New Toyota Corolla Saloon 2019 Review
The new Toyota Corolla Saloon is a left-field offering from the Japanese brand, given how few cars of its kind are sold in the UK. But there鈥檚 method in the apparent madness. It turns out that at the point when Toyota killed off its Avensis in 2018, it was still shifting around 4,000 examples to British buyers every year. Now the company hopes that the Corolla saloon can at least partially fill the void. It looks promising enough. The saloon sits on the longer of the two Corolla wheelbases, so it should offer the same slightly larger rear cabin as the Touring Sports estate. It鈥檚 the same price as the hatchback, to the penny, and in the UK at least, it鈥檚 available only as a hybrid - a powertrain never offered on the Avensis. It does miss out, however, on the 鈥榖uilt in Britain鈥?tag that will be no doubt plastered over the hatch and wagon in Toyota鈥檚 UK dealerships.
That鈥檚 because the saloon, a car created predominantly for buyers in Russia and eastern Europe, is made not at Burnaston, but in Turkey. It鈥檚 a neatly styled thing in any case, with different bumpers, headlights and tail-lights, and oddly, an extra shade in the colour palette (metallic grey, if you鈥檙e asking). It鈥檚 offered in the lower three of the Corolla range鈥檚 four trim levels - Icon, Icon Tech and Design - and the priciest version has a semi-purposeful stance on its larger 18-inch wheels. There鈥檚 decent space up front for two adults, but while the wheelbase delivers decent knee and legroom for those in the rear seats, the swoopy roofline doesn鈥檛 do much for headroom. It鈥檚 here, perhaps, where the Corolla鈥檚 smaller origins are most cruelly exposed against larger family saloons like the Volkswagen Passat and Ford Mondeo. The boot capacity is comfortably larger than the Corolla hatchback鈥檚, however, at 471 litres.
But, of course, the loading aperture is more compromised for larger items and there鈥檚 no scope to lower the rear seats to open up the load bay. It鈥檚 a decent space, though - enough for a couple of proper suitcases along with a pair of laptop bags. The saloon, incidentally, is not being offered with the more powerful 2.0 hybrid that you can get in the hatchback and estate. But the latest version of Toyota鈥檚 1.8-litre hybrid has 120bhp, and is enough to take the saloon from 0-62mph in 11 seconds; acceptable, but no more than that. Yet Toyota reckons that with a light approach to the throttle, the car could manage as much as half of its urban mileage without using any petrol at all - a factor that may have real appeal for minicab drivers. It is fair to say that the saloon rarely feels brisk, and hard acceleration requires patience, because a heavy right foot will kick the hybrid powertrain into emergency mode and send the revs (and noise) soaring.
However, once you鈥檙e up to speed, the engine settles down pretty nicely; glance down at the rev counter at 70mph and you may be surprised, in fact, at how often the engine cuts out altogether. On the flat, and at a steady motorway cruise, it seems happy enough at barely 1,000rpm - and at that, the engine is smooth enough to be barely noticeable at all. There鈥檚 a little wind noise from around the side mirrors, but the most noticeable factor at speed is probably the transference of tyre roar up through the chassis. It鈥檚 far from unbearable, though, making the Corolla saloon a relaxed cruiser. The experience is less accomplished on twistier roads, but this is down to the hybrid powertrain more than deficiencies in the chassis. The Corolla stays pretty composed in corners, in fact, despite the extra metal beyond the rear axle. You鈥檒l reach the limits of what the CVT gearbox is happy to do long before you tire of the car鈥檚 willingness to turn in and resist body roll. While it is composed, driver engagement is not this car鈥檚 strong point. The cabin is pretty much identical to those of the hatchback and estate. That means a decent grade of finish on the facia, with soft-touch materials almost everywhere you鈥檙e likely to prod on a regular basis. Build quality feels more than up to three years of ownership abuse, too.
That two-point-oh is a dog, they say. And until this shiny Guards Red 718 Cayman rolled up to our office, I鈥檇 only driven the 2.5-liter in both S and GTS configurations, and I had nothing to say in contradiction. A stint in this base Cayman, then, was an attempt to both go straight to the source and satiate my curiosity. Let鈥檚 get right to it. In terms of outright performance, balance, feedback, and fun factor, the 718 Cayman is one hell of a car. And I must note that while this is indeed a base Cayman with the 2.0-liter engine, Porsche gussied up this loaner with a few performance-enhancing options. First, as much as I鈥檇 have liked to sample the purist-spec six-speed manual, this was equipped with the excellent seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission, so off-the-line launches and quick downshifts were more impressive than those possible with a three-pedal car. It was also fitted with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), along with the ever-popular Sport Chrono package. The latter adds Sport and Sport Plus modes to a steering-wheel-mounted selector, along with launch control and active driveline mounts.