Toyota brought its newly redesigned Corolla compact car to Atlanta for a sneak peek recently, touting the all-new styling and roominess among other features on the 2014 model.
Corolla was the nation's 10th-best-selling vehicle in July (and that's the outgoing 2013 model), according to news reports.
It has remained exceptionally popular over the course of more than 40 years on the market.
However, it's never been known as the most exciting or dramatic vehicle.
You want good, basic transportation?
Get a Corolla, the thinking goes.
But Toyota hopes to change that with this model, adding what it calls more of an "emotional" connection with the vehicle and car buyers.
Almost four of 10 Toyotas sold in the U.S. since 1968 have been Corollas, nearly 10 million total. So brand recognition is not a problem.
And reliability hasn't been much of a problem either. About 4.5 million Corollas are still being driven.
The new Corolla is half an inch lower and was lengthened by 3 inches on a wheelbase that's 4 inches longer, Toyota says. At the front, there's a large lower grille and more of an aggressive appearance for the headlights, which are standard energy-efficient LEDs.
The Corolla offers more interior room - the longer wheelbase and extra length of the car went mostly into the back seat, where there now are 3 inches more legroom, Toyota says.
Toyota also said driving dynamics have improved on the Corolla.
We didn't get a chance to take one out for a spin, but hope to do so soon.
But suffice it to say that sporty driving has never been the Corolla's strongsuit, and it's possible that most Corolla buyers haven't cared about that and won't care about it.
As long as it remains good transportation, with a more modern styling, it should continue to sell well.
No comments:
Post a Comment