The incredible fantastic boring car

My wife and I own a 1996 Corolla DX and I must say, I'm impressed. At the same time, I must say she bought it just before she met me. I'm more of a performance car guy, but you have to respect this machine for what it does, how inexpensive it is and how well put together it is!

Our corolla has the 1.8L four with an automatic transmission. The DX trim includes upgraded upholstery and power stuff, except cruise control. The car puts out about 120HP, and is geared in such a way that it feels substantial. Don't get me wrong, it's no rocket, but it has plenty of power for commuting. Much more so than your average single-cam Saturn or Civic. It gets pretty good gas mileage for an automatic, about 32 mpg or so. The standard stereo system sounds good, but not anything to brag about. Seats are comfy, if a bit lacking in supportiveness, but are just fine for long trips if needed. The rear seat has a good amount of room for a car in this size class, but you won't confuse it with a Lincoln anytime soon. The trunk space is good as well, nice and wide with a low lift-over. The rear seat in ours folds down which is handy. The only real ergonomic blunder is the cupholder which impedes your ability to use the cubbyhole in the dash when you have a drink.

Handling is responsive and well-assisted. It's low effort without feeling "floaty" like you could drive it with your pinky. It has a mild tendancy to oversteer, which would be unwelcome on a sports car, but is fine and dandy for a family compact sedan. The vehicle feels stable and the suspension is firm enough to take a few curves without balking, but at the same time it won't jar your teeth out.

The entire car is extremely well put together... fit and finish are impeccable for a car of this price. There are no rattles, squeaks or other annoyances (road noise due to a typical lack of sound deadening is the only thing you'll hear). Even after two wrecks and over 80,000 miles. And about wrecks... these cars have some of the cheapest manufacturer's OEM body parts in the industry, which means collision repair bills are relatively low. I should know, I run a body shop and have fixed this car from both wrecks. The engine and transmission are the most reliable I've seen... not so much as a hiccup as of yet! You can put a spark plug in it and 15k miles later pull it out and it still looks brand new! Of course, we maintain it well, and I'm sure this helps, but it's still very impressive! My wife's sister also has a 94 Corolla with over 100k miles on it, and its has only required an alternator... otherwise, no problems at all!!! The engine and transmission are also 100% leak free. Transmission service is extremely easy for do-it-yourselfers... but the oil change can be difficult since they decided to put the oil filter underneath the hotter-than-hot exhaust manifold!

The only major drawback to this car? It's BORING. With a capital B. The only thing to get excited about here is the economy and reliability. It looks conservative, feels conservative and well, IS conservative. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Probably the best buy out there in the small family sedan category, if a mid-size like Galant, Camry or Accord is out of your reach.