Faults:

Nothing serious, spark plugs, ignition coils,

General Comments:

Very tidy car, electric windows, electric mirrors, aircon, 6 disc CD changer, 6 speed gear box.

Nippy around town, but wouldn't trust it on long distance journeys.

40mpg around town, sometimes it stutters and doesn't pull properly, ignition coils make it difficult to isolate the problem, but when it runs, it runs nice and smooth, and is comfortable for a car of this size.

Faults:

Thermostat gasket worn - replaced in 2 minutes by myself. €3 for gasket.

Passenger side brake caliper seized. Quickly fixed by a friend of mine for free.

Shock absorbers starting to go. Happens frequently in Corollas.

General Comments:

Car is very quick, and has great handling.

115Bhp is more than enough for this.

It starts every time, even in subzero conditions.

Very easy to service as all filters, sump, pads etc. are easily accessed with standard tools.

Only problems I have really is that the rear shocks are rubbish. If there are four people in the car, the wheels rub BADLY. They need to be replaced.

Also, condensation in the car is very annoying. The heater doesn't really get rid of it either.

Faults:

The only thing that has gone wrong was the alarm that went off at 4 am for no apparent reason, and continued to sound until I disconnected the battery.

Up until then I did not think the car had one!

A mechanic said it was a common fault, due to moisture in the connections and now the siren has been disconnected. One day I may buy another siren, but at £30+ it can wait.

General Comments:

The image and performance of this car are the only problems.

My wife, and friends tell me it's an old man's car, which is not helped by its purple, grey, silver affair paintwork, and 'interesting' cloth fabric on the seats. But I suppose it must appeal to some people.

The performance is OK. The lack of a turbo on this model makes for how progress, and the chances of getting caught on a speed camera are near impossible, unless you get a very long run up!

The leg room in the back is a bit small. This seems to have been given to the boot space which seems enormous.

However the car is a work tool, not a fashion statement, and does the job brilliantly. Toyota reliabilty. Air conditioning and sunroof. Adjustable seat and steering wheel. All this and much cheaper than a Volkswagen Golf bought second hand.

Golf may have the edge in the style, but the Corolla beats it hands down in the value for money game!

Faults:

The car had just been serviced at the time of purchase, by the Toyota main dealer that we bought it from. Two hundred miles later whilst parked we noticed oil all over the road when it was parked. The oil filter had not been put on correctly! The local (different) Toyota dealer checked it over (and did another oil change) and everything has been OK since.

The only other fault was the 'airbag' warning light being constantly on. A Toyota dealer (different again!) checked it out and said there was no fault and made the warning light function correctly - free of charge.

The alloy wheels corroded very badly and leaked air. This was remedied by a new set of TSW alloys (which are much nicer than the Toyota ones anyway).

General Comments:

This is a truly wonderful car. It corners like it's on rails, performance is good for a 1.3 litre engine. Fuel economy, road tax and insurance are all very reasonable. The spec is excellent, two airbags, air conditioning, ABS brakes and more. The use of space inside is very good for a small car, with a decent sized boot.

It might have been a different story if the oil filter leak had caused major problems, but it's a bit unfair to slate Toyota for this.

The six speed gearbox is a delight to use, but if you have two cars you've got to be a little careful because gear 6 is where reverse is on most cars!

Faults:

The rubber surrounds from around the headlights had come loose. Quickly sorted out with some double sided tape though.

I have had a strange clattering noise from the engine for a while, I had belts changed and a Toyota dealer looked at it, but nothing was resolved, it goes as the engine warms up and doesn't appear to affect the performance.

General Comments:

This car has an excellent specification for a small family sized car, plenty toys to keep you happy in the majority of traffic jams.

I can't fault the handling or performance either, for a 1.3 engine it can certainly move when you need it to, it's made my journey to work seem much more enjoyable.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

I've done 6,000 miles in 3 months in my new Corolla and it's fantastic. The build quality is excellent and it's really quiet at speed. So much better than my old Renault Clio. I just love it.