2001 Toyota Corolla CE review from North America

It needed a new battery when we bought it.

Chrome trim piece on the front grille didn't fit right, so we replaced that.

Bad rear passenger side rim caused the car to shake/vibrate excessively above 60 mph.

This is my first car, and I'm not complaning to loudly. Sure, I'd like something sportier such as an Eclipse or a Camaro, but I prefer my Corolla over those cars sportiness because this car doesn't break my bank account. It's very inexpensive to insure, about 700 dollars a year. And it averages 31 miles to a gallon. And it's Toyota with it's legendary reliability.

I think I got a really good deal on this car... a Toyota with 30k miles on it for 5,000 dollars!

I'm 5"7, and this car fits me comfortably. There's enough room in the back seat to fit 2 people with lots of space. 3 people gets a little tight.

I'm pretty impressed with the way this car sips gas regardless of how I drive it. I can get around 34 mpg if I drive like a grandma, and it drops to about 28 when I drive like most teenage guy drivers drive.

I'm also impressed with the power this car has. Passing power is impressive for a small 4 cylinder sedan. Off-the-line power is another story. I've timed it before; 0-60 in 11.2 seconds.

Handling from this car is strictly average. It bounces up and down on undulating roads, and it rolls quite a bit in turns. The skinny tires tend to slip around more than I'd like, especially on muddy roads. But hey, it's a Corolla, not a Porsche.

The stereo system is also impressive. I listen to my iPod through a cassette transmitter. At moderate volume levels, the sound it puts out resembles what my parents Mazda Tribute (with the premium 7 speaker 6 CD changer) but the Corolla's starts to get distorted much sooner than the Mazda, which isn't suprising.

Overall, I think this is a car that I'm going to keep for at least 10 years. Corollas have been known to run to 300,000 miles. I plan on keeping it until it falls apart.