2021 Toyota Corolla Review_ A sweet-handling sedan _ CarGurus

A year of college now costs $70,000, so don't be surprised that a Toyota Corolla can cost $30,000. New cars are just more expensive than in decades past, even when you account for inflation. But no matter which car you buy, they're a lot safer, they're more comfortable, and overall they're pretty good to drive. This Corolla is fully loaded for $29,000, which is right in line with the Honda Civic, Kia Forte, and Mazda 3. The Americans have given up entirely. They don't make a car that competes with the Corolla anymore. So your only choices are Japanese, Korean, and one German. We've driven all those competitors. Subscribe to the CarGurus YouTube channel because we've reviewed them, including the 2020 Corolla. That's when this car was brand new. For 2021, it gets some more tech and more safety. It's a whole lot better than the last generation Corolla, but under there, it's a little messier. This shouldn't exist in 2021. This four-cylinder engine reminds me of my first apartment in Boston. It looked really great on the outside, but inside it was full of mice and mold. When you get on the gas, you just get this really loud grating sound, and it's just, oh, I don't know, man. It sounds like my blender. And when I get to 60 miles an hour, I'm telling you, I'm not getting a drink out of the Corolla, and I deserve one. These engines are about as unrefined as what you'll get in a Subaru. They don't have the smoothness and the pull and the refinement that you'll find in say a Mazda, Kia, or a Honda. Whether those engines are turbo or not, they're all better. Even the one in the 2020 Nissan Sentra is better. That makes similar output as this. And that's really the problem with the Corolla because it just ruins the rest of the chassis. It's really good. The Corolla is a lot stiffer than before. It's on Toyota's new global architecture, which means it's just a safer car. First of all, stronger materials. It's lighter weight. It's good. And these have 18 inch tires. There's actually a lot of grip on this car. They're all seasons. The steering is pretty responsive. It's direct. The brakes feel good. So the Corolla in this trim, especially either XSE, which I'm driving, or the SE, which is a very similar type of style, and they both have the higher output engines. It's a car that honestly could handle a better engine because Toyota put a lot of effort into making this chassis responsive. So just the weak point. And I know that's not what the point of a Corolla is because it's a commuter car. It's an average car. It's not meant to be too aggressive, but when you're styling it this way, and when you're putting all this development into the chassis, why not go all the way, right? And I'm driving the Corolla with the upgraded engine on the SE and the XSE. It's a two liter inline four with 169 horsepower and 151 pound feet of torque. But a lot of Corollas are slower than this one. They have 1.8 liter fours with 139 horsepower and 126 pound feet of torque. And it might have something to do with the CVT automatic because I drove a Corolla SE with the six speed. That's optional only on the SE and it's got auto rev matching. It's got a great feel. It actually made this engine feel livelier. It put it in a better gear so it wasn't droning as much. I like that car a lot better and I drove that Corolla after getting out of an Aventador SVJ. So if you think that I have some ultra high expectations, well, I did and I was satisfied. For 2021, they're taking this exact trim and making it sportier. Firmer springs, anti-roll bars, special wheels, summer tires, louder exhaust. Great. But Toyota is only going to make 120 of them. 120 in the entire country with that manual transmission. The rest will be a CVT. The point is this, every other competitor has engines that return similar fuel economy and similar power and they sound better and they drive better. So I punish yourself. And Toyota, I'm not really sure why they're keeping these engines around so long. The fuel economy though, that's very good. It does 31 MPG city and 38 highway on the XSE. Some Corolla trims get up to 40 highway. There's a hybrid that's only available on the LE, the second trim, and it does 53, 52. That's incredible. But aside from these older engines, the Corolla is a very livable car and it is modern. Five things you should know about the 21 Toyota Corolla. I'm kneeling right here because this is a location of the rear side airbag. That's a rarity in any new car. Rear cross traffic alert is now an option. So is Android Auto. Before, it was only Apple CarPlay. The Apex edition is lowered like a tuner car, but it doesn't have any more power. And there's a hatchback, which you don't often see on the road. As a sedan, the Corolla looks exciting like it did in the 80s. I like the stance of this car. It's not a beauty queen like a Mazda 3, but it is bold. This is the XSE, so it has the 18-inch wheels, dark sills, dark trunk lid spoiler, some other cool features, especially a bigger grill. I think that's the one to get. You can also get it on the SE, which is cheaper. But particularly, I like these headlights, these triple curved LED running lights, more running lights down here, and LED headlights. These are standard in every Corolla, but this one has the adaptive swiveling lights. Those are all optional, but for a car like this, I think pretty worth it. This interior may look basic, but the quality is there. On the upper trims like this XSE, there's a soft padded dash, soft padding for the front doors, really nice gloss black plastic, and even the matte plastic has a nice grain to it. I like the blue stitching and this nice ribbing on the fabric inserts. Overall, there's great visibility and space in this small package. But I prefer the gray and black color scheme that brightens up the cabin a little more. This is an okay back seat, and I know it's a more affordable car, but there's no rear air vents, no USB ports back here. But this trunk is really good, and it's deep. For a small car, 13 cubic feet, that's almost as big as the Mercedes E-Class. Speaking of Mercedes, this instrument panel layout reminds me of the CL Coupe back in the early 2010s. I'm dating myself here. But at a time, that was state-of-the-art. It was black and white. But now you get a 7-inch gauge cluster that's completely digital, and it's full color. There's a whole lot more than that Mercedes did, too. Switch to Sport, and it turns red. You can always see the nav, audio, and other info with a few easy taps on the steering wheel. Driver assists are standard on every Corolla. Forward emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise, traffic sign recognition, and auto high beams. There's a steering assist for semi-automated driving. It works great, but you can't get it with the manual transmission. Do yourself a favor and buy a Corolla with an actual proximity key. The base L doesn't come with that. It has a real key and a fob that looks absolutely terrible. It's like some rental special. Thankfully, the proximity key and keyless entry are standard on XLE above, and it's optional on the LE. Most Corollas with any sort of options will have this 8-inch touchscreen rather than the 7-inch. This one has the navigation with live traffic. It can route to addresses on your phone contacts. Not every nav does that. You can sync car settings to your phone, not the key, so anyone can set up the Corolla and save it that way. You can't get 360-degree cameras or other cool features like that, but it is a decent system and much better than the one in the Civic. The 2021 Corolla starts at $19,925 for the L, which I can't recommend anyone buy. There's nothing in it. A well-equipped XLE will run you $24. My XSE with the bigger engine, the bigger wheels, and the upgraded tech is $28,985 with destination. The only Corolla that's more expensive is the XSE Apex Edition, and it's still under $30. But there's no option for a turbo or all-wheel drive. I think you can find small cars with more upscale interiors and better engines, like the Kia Forte and the Mazda 3. The engines in the Corolla are a real disappointment. They need an upgrade, and fast. But everything else about the Corolla, every other feature, it's competitive, and it's right on the money. As always, the Corolla is a solid choice of a car. It's safe, it's roomy, it's reliable. But what do you think? You're the one who's going to buy one of these and live with it every day. So tell us in the comments and go to CarGurus.com, where you can browse more vehicle reviews and thousands of listings. Thanks for watching, we'll see you next time.