1996 Toyota Corolla DX review from North America

Other than the average maintenance items, nothing has gone wrong.

The paint seems to scratch very easily however. It had 34 very visible scratches on the car when I bought it, and have I have so far been able to collect another 3 really big scratches.

This Corolla I am impressed with in general.

I have driven many other Corollas before (friends, family, etc.), and can't say I've been particularly impressed with them. Even the new 04' models didn't appeal to me very much.

However, when I saw this car in the dealers lot for $4900, I had to take a look, because everything that was a Corolla of this age that I had seen was over $6200.

When I drove it, the first thing I noted was how fast it was for a little compact. It really takes off for only 105 hp I believe because of the standard transmission. Since this was the only standard Corolla I had seen, I can't compare it to the newer models in terms of power.

After I bought it, several things failed, but they were all maintenance items.

The timing belt snapped, the headlights (both) burned out, the gas pedal fell off, all things that could have been prevented by maintenance.

This car is very comfortable compared to my Tacoma, and very quiet as well. I've heard other people complain that it's noisy on the freeway, but to me, it's not so bad. As long as I can hear the stereo.

The best feature is the gas mileage. I'm used to 7 mpg from my 454 Cheyenne. My Tacoma gave me great joy when I averaged 26 mpg, and this car gets about 41, so I'm now saving a lot of money at the pumps, considering I drive 70 miles a day.

The only thing that I am stumped about is why I get better gas mileage in town than on the freeway. (33 on the freeway, and 42 in the city) NO JOKE. I'm just a college student who knows nothing about cars so if someone could help me with this question, I'd be happy.

In all, I love this car because it doesn't attract too much attention on the road and yet, is fun to drive.

One last comment, "You never notice how many Corollas there are until you drive one." And there's a good reason for that, because they are so good. I've stuck my key in the wrong White 1996 Corolla DX sedan, three times in the past 2 months.