Toyota Corolla 2013 News

Just a few years ago, Toyota's future seemed pretty grim. In 2010, the automaker initiated a huge recall of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, which generated months of bad press and, for some consumers, a lingering mistrust of the brand. (Even though some claims of “unintended acceleration” turned out to be hoaxes.)In March of the following year, Toyota and other Japanese automakers suffered a crippling blow in the wake of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The twin disasters caused more than 15,000 deaths, destroyed countless homes, businesses, and factories, and seriously curtailed Toyota's ability to produce vehicles.The situation only got worse in the second half of 2011, as flooding in Thailand took another bite out of Toyota's manufacturing capacity. But things are very different now. The recall headlines are gone, if not forgotten, and Toyota's production has returned to previous levels. And that may explain, in part, why Toyota is now the world's biggest automaker.According to Detroit News, Toyota sold 4.91 million vehicles during the first six months of the year. That gives Toyota a slim lead over #2 automaker General Motors, which sold 4.85 million vehicles from January 1 through June 30. (Volkswagen came in third with 4.7 million.)Toyota can't rest on its laurels, though. The company's sales are off 1.2 per cent for the year, hurt largely by slow sales in China, where Toyota and other Japanese automakers have endured boycotts and problems in the wake of territorial disputes between Japan and China.General Motors, on the other hand, is on a roll, with sales up four per cent in the U.S. this year. And for a portion of the second quarter, GM even outpaced Toyota's global sales.What's keeping Toyota ahead of the pack? The answer could be as simple as its heavy trucks -- the sort of trucks that GM doesn't make. As the world's economy recovers, causing upticks in construction, shipping, and other industries, sales of big trucks are growing. That gives Toyota something of an edge -- at least for now.www.thecarconnection.com 

Toyota has split the world with its all-new Corolla sedan and, in the process, is likely to split opinions in Australia. But there is no changing the umpire's decision on the car that's coming downunder.We are getting the new European Corolla, pictured here in white, not the red American model. The difference is only in the detail, but the US car is clearly more aggressive around the nose and - helped by the splash of red on the bodywork - looks more desirable than the vanilla wrapped Euro model.It's up to you, but Toyota Australia is talking up its choice as it readies the sedan for action in early 2014 alongside the Corolla hatch that currently heads the race to be Australia's showroom favourite for 2013.It says the Euro look is closer to the style for Australia - without actually confirming the final details - and that it is already ahead in informal polling with potential buyers. But neither of the Corollas picks up the flair and impact of the car on which they are based, the Furia concept unveiled last year.That's no surprise as the Corolla sedan must be a sales success in 47 countries, which helps explain the simultaneous unveilings more than 10,000 kilometres apart, one at Istanbul in Turkey and the other in Santa Monica, USA.Away from the design, the car delivers extra cabin space and lower noise levels. But final details and pricing - including the all-important sub-$20,000 starting sticker that's already working well to bait the Corolla hatch - will not be released for more than six months.Regardless of how it looks, the new car is part of the 11th generation Corolla model and will be built in 16 different factories. Supplies for Australia are likely to come from - not Europe or the USA, but Japan.

The small-car landscape has tilted towards Europe with the arrival of Golf MkVII. Volkswagen seems finally to understand that Australians want more than just a nice car with a European badge, so it's serving up extra value on the new Golf and including the capped-price support package that now provides a fresh foundation across the brand.So the Golf is the car you want for the here-and-now. But do you really want it for the long haul, once you're out the other end of the warranty and approaching the 11-year average of the fleet on Australian roads?  Not me. Not Carsguide.Japanese brands still make a more compelling case for the long haul, which is among the reasons Mazda and Subaru sell so well here. It's all about the dealership,  intrinsic quality,  long-term support and resale value.Volkswagen is doing much better these days on the sales charts but, based on my personal experience and the weekly emails from owners, it's still catching up. We get regular complaints about DSG gearboxes, the cost of premium unleaded petrol and electrical glitches. And that all mounts up to a Very Big Deal if you keep your cars for longer than three years and the next company lease.The new Golf is considerably better than the Mazda3 as you drive away from the showroom but the Mazda hits back in the long run. And think about this. If you're buying a vehicle with your own money, for your own garage, the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30  make powerful cases for cost-effective ownership.The new Corolla is great buying and has capped-price servicing. The i30 adds a five-year warranty. I can't remember the last time I heard a complaint from a Corolla or i30 owner.Is it any wonder, then, that Corollas often stay in the family for 10 years or more? They are passed down from parents to their children, or move out through extended family and friends, because they stay bulletproof and cost-effective for so long.So, Golf or Mazda3 for a 10-year run? A Corolla for me, thanks.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

So much for the push towards greener cars. In automotive terms Australia is about to become the 51st state of the USA.Australians are moving closer to North Americans in their taste in vehicles. For the first time ever there is now almost an exact 50:50 split between the sales of passenger cars – and utes and SUVs. The same ratio seen for decades in pick-up and SUV-loving USA. Twenty years ago passenger cars accounted for more than 70 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Australia.Official figures released today confirm January 2013 was the strongest start to a year in Australian automotive history, eclipsing 85,000 deliveries for the first time – and the previous January record set in 2008 before the Global Financial Crisis.The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries reports 41,957 passenger cars were delivered in January compared to 41,595 utes, vans and SUVs – a slim gap of 362 sales, or the equivalent of just three days of deliveries for the top-selling car, the Mazda3.“The trend towards SUVs and away from classic passenger cars is all to do with their style and versatility and mass-acceptability,” says David Chalke, a cultural change analyst with AustraliaScan. “Everybody’s doing it, there’s now a fear of being left out.”Chalke says SUVs are no longer the heathens of the road thanks to their new levels of fuel-efficiency. “The new ones use comparatively so little fuel most people don’t think they’re driving a 4WD,” he said. “In fact in many cases they’re not. They are often two-wheel-drive with the appearance of a 4WD.”FCAI chief executive Tony Weber says the mining boom is also driving ute and SUV sales. “Part of is the mining boom, part of it is private buyers seeking new levels of flexibility and cars that better suit their needs.”Australia’s three local car makers – Toyota, Holden and Ford – failed to cash-in. January is typically a slow month for sales of locally-made cars but they dropped by 28 per cent to an all-new low.Just 2722 Australian made cars were delivered in January – which means the combined sales of the Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon, Ford Territory, Toyota Camry and Toyota Aurion ranked third -- an unprecedented status. Mazda3 was the top-selling car (3345 sales), followed by the Toyota Corolla (2960), the Toyota Hilux (2747), and the Nissan Navara (2474).The Ford Focus (2364) had its best month ever -- and helped drive Ford to a 33 per cent sales increase – but it outsold the Falcon by three-to-one. The Falcon (778 deliveries) is now selling at the same rate as the Mitsubishi 380 in the year before the factory closed. Ford’s Broadmeadows throughput is topped up by the production of Territory (up 44 per cent) and ute (down 22 per cent), but sales of both models are well down from their peaks.Holden says it has scaled back production of the Commodore (1650 deliveries) ahead of a new model due in showrooms in June. Toyota sold just 557 Camrys and 227 Aurion V6 sedans (down 57 and 77 per cent respectively). The FCAI’s Weber dismissed the weak sales of locally mades cars as “just one bad month, let’ see where it goes”. “We’re going to continue to see more and more market segmentation,” Weber said. “We won’t see just one car reach the massive volumes of years past.”In other highlights:Toyota was down 5 per cent but is set to lead the market for the 11th year in a row;Mazda outsold Holden to be second in the market for the fourth time ever (previous monthly second-placings: April, September and Dec 2012);Nissan is closing-in on Ford, less than 500 sales behind, threatening to push the Blue Oval brand to sixth;Honda had a blinder month, up 141 per cent from a low base – but still well down on its best year;Audi outsold BMW for the fourth January (previous wins were in ’09, ’11, ’12) and the sixth time ever (after previous wins in Feb ’11, Oct ’11) but Mercedes was top luxury brand;Sales of passenger cars fell by 1 per cent in a market that grew 11 per cent driven by surges in utes (up 43 per cent) and SUVs (up 20 per cent);The delivery of 1878 heavy trucks (up 10 per cent) takes January tally to 85,430.Top selling cars in January 2013Mazda3 3345Toyota Corolla 2960Toyota HiLux 2747Nissan Navara 2474Ford Focus 2364Hyundai i30 2006Holden Captiva 2155Mazda2 1665Holden Commodore 1650Holden Cruze 1630Mazda CX5 1625Top selling brands in January 2013Toyota 13,375 down 4.9pcMazda 8912 up 5.1pcHolden 8811 down 2.8pcFord 7721 up 32.3pcNissan 7248 up 35 pcHyundai 6816 up 4.7pcMitsubishi 4449 down 2.6pcVolkswagen 3824 up 13.6pcHonda 3816 up 141pcSubaru 3104 down 3.2pcThis reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

The world's favourite car is better than it was, but still has a few flaws. The starting sticker, though, is a winner. "I'd rather spend five years in the i30 than three years in the Corolla,'' Paul Pottinger said at the COTY judging. And the cabin reflects a totally different design approach. It's still Toyota efficient, but it breaks away from the blandness with the potential for some personalisation. Visibility is great, despite a slightly pinched view through the rear window, but the real delight comes in the new driving position. Toyota has finally recognised that people don't like to sit with their hair brushing the roof or jammed up against the dash, which means you can sit back in comfort and also enjoy front seats that are nicely shaped and padding that's just right. The steering is light, the car is easy to park and even thought the boot is no bigger it is easier to load. It's also good to find. Full sized spare in the starting price car. So, how does it drive? It's very, very good for a Corolla, and good for a Japanese car. But I've just been spoiled by Golf 7. The Corolla gets along nicely enough, promises great fuel economy and is pretty quiet on all but the worst surfaces. But it doesn't have the limo-like cushiness or the library-quiet cabin of the Volkswagen. Now we come to the gearbox... And I have to say that CVTs are about as popular as brussel sprouts with the Carsguide crew. But Toyota's engineers have added bearnaise sauce with a system that almost -- but not quite --eliminates the horrible flaring and slipping clutch sound while also giving a seven-speed drivers mode that's not as bad as a fake manual. The overall impression is a car that's more complete, and returns the Corolla to the top of the small car heap. Toyota Corolla Ascent auto Price: from $21,990 Engine: 1.8-litre 16-valve four-cylinder Transmission: CVT (with seven-speed “manual” mode), front wheel drive Power: 103kW @ 6400rpm Torque: 173Nm @ 4000rpm Fuel use/emissions: 6.6 l/100km, tank 50 litres 91RON ULP; 152g/km Brakes/safety systems: Driver and front passenger airbags, front seat side, driver’s knee and curtain airbags, stability control (Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Traction Control). Dimensions: Length 4275mm, width 1760mm, height 1460mm, wheelbase 2600mm, cargo volume 280 litres, weight 1270kg Wheels/tyres: 16in steel wheels Win $5,000 in our People's Choice competition.  

The all-new Toyota Corolla and Nissan Pulsar have both been landed below the psychological $20,000 barrier as the two Japanese brands look to maximise customer value and boost sales.Toyota has cut prices across the new Corolla range while adding value, as Nissan returns the Pulsar to local showrooms with the sort of value deal that makes plenty of sense. The only downside is that the automatic gearboxes in the two cars, which are both fuel-focussed CVT designs, cost $2000 in the Corolla and $2250 in the Pulsar.The two cars are previewed alongside Mitsubishi's new bargain-basement battler, a Mirage expected to be tagged from $12,000 in showrooms, at the opening of the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. “If you get the product right, everything else follows,” the executive vice-president of Toyota Australia, Dave Buttner, tells Carsguide.“All the growth in sales this year is with private buyers, as government departments have been winding back and fleet sales are also down. Private buyers are confident and they are spending on the second-biggest purchase after their house.” He says car sales are well on target for an all-time record around 1,080,000 with double-digit growth for much of the year.Toyota is aiming to snap up more than 200,000 of those sales, running a parallel run out program with the old Corolla - at $18,990 on-the-road - to boost its compact conversions while holding onto leadership in the ute field with its HiLux. The only setback for the new Corolla is the late arrival of the four-door sedan, with only five-door hatches for Australia for at least nine months.For Nissan, the Pulsar is crucial and the company is looking for a big impact including a return of the SSS hatch that was a cult car in the 1980s. “Pulsar is back and we have big plans,” Bill Peffer, managing director of Nissan Australia, tells Carsguide. Among the other real-world cars set for spark a sales surge before December 31 is the new Mazda6, with the good looking Peugeot 208 and Renault Clio also on the way from Europe. For Mazda, the new 6 is its first all-new arrival since the GFC and a pointer to the replacement for the top selling Mazda3.“You can see now where we're going,” Doug Dickson, MD of Mazda Australia, says. And the baby Mirage? “It's something new for us, and it's going to bring a lot of people to the brand. I reckon we'll sell heaps,”  Mitsubishi marketing chief Paul Unerkov laughs.He refuses to talk pricing, but everything points to a $12,000 bottom line for a car which must head off the latest Chinese and Korean contenders. 

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.

Despite tasty hero cars led by the F-Type Jaguar and Aston Martin One-77, it's the real world cars that are of most interest.The return of the Nissan Pulsar, the unveiling of the Toyota Corolla and the first Sydney appearance of the Mazda6 and Mitsubishi Mirage are all proof that ordinary customers now rule the roost. As car sales track strongly towards an all-time record, it's real people spending their own money who are the real target for carmakers."If you get the product right, everything else follows," the top Aussie at Toyota Australia, Dave Buttner, tells Carsguide. "All the growth in sales this year is with private buyers, as government departments have been winding back and fleet sales are also down. Private buyers are confident and they are spending on the second-biggest purchase after their house."Nissan confirmed its commitment to the new-age PUlsar with a $19,990 starting price and a SSS under lights. "Pulsar is back and we have big plans," Bill Peffer, managing director of Nissan Australia, tells Carsguide.For Mazda, the new 6 is its first all-new arrival since the GFC and a pointer to the replacement for the top selling Mazda3. "You can see now where we're going," Doug Dickson, MD of Mazda Australia, says. And the baby Mirage? "It's something new for us, and it's going to bring a lot of people to the brand. I reckon we'll sell heaps," Mitsubishi marketing chief Paul Unerkov laughs. 

When I was a little bloke, a visit to the old Sydney Showgrounds was always a very special event.

This is the hatch on which rest Toyota's plans to be the world's most successful car maker. The Corolla, launched today in Japan under its Auris nameplate, is promoted as a "sleek, sporty new look for the latest generation of the world's best-selling car''.It will be seen in Australia at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. Toyota says though the Corolla models have historically come out of Japan, this is the first to originate in Europe.It says that Toyota's focus on European buying preferences - which are broadly similar to Australian tastes - has "delivered edgier styling and a lower centre of gravity to further improve its dynamic performance''."The Euro-inspired exterior design combines smooth-flowing surfaces with sweeping character lines to provide the sense of agility expected in the small hatch segment,'' Toyota says. "The new Corolla also brings fresh interior treatments with clever packaging that liberates more space for occupants and their luggage.''Australia gets only the most powerful engine on offer - a revised version of the existing 1.8-litre unit. Toyota promises more power but hasn't been specific about local specifications. The current engine delivers 100kW. Toyota Australia's executive director sales and marketing Matthew Callachor says buyers would continue to appreciate Toyota strengths of quality, durability, reliability, safety and fuel efficiency."The strong European influence on the new Corolla embraces the spirit of 'waku-doki' - a car that is fun to own and drive due to its sharp styling as well as its responsive acceleration, accurate steering, engaging drive and excellent ride comfort,'' Mr Callachor says. Australia was the first destination for Corolla exports (1967) and quickly established itself as Toyota's most popular model in this country.Almost 1.2 million Corolla hatches and sedans have been sold here, representing one-fifth of all Toyota vehicles bought by Australians in the past 50 years. Of these, more than 666,000 or 56 per cent were built in Australia between 1967 and 1999. Corolla is now fully imported from Japan. Local Corolla sales last year totalled just over 36,000. Sales to the end of July this year are more than 20 per cent higher compared with the same period last year.