The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car in the world, with over 50 million units sold since its debut in 1966. For several years now, Toyota has sold around 300,000 Corollas every year in the US and over a million globally.
The Corolla is probably one of the most common cars you’ll see on the road. The nameplate has gone through 12 generations, each offering different features, style, and performance. However, which Corolla models stand out as the best? Here are our picks for the top 6 Toyota Corollas in history.
When it launched in 1967, the Corolla was only available as a two-door saloon. Toyota integrated new sports car technology in the Corolla’s 1.1-liter K engine. The groundbreaking sedan also had a fully synchronized manual transmission and floor-mounted gear lever, the first in a Japanese vehicle.
Aesthetically, the Corolla was still a small subcompact sedan that looked like it could dart around roads with its lightweight chassis. What made it really stand out, however, was its ability to sip fuel. Compared to most domestic vehicles at the time, the Corolla was so much more fuel efficient.
The fifth-generation Corolla, known as the E80, was introduced in 1983. The E80 had the iconic boxy styling that was popular during the 1980s.
The 5th generation Corolla marked a special time for the nameplate as it shifted from being a sporty rear-wheel drive car to a more economical front-wheel drive layout. The 5th-gen Corolla was also bigger, moving up to the compact class.
Since the 5th-gen Corolla was front-wheel drive, it didn’t need to have a driveshaft that ran under the cabin, allowing for more cabin space. Its engine was also transversely mounted, also resulting in more space in the cabin.
If you’re going to put a modern subcompact car beside the E80, you’re going to notice how much bigger modern cars have become. If you’re lucky, you might even see some 5th-gen Corollas on the road today. You might see it and think that the 5th generation Corolla is what bare minimum transportation looks like. But its compact chassis and small engine are exactly what made the Corolla so popular. The base model only cost $6,498 in 1984 and it can travel up to 41 miles per gallon on the highway, which is a mythical fuel economy number by today’s standards.
The 9th generation Corolla was sold in the US from 2003 to 2008. This model moved away from the boxy design trends of the 80s and 90s and into the curvy and bulbous design language of the early 2000s. The new chassis accommodated more passenger space. This generation was also ahead of its rivals in terms of fuel economy, as its EPA mpg figures were ahead of the Honda Civic, Mazda 3, and Nissan Sentra.
While some model years were known to have engine and transmission issues, the 9th-generation Corolla was still very reliable. Most owners found this generation needed very few repairs, even after thousands of miles. Some vehicle critics praise it to be the best mass-market Corolla ever made because it was an extremely good car in terms of value. Owners were happy about its performance, trunk room, styling, and most importantly reliability.
Overall, the 9th generation didn’t have many innovations, but it didn’t need to do that to perfect the idea of a boring, vanilla sedan. Hence, it consistently sold over 340,000 units yearly from 2005 to 2008.
Before we delve into modern Corollas, we have to talk about the most iconic Corolla in popular culture, the Toyota AE86. This particular model was made popular by “Initial D,” the Japanese manga and anime that turned countless kids into gearheads. So what makes the AE86 special? Is it just another boring Corolla?
At first glance, yes. On the outside, it’s far from an exotic sports car. However, the AE86 does have some special components that make it better than your typical vanilla Corolla. It has MacPherson struts up front, and a multi-link rear suspension with a limited-slip differential on the rear. These components make the car handle corners better and accelerate out of corners faster.
Most importantly, the AE86 was rear-wheel drive and had a 1.6-liter twin-cam, 16-valve engine that could rev up to 8,000 rpm. The car only made 120 horsepower, but given that it only weighed a smidge over 2,000 lbs, it was shifty and nimble. Without these special treatments, the car couldn’t do the sick drifts across the Akina Pass in “Initial D.”
When affordable vehicles like the Corolla start to get a ton of luxury car features, they stop becoming typical “boring” cars. The 12th-generation Corolla is jam-packed with an array of state-of-the-art features that elevate the driving experience and the quality of life for passengers. These features include a large multi-information display that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a push-start button, cruise control, automatic climate control, and a reverse camera, among many others.
In terms of aesthetics, the 12th generation has a modern, sophisticated, and sporty look reminiscent of high-end European brands. The most eye-catching features are the lower and wider front grille and sharp-looking LED headlights.
Compact sedans like the Corolla have usually been easy to drive, but Toyota aimed to improve its sportiness with a new suspension system that reduces body roll and improves cornering. As automotive technology becomes better, the Corolla is now able to get features that were only previously standard in luxury cars.
The most Toyota has ever done to try to make the Corolla exciting was make an XRS variant, which came with an upgraded body kit and a better engine. Unfortunately, compared to what other automakers did with their souped up compacts, the XRS looked like child’s play.
Enter the GR Corolla. This Corolla has a 3-cylinder turbocharged engine derived from the GR Yaris, a short-shift manual transmission, a rally-inspired look, and four-wheel drive. Its 3-cylinder engine makes an astonishing 300 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque. The GR Corolla harmoniously balances performance and practicality. It can be a fun weekend car that you can drive fast on the track while still allowing you to go out for groceries.
For most of its existence, the Corolla has been mostly unremarkable and understated. It’s a nameplate that you can call boring. However, the Corolla embodied these characteristics because it didn’t try to become fast, exotic, or luxurious. Instead, it just focused on being the best “vanilla” car possible, excelling in basic aspects like being affordable, practical, comfortable, and most importantly, reliable.
As the modern Toyota Corolla continues to innovate and lose all trace of its humble and barebones routes, it’s going to continue to cement its status as the best-selling vehicle of all time.
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