First Drive: Toyota Corolla

The 11th generation Toyota Corolla has arrived on Irish shores, with prices starting from €20,995

Forty million Toyota Corollas have been manufactured since the popular model first rolled off the production line in 1966 and 200,000 of those have been sold in Ireland.

In fact, a Toyota Corolla sales transaction is made somewhere in the world every two minutes.

So with such a track record, the arrival of the 11th generation model was much anticipated – and we were pretty impressed with what it had to offer during our brief test drive at the Irish launch.

Although our time in the Corolla was short, we felt very at one with the car. The whole experience was really comfortable, like something we’d been driving forever (and that’s a good thing in our book).

On the outside, this spacious saloon is a looker, with strong defining lines.

Toyota doesn’t generally go in for fancy interiors and the cabin in the Corolla is minimalist and functional with a touch of elegance.

Both the cabin and the boot in the new model are larger than those of the outgoing one and rear legroom is best in class. The boot is also massive.

We also liked the streamlined touch screen infotainment unit with reversing camera which is standard on the top of the range Luna model we were driving.

The new Toyota Corolla is available in Ireland in a 1.4-litre D-4D turbodiesel engine and a 1.33-litre Dual VVT-i petrol engine.

The interior finishing in the Toyota Corolla adds a touch of class to the new model

The fuel efficient Stop and Start technology, which automatically cuts the engine if it’s idling in traffic, is standard on the diesel, resulting in best in class emissions (from 99g/km).

Performance-wise, Toyota says the 1.4-litre 90bhp diesel has a top speed of 180kph and can accelerate from 0-100km in 12.5 seconds.

The 1.33-litre 99bhp petrol model, meanwhile, has a 0-100km acceleration time of 12.6 seconds.

We found that the six-speed manual 1.4-litre test car performed very well during our short spin. It was strong and powerful with good handling on country roads.

We’re very much looking forward to putting it through its paces on a longer test.

Three trim levels of the new Toyota Corolla are available in Ireland – Terra, Aura and Luna.

Hill start assist, electric windows, heated mirrors, six speaker audio with USB, a tyre pressure warning system, LED daytime running lights and follow me home lights are standard on the entry level Terra trim.

Toyota Ireland managing director, David Shannon said he is ‘excited about the potential’ the new Corolla holds for Toyota Ireland.

He added: ‘Irish motorists have had a loyal love affair with Corolla since it was introduced 40 years ago, and to this day it remains a household name.

‘We expect the new model with its highly desirable design, driving experience and interior comfort to convert a new generation of Irish motorists to the Corolla marque.’

Prices for the new Toyota Corolla start from €20,995 for the petrol Terra model, with diesel prices starting from €21,995.

Visit the Toyota Ireland website or its Facebook page for further details.