Faults:

Brakes needed a quick service at the 10,000km mark, but that was covered by the warranty. Nothing major, just didn't like the sound coming out of them.

General Comments:

The XRS is a nice upgraded Corolla. As long as you don't try to compare it to the Civic Si, or Golf GTI, you will love it for what it is. A good car to compare it to is the Mazda 3 GT.

The car has lots of torque, and is a blast to drive.

The bucket seats are really comfortable.

Moonroof is of great quality.

The suspension wasn't to my liking, so I did a dealer upgrade, and had them install the TRD springs, to bring the car's center of gravity down a bit.

Instrument panel is simple, and nice easy to use buttons and knobs.

Minimal blind spots, all around high visibility.

Just remember, this car is NOT a performance car, it is a peppy Corolla that is fun to drive. If you are in the market for performance, then look elsewhere.

HOWEVER, the XRS is the best tuner car out of all Corollas, since it uses the same parts as the Scion tC & 2008+ xB. So plenty of engine upgrades, as far as forced induction and bolt on parts are concerned.

Faults:

I have not owned the vehicle long enough to have anything go wrong with it.

I have changed the oil once to a synthetic. The oil filter is inconvenient to access, and the small clip that holds the plastic oil filter cap from unscrewing broke, but was only $1.23 to replace. In my opinion, this is a poor design change, but I understand the reasoning behind Toyota changing it is to lessen environmental impact of filter changes, as there is no steel filter can, but rather a paper cartridge to dispose of.

I had to repair a slow leak in a tire, which the tire pressure monitor system alerted me to.

General Comments:

The car handles well in cornering, and acceleration and braking are sufficient for the class of vehicle.

Gasoline mileage is better than the ECHO (previous vehicle) on combination highway/city trips, with better acceleration and a bigger engine, less noise, better control, and more comfort on the highway.

Automatic headlights, heated side mirrors, and tire pressure monitoring are nice additions.

Accelerator seems "touchy", as in it is hard to find a single speed and hold it. The car tends to want to either speed up or slow down. I don't know if this is due to the recent recall (which I haven't had repaired yet), or just the nature of Throttle-by-wire technology.

The cruise control works fine, but with a slight bit of delay, causing the car to have to downshift on hills, where I wouldn't have if I were not using cruise control.

Faults:

At 13,000 miles nothing has gone wrong with the car.

I've changed oil 3 times myself, new oil filter is a little harder to replace than it was in the older Toyotas I've owned (1992 Corolla, 1994/95 Geo Prizm and 2003 Matrix), but it still takes me no more than 20 minutes to change oil (and clean up afterwards).

Rear driver side door take a little more effort to close shut than other doors, and one of the knobs in the dash is a little loose (it's not falling off, just not as tight as the other one).

Some interior pieces scratch easily, and I've taken my car back to a dealer due to a recall related to freezing of the brake lines.

General Comments:

I've paid $17,750 for my car back in May 2008, it also came with 0% financing.

I've ordered my car from the factory because I wanted XLE model with Stability and Traction Control ($250 option that became standard in 2010).

I knew about electric power steering that required constant corrections, but since I drive my car to work mostly in rush hour traffic, I barely even notice it.

Interior feels roomy (for a compact car) and instrument cluster is clear and attractive.

I strongly recommend XLE model because it comes with upgraded dash and seat fabric, bigger wheels, 2 extra speakers and adjustable arm rest, however amber glow of CE/LE instrument cluster is also pleasant.

My 2009 Corolla has been getting between 31 and 33 mpg on average; just for the record, a Toyota Camry Hybrid that is barely 7 inches longer and cost about $7,000 more, gets similar mileage per gallon.

I love stability control, traction control and ABS. We've had tons of snow this winter, but I've had no problems with getting around whatsoever. I'm really happy that I opted for safety equipment when I ordered the car.

Transmission may be an old school (most of other Japanese makers turned to 5 speed autos or CVTs), but it's accurate and never searches for the right gear.

Stereo is pretty basic, but there's an input for my iPod.

Heater is somewhat weak, AC is great. I also like dual glove boxes, side pockets for cell phone and grocery bag hooks on the passenger side.

The trunk is pretty big for a compact car, and it's easy to load and unload.

Car is very quiet on interstate, due to light steering it may require more corrections, but it's a city car (in my opinion), so if I needed to drive somewhere, I'd rather rent Hertz' $20 weekend special and not put 2,000 miles on my car that I plan to keep for a long time.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my Corolla, and feel I've made a good choice when I picked it over Mazda3 and Toyota Camry.