Faults:

Just bought the car, so nothing!

General Comments:

About to become a full-time college student, I purchased my old car (a '97 Saturn SL2) with only 80,000 miles on it, hoping it would last me through the rest of high school, and all the way through college. It rather quickly gave me a series of problems, and proved itself to be hopelessly unreliable.

So, I purchased my new (to me) 2006 Toyota Corolla, and stopped wasting my time with older (and domestic) vehicles. This is my second Toyota Corolla. The first one is still being driven today by my younger brother. It's a 1996 with over 200,000 miles on it. Still runs like new!

My new 2006 Corolla is a big improvement over my old '96, and compared to my old Saturn, it's a Mercedes.

Let's start off with the power train. Toyota actually hasn't changed very much between the old 1.8L (like the one in my old '96 Corolla) and the 1.8L in my new Corolla. The block is now made from aluminum, and a timing chain with VVT-i is now used. The difference in power is quite obvious. The 1.8L in the old Corolla is rated at 105 HP. This new Corolla has 130 HP. Obviously, the car isn't fast, but the power produced by the small 4-cylinder is more than adequate, and easily gets this light car up to speed on the highway. It will happily hum along at 65-70 with no problem (I honestly almost never drive any faster than this, and usually don't go over 60). I was very surprised by how smooth running this little engine is. It's quiet at all speeds, and doesn't vibrate much like most 4-cylinders do when the car is in Drive, but stopped.

The ride is very good for a typical economy car. It easily soaks up the bumps in the poorly paved roads of my small hometown. Suspension noise is very low as well. As for handling, it's typical Toyota. It will go around most corners with little complaint, but lacks good road feel and the steering is just a little vague. I have to say that the steering is actually much more direct than I expected. The steering in the '96 has a very vague feeling to it, and my mothers car (an '09 Camry) is even worse.

The 4-speed automatic transmission got reviews as being "dated" in a car this new. For me, it feels fine. It's the same transmission as in my old '96, so it's no different to me. I actually have noticed one slight difference though. It tends to hunt for gears on hills a little more often than my old Corolla. All of today's automatics do this, they are constantly trying to keep engine RPMs low to improve fuel economy.

Interior quality is superb. No rattles or squeaks, and the fit and finish is spot on. My only real complaint for the interior is the driving position. I'm 6'1", and I fit quite easily without having to have the seat all the way back, however, the seat at first felt like it was up too high, even though it was adjusted all the way down, so my legs are more upright than I am used to (in the old Corolla, and the Saturn, my legs were basically just straight out in front of me, so I got used to this position). This isn't uncomfortable for me, just a bit strange, but I am slowly adapting to it.

My other complaint (if you can call it that) is that it doesn't have power locks. This is actually the first car I've ever had that doesn't have power locks, so it's taken some getting used to, having reach over and push the lock open to let someone in or open a back door.

The exterior styling is a bit bland, but I wasn't looking to stand out, I need pure function and reliability. The paint is a dark grey metallic. It looks quite nice actually. I can still see my reflection in it (something I couldn't do with the old Corolla, due to it being painted with only flat black primer).

The trunk is quite large for a car this size, however, the trunk lid and rear end in general are rather tall, making rearward visibility not real great. Overall visibility is very good, surprisingly as most cars today have horrible blind spots due to curtain airbags and such.

Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase. I paid very little for this car at a trusted dealer that my family has purchased several cars from before.

My favorite part about this car? It came with a free LIFETIME warranty. Can't beat that. Only problem I can foresee, is that if this car proves to be as reliable as my old '96 Corolla, I'll never get the chance to use that warranty!

Before I'm criticized for writing a review so early in my ownership, if you look at my reviews for my other cars, you will see that I regularly update my reviews with new information on my vehicles, problems that have come up, and some of the pros and cons of the vehicle that I have discovered in different situations. With that in mind, I will update soon!

Faults:

Ask me what things have not gone wrong with the car?

General Comments:

You are a poor student, and everybody advises you to buy a reliable car that is low cost. You will have enough time for more fancy ones.

You borrow money, and work hard to be able to pay for the Corolla you bought.

Everything starts from the 2nd week, and after 2 years you have paid $2200 on repair/parts.

Your stupid friends have bought crappy (!) GM, Ford and VW old cars from junk yards. The difference is that you ask them all the time to drop you at the shop to see what's happening with your car or pick you on their way to the party, as your well build Toyota does not run.

I still should feel smart that I picked a Japanese 3 y.o. car over those crappy ones my friend drive. No?!