Like peanut butter and chocolate, what's not to love?

I rented the Corolla 4DR Base model from Hertz a few months ago. They gave me the option to choose from a 7K mile Fusion or a 15K mile Corolla, and although I usually go for the car with the least number of miles I chose the Corolla. Boy am I glad I did.

The Set-up:

Model 2006 Toyota Corolla 4DR CE (base), automatic transmission, 126HP 1.8L I-4 base engine.

This was a rental, therefore I "owned" it for a day and drove it a lot while I had it. Look at this review like a fairly extensive test drive.

Driving was mostly Highway with a small amount of city driving in Baltimore and the DC area. Heavy traffic, however not much stop-and-go. I encountered heavy rain for about 100 miles of the trip and the review reflects that.

First Impressions:

I did not get a key fob so it was old school for me, not a huge concern, the door opened reassuringly: not too heavy, not too light. Very high seating, seating position almost like a truck on the inside, the controls were very intuitive (standard Japanese Toyota styling), the gauges were east to read and very large. The car started with a nice sound, the engine revved willingly. Idled cold at about 1500-1700rpms when warm/hot this would drop down to about 700-800rpms as expected.

The good stuff

I drove the car over 450 miles on a 4/5 tank of gas, with a very heavy foot. With a 13.2 gal gas tank and about 1/5 still on the gauge that is about 42 miles to the gallon. Impressive.

The fit and finish was very good for a car of this class. As a comparison my roommate has a 2004 Hyundai Elantra and I drive that car a lot, the Corolla, although new wins the fit and finish battle hands down.

Rattle and clank: none, I did not experience any rattles, or squeaks. This car had over 15K miles and it was a rental so assume fairly harsh treatment over those miles. There was nothing rattling inside and the suspension was very quiet.

Noise: The suspension was quiet, and the cabin was not loud. Having said that it was not quiet either, given this is a entry level sedan a decent amount of road and wind noise came into the cabin. Not excessive, however it did remind me of the class of car I was driving, probably the only thing that did.

Driving: On rougher roads, the car did seem jittery (bad choice of word probably) but that is probably only because it is very light (@2,530lbs curb). It did not seem to get out of control but I was tentative taking quick sharp turns on my 15' wheels. On open highway it was a whole different story, I felt like King of the Road. The car handled impeccably, very responsive for a 120's HP engine, and the brakes were adequate. I did not have ABS so that make me cautious in the rain. Wipers worked very well, variable intermittent was nice to have however I did not have to use it given the heavy rain on the interstate. The washers were powerful and sprayed the windshield very well. The automatic was nice, although I am a fan of direct clutches (Manuals, DSG), I am sure it robbed some HP, but I have not driven a manual Corolla so I have no basis for comparison. Even if the transmission steal some power it did not become too noticeable. The car did well on on-ramps and responded well to "pedal-to-the-metal" passing that I did quite often. Low end torque left me wanting some, but it is a 4 cyl and I was getting 42 miles to the gallon, I got over it quickly.

Conveniences: The radio controls were a little bit too far away for my comfort, however everything had a nice classy feel particularly the knobs and switches. I am a sucker for small things like that, I love my 1993 Audi because it "feels" so good to turn on my AC, or roll my window down. The Corolla did not "feel" that good but it was much better than what I was expecting. The AC worked well, however this was in the winter so I can not attest to summer performance. The sound was good for factory setup, decent base, adequate mids and highs. However if I owned this car I would upgrade, but not everyone will have to. The seat was comfortable, seating position was high which made for good easy visibility all around.

Visibility: Impressive, small car, high seating, large windows no complains on this issue. The side view mirrors were well positioned and gave me a very good view around.

Room all around
The car was surprisingly roomy, probably because it is tall, taller than the Accord parked next to me by a good 6-8 inches. The trunk would fit 2 of most large suitcases with room for one more medium or smaller piece of luggage. Leg room in the rear is not spectacular but no one in this class can say that theirs is. Even the Versa. The drivers seat was adjustable 4 ways, with a pump style height adjuster. I liked that, was able to create a very good driving position for myself.

The Bads
I did not find a whole lot I could complain about, the stereo was a bit too far away, there was no coin holder, low end torque was not the greatest, small wheels. Now I am just being too picky, 13-14G for this is well spent, I say Buy it!