2003 Toyota Corolla T3 review from UK and Ireland

Nothing has gone wrong.

The first thing I noticed about this car was how quiet it is, I mean seriously quiet, you can barely hear the engine and there is no wind or road noise to speak of.

The dashboard is very well designed and made of very high quality materials, if I had one gripe I think the seats are a touch too firm, but they are superbly supportive and have an infinitely adjustable ratchet system to get super comfy.

ABS with EBD, numerous airbags plus a very high quality CD player come as standard as do electric windows, mirrors, air con, fuel computer etc...

Another surprise was the ride and handling, which are simply superb, especially in bad weather it is unflustered by strong winds, heavy rain and shrugs off flooded motorways as though there is no water at all. You can chuck it into corners and the steering weights up nicely and the car offers loads of grip, it really is a sorted chassis. I can take bends at a much higher speed than I could in my 200SX, it really inspires confidence.

Performance wise its not going to set your world alight, but you get used to it, I guess it has 0-60 of about 11secs, but a lot of usable power through the rev range. The fuel consumption is nothing short of spectacular, around town I get around 36-56mpg and on the open road anything from 48-60mpg, it makes me wonder why buy a diesel Corolla, aside from the extra torque it isn't that much better on fuel plus it sounds like a tractor at idle.

I have read a few reviews mentioning niggles with UK built Corolla's, mine is Japanese built and really is perfect, I think its worth stipulating a Japanese built one when you go to the dealer, they usually have a selection in stock.

All in all I can't recommend this car enough.