All-new 2014 Toyota Corolla revealed.
Both versions features aggressive styling and sporty detailing and
borrow cues from the Corolla Furia concept car showcased at the Detroit
motor show in January, with the intention of attracting a younger
audience.
The US market car first. Some of the radical detailing from the Furia
has been toned down, but a lot of the core design influences have been
retained. The prominent shoulder line, the kink in the window line and
heavily creased bumpers remain, and this gives the new car a sharper
look. The wraparound tail-lamps are sharper and stretch onto the heavily
sculpted boot. Also carried over is the Furia’s very modern, tightly
stretched skin. The carmaker's focus seems to have been on chiselling
the previous car’s blunt looks, something we’ve already seen on cars
like the new Camry.
The styling on the front of the car is the most radical. The kinked
headlamps sit on either side of a narrow grille, while a much larger
grille with black accents sits below it. The European version gets a
splash of chrome on the front end with chrome-trimmed girlle as opposed
to the simpler-yet-sportier looking one seen in the North American car.
The very angular headlamps feature LED elements and below them sit
sharp, vertical housings for the fog lamps. However, the car that debuts
in India may have styling that is slightly altered, and is likely to
include a lot more chrome detailing. The detail that is of most
significance, however, is that the wheelbase has been stretched to
2700mm, which is almost 100mm longer than the current car and,
incidentally, identical to that of the Honda Civic. Toyota says this has
resulted in 75mm of added length in the rear seat.
The European car has the exact same basic shape as the US model and the
side body panels are almost identical; the real changes are to the nose
and tail, and give the car a less sporty and more sophisticated look.
At the front, there's a large, three-bar chrome grille up top and a less
prominent, more subdued lower grille in the bumper. The fog lamp
recesses aren't as dramatic either, but they have been lined with
chrome. Sprouting from the grille in an almost Honda City-like fashion
are the super sharp headlamps that cut upwards into the front flanks. At
the rear the tail-lamps are not as sharp and more like the Camry's,
with a band of chrome running between them.
The engines that power the new Corolla are expected to be similar to
the ones that power the car currently on sale in India. Both the 1.8
petrol and the 1.4 diesel will be updated to improve performance and
power delivery. The 1.8 petrol gets dual VVTi, as earlier, where the
valve timing on both the intake and exhaust are infinitely variable,
helping the car deliver more power and performance. Both the engine and
gearing are likely to be optimised to make the new Corolla more
efficient and there will be a seven-step CVT-based automatic gearbox,
similar to the one on the current car. The 1.4 diesel will carry on with
the variable geometry turbo seen on the current Altis, and while power
isn’t expected to cross 90bhp, Toyota is working hard to improve
driveability.
Levels of efficiency will be improved on both petrol and diesel with
the addition of an all-new electric power steering system which
typically improves efficiency by 3-5 percent; not a big saving if you
think of it in terms of a tank of fuel, but a huge saving over the
lifespan of the car.
The interiors are all-new, though. They have been given the new Toyota
family look with multiple colours, textures and surfaces. In the
US-model car, the instrument cluster is dominated by three smart,
chrome-ringed dials in a hooded binnacle, and the new centre console has
a large touchscreen display, an engine starter button, and a new layout
for the climate control – all aimed at delivering a more upmarket feel.
The Euro market car has a few minor differences, and these seem to
borrow heavily from Toyota's luxury brand, Lexus. There's blue LED
backlighting in the dashboard, the climate control buttons and vents use
a different layout, the gear lever and shift gate are slightly
different, and the instrument binnacle is made up of two upmarket
looking dials on either side of a larger multi-information display.
Like the exteriors, the insides will get sporty touches as well – while
the version of the car expected in India is likely to have lighter
beige interiors, Toyota may also provide the option of a sportier
two-tone package.
You will have to wait a bit to get your hands on the stunning new
Corolla – Toyota is expected to launch it in India in early 2014, with a
further update to engines expected in late 2015.
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