1996 Toyota Corolla DX 1.6 4 cylinder from North America
Summary:
No surprises, Toyota's number one
Faults:
No real big problems.
Tail lights worked some of the time, and this car had a tendency to burn out headlights quite often.
It also lost, a lot of oil and antifreeze. 1 quart of oil every 800-900 miles, and 1 gallon of antifreeze every 4-5K miles. Honestly, I don't know where it all went, because the mechanic said that the engine wasn't burning anything and that it was running in tip top shape. My garage floor was always clean without a drop of anything, and the engine compartment is spotless. I'm confused. Where are my fluids going? Oil heaven?
Nonetheless, a great car.
General Comments:
It replaced a Toyota Tacoma with 397K miles. I was hoping it'd go a little longer, but of course, you never know when someone's going to run into your rear end and push your spare tire into the backseat.
It's comfy and cozy for a little car. Was.
I liked it a lot. I was impressed with the pickup of this little thing, I assume because it was a stick shift.
Gas mileage was good, but not outstanding. 27 in the city, and around 39 on the highway. I drive 60 MPH on the freeway with any car.
Aside from those weird quirky issues of the headlights and the disappearing oil and antifreeze, it's been a great car. It's no longer in drivable because I got smashed, but it did it's job well. No surprises here, it's a well built car.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 13th May, 2006
15th May 2006, 01:28
Re the oil and antifreeze burning: These are classical symptoms of a head gasket failure (it's probably on its way out). Look for "mayonnaise" signs on your oil cap. On the other hand, I guess your mechanic has already checked this out, so he should have noticed it...