More colour, more features to woo younger buyers

Toyota’s Corolla is by a long margin one of the best selling sedans worldwide. The numbers speak for themselves — sold in over 150 countries and over 44 million Corollas on the road already. The car’s reliability and longevity is so consistently good, that many owners would have or will be bored of owning the sedan for years, long before the car itself came to a stop.

But, as flattering as that claim would seem, therein lay a problem too. For many generations, the Corolla was the most unaggressive sedan in Toyota’s portfolio. There were less expensive siblings from the brand, which were more youthful in design and bore a more unique character. However, the latest generation Corolla Altis had addressed that shortcoming to a large extent. Its design was a marked departure from the previous generation Corollas; with a stronger orientation towards a shared family design language, particularly with the Camry. The changes to the new Corolla Altis were necessary to woo younger buyers.

A few weeks ago, Toyota Kirloskar Motor launched a refreshed, reloaded minor model change to the Corolla Altis in a bid to boost its appeal further. Whether it was part of an ongoing refreshment campaign across models in the Indian subsidiary’s portfolio or if it was a result of the competition’s (read Hyundai Elantra) resurgence, we are not complaining, because the Corolla Altis is now a much nicer sedan to own and drive. We took the latest iteration for a short test drive and here are our impressions.

The new Corolla Altis’ basic design remains largely the same. The front of the car has the most eye-catchy features; of which the layered front fender and the bonnet grille with its chrome line merging into the eye-brow of the headlamps on either side are the most appealing. The headlamps themselves feature LED bi-beams and LED daytime running lamps. Similarly, though the tail-lamp design hasn’t been altered, the combination has changed and now includes LEDs. There is now more chrome trim all around the Corolla Altis. As part of the refreshment package, the sedan also gets a new set of alloys with chrome and black finish.

The exterior design of the Corolla Altis also features the addition of what Toyota engineers call the aero fins — small, protruding aerodynamic fins that reduce turbulence and improve air flow for better efficiencies. You can see them in the door mirror housing and on the edge of the tail-lamps.

Step into the new Corolla Altis and the cabin seems brighter and more airy. The trick that has been employed is a simple change in the colour theme with a lighter flaxen now being the dominant hue. The dashboard features soft touch plastics; the door panels too feature a multi-layered, multi-panel construction. The blue back-lit instrument panel and the touchscreen infotainment system in the centre stack add to the appeal of the cabin. The other design features of the cabin remain the same as before, except for some trim changes.

The zig-zag gating for the automatic transmission’s gear stick seems a little dated, but the fit and finish quality for the panel like the rest of the cabin is top-notch. In-cabin blue LED mood lighting looks cool at night. The cabin ambience is good with a fairly well insulated, quiet interior. Engine noise is almost completely eliminated in the cabin. It becomes audible only under hard acceleration. But the same cannot be said about the Yokohama tyres, with a fair bit of the road noise seeping into the cabin at speeds above 50 kmph. Yet, in city traffic speeds, the new Corolla Altis has one of the quietest cabins.

At the front, only the driver’s seat gets electrical adjustments. But both the front seats offer excellent comfort with the squab of the backrest chosen with the right balance between support and cushioning.

The reclining rear seats too have thoughtfully been constructed with squabs offering enhanced lower back support. Rear seat comfort is still an important metric. But, two features that are offered in the Hyundai Elantra take the fight to the Corolla — perforated, cooled front seats and rear aircon vents. The other feature that we missed in the new Corolla Altis was a sunroof.

But there is a feeling of solidity to the Corolla Altis’ build that is hard to miss, especially when you are cruising on the highway.

Our test mule was the petrol 1.8 VL — the top trim with the petrol engine, featuring the super CVT-i automatic gearbox with seven-speed sequential shiftmatic, It is a trustworthy, refined engine paired with an efficiency focused gearbox. The transmission is a bit slow to respond to throttle inputs in the default ECO mode, but shows more spirit when the simple ‘Sport’ button on the centre console is chosen.

The 1,798 cc, four-cylinder petrol engine features Toyota’s dual variable valve timing tech and produces 140 PS of power and 173 Nm of torque. Though the powertrain prefers to stay a sedate, steady performer, the big plus to the feature list offered in the new Corolla Altis is the addition of paddle shifters. So, in any mode, if you find the need for a quick boost in performance, one simply needs to flick the paddle to shift down and power up.

The other engine on offer is the D-4D, four-cylinder, 1.4-litre diesel engine which produces 88 PS of peak power and 205 Nm of peak torque. This engine is offered only with a six-speed manual transmission. In addition to the automatic, the petrol engine is also offered with a six-speed manual gearbox.

The Corolla Altis remains a great choice for D-segment car buyers who would still prefer to stay with the tried and tested. The car’s design is still cautiously aggressive, but the refreshed features and the latest additions do make it a more attractive proposition. Prices range between ₹15.87 lakh to ₹19.91 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

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