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Toyota's Corolla and Matrix are practical but plain

Tom Incantalupo | ROAD TEST

March 21, 2008

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For a practical, probably reliable, reasonably priced and easy-to-live-with car, consider the redesigned Corolla or Corolla Matrix wagon.

But get set to be disappointed if you were expecting the newest generation of this hugely successful model line to be a blockbuster, either visually or in performance.

As Toyota often does when tinkering with one of its winning formulas, it played it safe in redoing the Corolla and Matrix. Maybe too safe. The year is young, but for this driver, these two have been the biggest disappointments so far.

As for the "sporty" XRS versions - forget them. Save your money or go elsewhere for a sporty car. My two testers, a sedan and a Matrix wagon, both were XRSes and both were plagued by rough rides, numb steering, overly sensitive throttles and foul catalytic converter odor every time the engines were stressed.

Tom Incantalupo E-mail | Recent columns

On sale since last month, the '09 Corolla and Matrix remain good choices for buyers with low expectations for performance - buyers seeking something a cut above an econobox. Although the Matrix's dashboard had some plastic pieces as cheesy looking as anything the Koreans ever sent us, the testers' were generally attractive and even had built-in telephones with steering wheel controls, something once found only in luxury models.

Buyers of sedans or wagons get to choose from among five equipment levels and two engines. Prices for the sedan start at just under $16,000 with freight for a version with a 1.8-liter, 132-hp. engine and a stick shift. Toyota says that engine is all new. Its horsepower is up from the predecessor's 126, thanks to variable valve timing on the intake and exhaust camshafts.

Fuel economy with that base engine is Environmental Protection Agency-estimated at 27 miles per gallon city, 35 highway.

Opting for the topmost XRS equipment level, starting at $19,420 with freight for the sedan, gets you the engine in my testers - a 2.4-liter, 158-hp. four-cylinder. It's a redesigned version, says Toyota, of the base engine in the Camry. In the Corolla sedan, it delivers 22 mpg city, 30 highway, says the EPA.

The availability of the larger engine is one of the biggest improvements for '09 to this line and the only reason to consider an XRS sedan. (But this larger engine is standard in the mid-level S Matrix as well.)

The Corollas and Matrixes we buy in the metropolitan area come from Cambridge, Ontario, Toyota says.

Toyota says it sought in redesigning the sedan to give it a lower, sportier shape than its predecessor's. Among other things, it moved the bottom of the A pillar (the first roof support on each side forward) and the bottom of the C pillar (third one aft), both of which increase the angle of the window glass and, Toyota says, improve aerodynamics.

The new sedan is almost a half-inch longer than the predecessor, almost 2.5 inches wider, and about an inch shorter in height with no change in the 102.4-inch wheelbase. The Matrix's wheelbase hasn't changed, and, overall, the wagon is virtually identical in size to its predecessor.

As you'd expect in a Toyota, and in most cars nowadays, the Corolla and Matrix have ergonomically friendly interiors, with self-explanatory controls - all of them lit well enough to be seen in night driving - plus ample storage cubbies and cup holders.

The extra-cost electronic gauges in the testers were fine at night, but by day, the dark red needles don't contrast very well with the black backgrounds.

A little more lateral support from the front bucket "sport" seats in both testers would have been welcome, but what's there is par for the compact car course.

My sedan's interior was reasonably quiet in highway cruising; the Matrix interior was noisier, as are those of most wagons, apparently because their cargo areas act as echo chambers for noise from the rear tires.

The five-speed automatics in both testers could be shifted manually by sliding the shift handles to the left and then nudging them fore and aft. They operated smoothly in the automatic mode but downshifted unnecessarily and annoyingly at anything more than the slightest touch of the accelerator pedal.

The federal government hasn't yet published crash test results for the new Corolla or Matrix. Nor has the private Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The Corolla had been a top-rated "recommended" car at Consumer Reports, but the new model hasn't (yet, at least) gotten that designation because the magazine doesn't have any feedback yet from readers on the vehicle's reliability.

The Corolla and Matrix are covered by 36-month/36,000 mile warranties - 60 months with no mileage limit on the powertrain.