1992 Toyota Corolla GLXi review from Ecuador

12000km - Very small radiator leak.

20000km - Thermostat gave up one day, fortunately it was a fail-safe that gets stuck opened.

70000km - New clutch and pads.

80000km - Noise in Gas tank, stuck door lock.

105000km - Slight Water pump leak.

This has been overall a great car, I learned how to drive in this car and obviously it had to take lots of punishment from me and other drivers.

The car drives excellent in highway and twisty roads, the gears are very precisely spaced and the lever is a joy to operate. The amount of power from the 1.6 4AFE is adequate and at times it felt like a 2.0 liters. The braking is good, but at the limit you miss the ABS because it tends to block the wheels with certain ease over slightly slippery conditions. On long trips this car was a joy, it is comfortable for 4 persons and their luggage. The fuel consumption was excellent until 10000km ago, that's when my sister took over the car. And at the same time there is a noise in the gas tank. This car has taken 4 wrecks in its life. First one was when it had about 5000km, the previous owner broke the radiator and bumper. All parts replaced and car was flawless. Second wreck, (by me), at 60000km, hit a curb avoiding kid at aprox. 60km/h. Front control arms and struts had to be replaced. Car was still flawless after this repair. Third, I rear ended an SUV at aprox 5km/h for being dumb and operate stereo while driving in traffic, Broke head lamp, slightly bent hood and fender, and pierced a hole in bumper. The fix was no big deal and only took a new headlight and some paint. Fourth and last wreck, (by my sister) hit a high curb at aprox. 100km/h while braking. This bend the left control arm, busted the strut, broke the steering rack, broke stabilizer link, bent a-arm support, and broke wheel. Amazingly the axle didn't suffer any damage. Car was in the shop for a month and after this repair you could tell the car wasn't the same. Scince then I always have problems aligning and car feels a bit weird at high speed.

Please be aware of the high priced Toyota parts, which are ridiculously expensive. And in 90% of the cases it is probably better to purchase aftermarket parts.

The noise in the gas tank (and poor fuel economy) was caused because someone hit an object with the underneath of the car with 5 persons inside it.

Other than the problems caused by unexperienced drivers, this is a great car. You could tell everything is well built and this car can obviously take some serious punish and still go.

This car is still an everyday driver and performs well. I would boy another one in good condition with my eyes closed. After my long experience with this car I can really understand why Toyota is regarded as one of the best auto manufacturers in the world. Too bad the latest-generation corolla resembles more to a KIA (no offense) internally and externally, and suffers quality issues. New generation also feels cheap when driving and you can confirm this by looking under the hood.