History of the Toyota Corolla

MICKSIGARAGE.COM THE CAR PARTS EXPERTS History of the Toyota Corolla TOYOTA First generation. E-10. 1966 to 1970 • A relatively conventional saloon, the first Corolla actually replaced a much wackier car called the Publica, which had an air-cooled engine and was supposed to be a rival to the Citroen 2CV. Weight: 730kg • The E-10 was way ahead of the curve, as it featured a four-door-coupé option with a fastback rear end, known as the Corolla Sprinter – an idea that would be revived in the eighties. 1379 mm Power came from a simple pushrod 1,100cc petrol engine. It had between 60 and 78hp and could be had with a four-speed manual or two-speed automatic gearbox. 3843 mm • The Corolla was the vanguard of Toyota's burgeoning export drive. Australia got the first Corollas (with local production too) in 1966 while it first reached America in 1968. ΤΟΥΟ Second generation. E20. 1970 to 1974 • Styling is much improved over the original Corolla, with classic seventies Coke-bottle' flanks and an inset grille. It also has a longer wheelbase and updated front suspension (although the rear setup is basically the same). Engines are now 1.2, 1.4 or 1.6 litre, all petrol and with power outputs ranging from 68- to 110hp. Weight: 790kg 1346 mm • You could have had two or four-door saloons, an estate or a surprisingly slinky coupé, known in Japan as the Corolla Levin, which Toyota claimed came from the old English for 'lightning.' 3945 mm • By now the Corolla's sales momentum was really building up, and in 1974 it was the world's second best-selling vehicle, with Japan and the US being its two biggest markets. Third Generation. E30-E70 1974 to 1983. • The E30 was essentially a big update of the existing E20 and it copped a bit of flak for that - contemporary reports had a go at it for being too crude and too heavy compared to competition like the then-new Honda Civic and Volkswagen Golf. Weight: 880kg • Power kept creeping up – the most powerful 2T-G engine could now be had with 124hp, but the cheapest Corollas came with a mere 55hp. 1375 mm • The E30 saw the first introduction, for the 12T engine, of its 'Lean Burn' fuel saving technology. It was a slow start, but by the 1980s, Lean Burn would put Toyota out at the front of the technological pack. 3995 mm • The later E70 model was basically a big facelift of the E30, and was the last Corolla to have rear-wheel drive, aside from the AE86 Coupés. Fourth Generation. E80. 1983 to 1987. Weight: 940kg • The Corolla goes front-wheel drive! Boxy it may have been to look at, but the E80 Corolla became Toyota's best-seller yet, with 3.3 million sales to its name by the time it retired. 1328 mm • You could now have a hatchback Corolla for the first time (aside from a few E30 coupés that came with a liftback) and that really kick-starts the car's popularity in Europe. 4135m • Engine choices are a 1.3 four-cylinder petrol with 69hp, a 1.6 with 84hp and a 1.6 16-valve with up to 124hp. In some markets a diesel with a mere 58hp was available for the first time While the Celica Coupé is still Toyota's front-line rally weapon, the AE86 Corolla (sticking with that all-important rear-wheel drive) begins a Group A rally programme and takes a class win in the 1985 Rally Portugal. Fifth Generation: E90. 1987 to 1991. Weight: 1086kg • While it's really just a facelift and update of the old E80 platform, the É90 sees one major change - the AE86 Coupé is killed off, so there are no more rear-wheel drive Corollas. 1260 mm • It's the first European Toyota to wear the now-famous ellipse badge. • The Sprinter name is revived for a five-door fastback model that's slightly sleeker to look at than the standard five-door hatch or four-door saloon. 4374mm • Toyota even had a go at making the Corolla into a 'hot hatch' with a 129hp version of the 1.6-litre engine with bigger intake ports, but standard hatchback sales suffer in Europe because the boot is too small. Sixth generation. E100. 1991 to 1998. • The Corolla is getting into its stride! A larger body and a longer wheelbase are joined by a decent boot for the hatchback models. Meanwhile, following the success of the newly-established Lexus luxury brand, Toyota vows that this Corolla will be a 'mini-Lexus.' Weight: 1052kg 1359 mm • It's certainly reliable. Testing by Germany's independent ADAC service indicates that four- and six-year-old Corollas are around half as likely to suffer a breakdown as an equivalent Volkswagen Golf. 4369mm • The engine range is simpler this time around - there's no hot hatch, but you could have 1.3, 1.6 or 1.8 petrol engines with up to 118hp or a 2.0-litre diesel with 72hp. Seventh Generation. E110. 1995 to 2002. Weight: 1095kg The seventh Corolla isn't rolled out globally all at once, but moves in to replace the E100 bit by bit and there are now huge regional differences between models destined for Europe, Japan, Australia and the US. In fact, global Corollas are now entirely different machines. 1380 mm • In Europe, we get the now-famed 'bug-eye' face hatchback, with its prominent round headlights (the first on a Corolla since the seventies' E30), but the four-door saloon gets a more conservative look. 4120mm • In Japan, and some other Asian markets, there's an odd-looking tall-roof spin off of the Corolla, but it's not sold in Irelănd. Called the Verso, it's an idéa whose time is coming. • In 1997, the Corolla WRC replaces the Celica coupé as Toyota's main rally weapon and drivers such as Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol take it to victory in Monte Čarlo, New Zealand, Spain and China. Sainz narrowly loses the 1998 drivers' title when his Corolla blows an engine on the RAC rally. Famously, a frustrated Sainz huřls his crash helmet fhrough the car's rear windscreen. Gastrol HEWWE Movistar Eighth Generation. E120. 2002 to 2007. • The Corolla goes incognito. Following the mild controversy over the last generation's styling, the new hatch and saloon Corollas are seriously quiet to look at. They're surprisingly good to drive though- their 1.4-litre petrol engine develops a robust 100hp at a time when the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf 1.4s can only provide a wheezy 75hp. Weight: 1280kg 1460 mm • Toyota decides to have another go at the hot hatch market with the Corolla T-Sport. It's not the most exciting car to drive, but it does have a fantastically high-revving, variable valve-timed 1.8-litre engine, taken from the Celica coupé. Power output of 190hp in a Corolla makes for a quick, quiet Q-car. 4180mm • No more rallying Corollas though, sadly. The WRC team is disbanded as Toyota looks to compete in Formula One with its own team. • The Corolla Verso MPV version makes its first appearance. Initially it's a spacious five-seater, but a facelift brings with it the option of seven seats and a truly cavernous cabin. Ninth Generation. E140/150. 2007 to 2013. TO And then there was one. The E140/150 Corolla marked a major change for Toyota's best-selling badge because from now on, it wasn't going to be stuck to the back of a hatchback. Five-door duties were now taken care of by the new Auris hatch, while the Corolla name continued on the four-door saloon. Weight: 1315kg 1465mm • In Ireland, we were genuinely privileged- we're the only country in Western Europe to have the Corolla on our price lists. Made (and sold) in Turkey, compact saloon sales are so unpopular in most Euro markets that the Corolla name and model are dropped altogether in favour of the five-door Auris, but Ireland keeps the faith (as does, briefly, Belgium). 4572mm • The E140/150 sees the first appearance of the 1.4-litre D-4D diesel engine as Toyota tries to get to grips with European demands for oil burners. The slick and refined 1.33 variable valve timed petrol seems like a better fit for the Corolla though. Tenth Generation. E170. 2013 to Present • And so we come to today and the Corolla E170 – designed specifically for export markets and bearing pretty much no resemblance whatsoever to the current Japanese market Corolla (which is known as the E160). Again, it's purely a four-door saloon, with the second-generation Auris doing the five-door hatch and estate thing. Weight: 1300kg 1460mm • This is the Corolla that came back to Europe too, going on sale in Germany alongside the Auris for the first time since 2007. 4360mm • The Verso MPV has now been spun off from the Corolla family altogether and is a separate model, although the two do still share a lot of mechanical parts. • What next for the Corolla? Well, Toyota's sure not going to stop making it after all this time and all those sales. It's a car brand that just won't go away and while there are plenty out there ready to slap the 'boring' label on it, the fact is that the Corolla has kept more families mobile for longer than any other model.