Car is unsafe in rain or wind, and is not good in snow.
I highly recommend this car. It is much better than my previous car Ford Escort 97.
- Very nice looking.
- Good gas mileage.
- Reliable car
I live in one of the prairie provinces in Canada. We get quite a bit of snow in the winter, rain in the spring, and there are a lot of gravel in the country back roads.
I own a 2005 Toyota Corolla CE & found that the handling is comparable to other vehicles during our snowy Canadian winters. We had a heavy dumping this past winter and my car performed on par with any other vehicles that I have owned in the past. The Corolla performs alright in the rain, but the gravel is something to be desired - at reduced speeds, it's handling is decent.
In addition to this, I found that the Corolla to be very reliable - even when I forgot to plug in the block heater overnight when the temperature drops to -25 degrees Celcius. The car started with no hesitation - whereas my previous ones did not.
It doesn't have very many bells and whistles - it's a very practical car, very reliable. Overall I am happy with it.
I agree with the original poster that the corolla can be a little scary to drive in windy conditions. I still remember the first time I was buffeted by wind on the free way.
It takes some getting used to and you soon will realise when the winds are too high and all you need to do is slow down!
About the handling in snow and rain I think all you need to do is get a set of all season tires. if you live in an area that gets dumped on liberally in the winter get a set of snow tires.
I've found my corolla handling pretty alright in snow and rainy conditions.
I have a 2005 Corolla CE 4-speed and live in Nova Scotia, Canada. We get some pretty good dumps of snow here in the winter. In the winter, I use snow tires on my car and the car handles fine. I have 48,000 km on my Corolla and have had no problems at all. It does get blown around a little on the highway in a high wind, but I find it fares better than the 2002 Corolla (previous body style) that I replaced.
I agree about the wind comment. I've driven a lot of vehicles and my corolla gets blown around in the wind like a top heavy 3/4 ton truck... A bit scary, but I just slow down.
Too scary in the snow for me! Even with studded snow tires and at a crawl the wind from a passing semi sent my car spinning. Of all the cars I have owned this one ranks at the bottom of the heap in bad weather, even my '88 Tercel was better though it was a real kite!
Very reliable yes, but for long commutes on snowy country roads, it's too dangerous.
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