5th Place: Toyota Corolla

Overview:

Like the Honda Civic, the Corolla is capitalizing on high gas prices and name recognition to bring in very high sales figures. Also like the Civic, the Corolla gets excellent gas mileage, but is one of the pricier vehicles in this group, at close to $18,000. But although the Corolla and Civic are often viewed as interchangeable economy cars that you can't go wrong with, the two offer a very different feel: the Civic is sportier while the Corolla is plusher. And you can indeed go wrong with either, if only by spending more than you have to. The Corolla is one of the most comfortable and refined cars in this group, but many others are also comfortable, refined, and fuel efficient, and less expensive.

Driving the Corolla:

The Corolla has a very soft and absorbent ride, and it maintains its composure well without feeling jittery or floaty. However, it is anything but agile, with excessive body roll and vague, overboosted steering, the former being tradeoff for a suspension tuned for maximum ride comfort, the latter purported to be in part a fuel-saving measure. The Corolla does return the group's second-highest gas mileage, behind only Toyota's smaller Yaris. The Corolla also delivers much stronger acceleration than the Yaris, though it's no powerhouse even by this group's standards. The engine remains quiet, however, and wind and road noise is also well-hushed. 

Inside the Corolla:

The Corolla has soft but comfortable front seats, high-mounted and well-shaped, if lacking in lateral support. The rear could use a bit more headroom, but it's mounted high, offers plenty of leg and foot space, and is quite comfortable overall. The interior looks nice enough, and trim pieces fit together well, but too many plastics feel hard and cheap. The gauges and instruments are at least very clear. Drivers sit very comfortably, but rearward visibility could be better. Entry/exit would be easier with a higher roofline and wider-opening rear doors, but the high seats help. The trunk is roomy enough and well-shaped, but the smaller Yaris's is actually slightly larger.

Corolla pricing:

The Corolla is expensive for this group at $17,903, but very well-equipped at this price, with more features than the comparably-priced Civic and most other competitors. In addition to including active head restraints, the Corolla is the only car in this group equipped with stability control, an option on the midlevel LE version reviewed here. (The safety feature is available on a few others in this group, but only at a significantly higher price than the version included in this comparison.)

Conclusion:

The Corolla is not a perfect car, with a clear flaw being somewhat clumsy handling, and it's not perfect at providing maximum luxury and refinement, thanks to too much cheap plastic inside. But with its very smooth, very quiet ride for an economy car, as well as its soft, comfortable seats, it provides a very plush feel for an economy car, the best in the group at providing that sort of overall ambiance. But many others come close, and at much lower prices. Consider first the cheaper competitors before automatically deciding that the Corolla being most pleasant by a hair is worth a significant premium.

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