New Toyota Corolla at $19,990

The all-new Toyota Corolla hits showrooms at $19,990, a figure that undercuts all of its serious rivals and especially the Volkswagen Golf — the class benchmark after a total overhaul before local sales early next year. The bottom line looks great but the new Corolla must deliver more personality and class in a small-car category that continues to grow rapidly.

The Corolla is far from just a small-car cheapie. Toyota promises more efficiency, more quality and more driving enjoyment in a car that must polish some of the rust that has grown on the T badge in recent years after safety recalls and criticisms of the company's blandoid mainstream models.

If Toyota has it right, the Corolla is almost certain to be Australia's best-selling car in 2013. So it's truly make-or-break. Renewal work on the 11th-generation Corolla starts with bodywork that is crisper and more European in style, then runs to everything from easier access to the front seats, a longer boot floor, extra knee room in the rear, upgraded cabin materials and added soundproofing to eliminate road noise.

On the safety side, there are seven airbags across the range and a five-star ANCAP rating, while standard equipment runs to aircon, electric power steering, Bluetooth connectivity, cruise control and six-speaker sound. Toyota touts more value in every Corolla model — with price cuts on the Ascent, Ascent Sport and Levin SX and the top-line Levin ZR steady at $28,490.

But the bad news is a heavy $2000 hit for the new seven-speed automatic continuously variable transmission, $500 more than the auto price of most rivals. The CVT delivers fuel consumption as low as 6.6L/100km with 152g/km of CO2, better even than the six-speed manual.

Australia was involved from the start of the Corolla renewal, more than four years ago, which means local needs and wants were fed into the basics of the car. "This time we had input before the technical platform development commenced. Our engineers were involved in the preliminary drive, too, with plenty of time for fundamental changes,'' Toyota Technical Centre Australia executive director Max Gillard reveals to Carsguide.

"We've had a big push from the top these days to make sure the cars are fun to drive. A hell of a lot of effort has gone in to make sure that it's not just another car, but a bloody good car. "And that's good in the context of better. We believe it's what the customer really wants, not what they will expect.''

Gillard is taking his lead directly from Akio Toyoda, the company chief who personally drove development of the landmark 86 sports car — an early favourite for this year's Carsguide Car of the Year. The Corolla is the first mainstream Toyota model since the 86.

"If you want it to be a driver's car, it can be. It won't disappoint a driver. But an average mum or dad might not ever take it anywhere to test that,'' Gillard says. "We have to be out there in front, in every sense of the word. The competitors are getting much better.'' Customers have a lot of makes and models to choose from and we have to make sure they choose ours.''

The new Corolla is a five-door hatch that has a slightly lower roofline than the outgoing model, a wedgier profile with more personality in the body panels, and the same wheelbase but shorter overhangs. The front seats are mounted lower for easier access and there is more adjustment up-down and front-rear to suit a wider variety of drivers. Trimming the seat backs has added 20mm of rear legroom.

In the tail, the boot shape has been squared off and access improved with 75mm of extra width, while cabin storage spots have been boosted and there is a new overhead sunglasses holder. The 1.8-litre four-cylinder has a smidgen more power at 103kW. Maximum torque of 173Nm arrives earlier thanks to something called an acoustic-controlled induction system.

Without ignoring the six-speed manual gearbox or the ability to run on 91 unleaded, the CVT is promised to deliver the best of all worlds with efficiency and manual-style response.

On paper and in pictures, the new Corolla looks very good. But, after driving the all-new seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf in Europe a week ago, Carsguide knows the Corolla has to be nothing short of brilliant to trump the new Euro champ.