much across the board at around the same price. Both cars were bought new.
 
The Corolla sells well because it is good on gas, reliable, durable, and is useful/ has good utility for passengers and trunk space. It is basic transportation, and it's good at what it does.
 
Back
Top