1988 Toyota Corolla XL liftback review from Greece

Nothing went wrong in 8 yrs of ownership (and 125000 kms). I mean nothing. It had the original exhaust pipe and clutch when I sold it. Just routine servicing (spark plugs, tyres and brake pads once, oil changes). Oh and I had changed the shock-absorbers mainly to obtain more feedback from that tail... All in all the most reliable car we have ever had in the family- and we did have some German "fine pieces of machinery" (Mercedes, BMW) at the time...

Oh that "twitchy tail", as CAR magazine put it at the time... The steering was not that precise (and I'm being polite there), it leaned a bit around corners, but that tail... Around B-roads I could almost forget to use the steering wheel, throttle (over) steer was laughably easy to provoke (and control once you expected it). Well I know, this doesn't make up for what we'd call "refined or composed handling" but it was fun and I was 18 at the time... The engine badly lacked low down torque, but it revved freely from 4000 rpm to the red line, where it could stay all day.

Then I had to move abroad so I sold it- I bought a Fiat Tipo (see review_3053) which I never came to like (let alone love) as much as my Corolla.