Toyota Corolla 2014 Touch-down!

February 27, 2014 Durban South Toyota

The moment we’ve all been waiting for. The single biggest vehicle launch in South Africa. The Corolla 2014 is finally here!

We recently attended the Dealer Launch of the New Corolla in Ballito, and at the end of proceedings, we were allowed to take a model of our choice for a quick spin around Ballito. We are not the most impartial people out there to offer first impressions of the latest Corolla, but trust me when I say, everybody came back thoroughly impressed. The undisputed star of the show was the brand new model in the line-up – the Corolla 1.4 Turbodiesel. With a modest kw output of 66 kw, it reaches max output at only 3,800 rpm, and produces a whopping 205 nm of torque between 1,800-2,800 rpm’s. This gives the 1.4 Turbodiesel Corolla, a sense of responsiveness, and you have instant acceleration when you give it a little throttle. The icing on the cake though, is that you get all of this at a meagre 4.5l/100 kms!

There is a total of 11 models in the Corolla lineup. Starting with the 1.3 Esteem and culminating in the flagship 1.8 Exclusive Multidrive S model. The New Multidrive S range features Toyota’s advanced CVT (think of it as Auto) transmission, and also comes with a ‘Sports’ mode, for a more exhilarating drive. The Multidrive is a no-brainer considering that fuel efficiency sees an average of 11% improvement compared to the current Corolla. Even the 1.8 engine, is an economical fuel sipper with a quoted consumption of 6.4l/100 km. So you can see, Toyota has done PLENTY of work in this department.

Moving Inside

Ahhh – the smell that only a new car can provide! Don’t you love that aroma of leather and a mixture of other new fabrics when stepping into a new car? Once you settle into the new, softer and more luxurious seats – there’s a couple of items that will catch your eye. Perhaps the refreshing ‘Blue’ themed centre console, or if you’re lucky, and it’s a ‘Prestige’ or ‘Exclusive’ model it most probably will be the new Toyota Touch Screen system. The touch screen serves a multitude of purposes – chief of which is a DVD/Audio multimedia system. But it also provides general vehicle info like temperature, and when in reverse gear – activates the rear camera for safer maneuvering. That’s just the beginning! There are tons of other interesting features awaiting you, like follow-me-home headlights, hill-start assist, rain-sensing wipers and a class-leading 706 mm of rear legroom space. Below are a few pics I took of the first 3 Corolla’s to enter our showroom, and some interesting tidbits below that. Enjoy them, and when you are ready – let us put you in the driving seat of this legend on 4 wheels!