2004 Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8G review from Philippines

Absolutely NOTHING. There are no breakdowns so far.

However, the engine of the Corolla in US and Malaysia has a big difference compared to the Philippine Corolla:

*US and Malaysian Corolla:

Output: 131hp/6000rpm

Input: 171Nm/4200rpm

Philippine Corolla:

Output: 145hp/6000rpm

Input: 188Nm/4200rpm.

I really love my Corolla Altis 1.8G.

It's so comfy inside! The leather seats have high quality, and the air-con is arctic cold, and can easily remove the hot as hell heat from the outside.

Driving position is very comfortable and high, and you don't need to bend or twist to sit down, simply slide into and sit down.

Controls are logically placed and easy to reach, but the air-con and radio is rather button overkill.

Front seat space is enormous, but rear seat space is cramped and has quite little kneeroom, but has excellent support, good for long-distance travelling.

Performance is great! Engine is powerful and matches the performance of a 2.0-liter car.

However, despite the powerful and potent 1.8-liter engine, the trade-off is boredom.

The engine is torquey, frugal, potent

but boring. There's no soundtrack, no fruity engine noise, unlike the Lynx, which has a really fruity engine note.

The gray-beige interior makes things more boring, putting your passengers to sleep and smoothening the ride. And if you ever died of boredom in the cabin, the trunk can easily swallow the 3 of you.

However, the performance of the 1.8-liter Corolla S I rented in my visit to the US, the acceleration and power isn't as exciting nor as fast as the Corolla in the Philippines, and pressing the ECT button to power makes almost no difference. There's no forward surge, acceleration is the same, it's just the tach rising a little higher than in normal mode, and that's it. It's also the same in my visit to Malaysia last year.

See my comparison*

But in the Philippine Corolla, it's a very different story.

Pressing the ECT button to power mode not only increases the rev range, but also hastens acceleration. Once you press the ECT to power mode, rev it up to 4,200rpm (the maximum input) and hang on! Acceleration is really, really fast, with it is a slight (but almost unnoticeable) forward surge. Acceleration and the manner of the Auto Transmission when at power mode is exactly the same as a car in a manual transmission, but in 4-speed.

It took around 9 seconds to reach 100km/h on an open road- really fast!

Almost no compact sedan can beat the Corolla 1.8G once the engine goes on full boil. This is the power of the Philippine Corolla.

Steering is accurate and precise and gives decent feedback.

Bump absorption is excellent. Ruts and humps of all hapes and sizes are absorbed well, and the car never gets nervous.

Summary

The good: Reliability, build quality, refinement, very comfortable to drive, arctic-cold air-con, luxurious, huge space upfront, calms you down after a long stressful day at work and maybe isolates you from the troubles of the outside world.

The bad: Rear has little knee room, boring interior, creamy smooth, torquey, frugal, quiet, potent, refined, energetic, but boring engine.