All-new 2014 Toyota Corolla revealed.

Toyota has released the first photos of the all-new 2014 Corolla. Much like with last year's Camry, the new Corolla will have two different looks to cater to different markets, and both versions have been shown. The blue car in the pictures is designed for the US market, while the white one is aimed at Europe, and the differences appear to be only cosmetic.

 

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.