Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8A Review

Urging now and then to not ask how or why, he lamented on how he hated it. He loved condemning his purchase in public, but while he did so, there was an awkward, silent admission to his growing affection for the car. He loved how the materials held up well, how quiet it was during his trips up and down those Malaysian highways, the torquey engine and how it was perfectly matched to the gearbox.

"You just don't think about it," he blurted out rather absentmindedly.

Similarly, owing to its tremendous success over the years, his car has gained a rather conservative, underrated and undoubtedly boring image amongst the younger generation of motorists these days.

They were the last of cars made in the land of the rising sun to go front wheel drive during the eighties. And when they did, no one raised a huge fuss before or after the change.

Twenty years on, (today) they're not about to switch to 5-speed automatics just yet, but chances are you, or any prospective buyer, might not care or know whether they do so, or not.

Why?

Simple - the car in question is a Toyota Corolla.

So at the risk of enraging our fellow parallel imported stores and counterparts over at Borneo Motors, I can't help but bewail upon the stigma built to fit such a car of Japanese derivation - a car so synonymous with reliability and value that customers to walk into the showroom without so much as a query prior to purchase.

But I digress. You really clicked on this article to hear about how good, or bad the 2008 Corolla Altis so I apologize if I've turned this into a personal web log.

Version 2008 has slightly managed to take on the looks of a smaller, more athletic Camry from the front. The lines are all there - if you were to wake up drunk right in front of one, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway.

The impression continues onto the shoulders of the car, and all the way to the back, and the rest follows in similar style to the 1.6-litre automatic variant featured here
Engine "block"

1ZZ-FE; the main difference. It's a really excellent engine. Used in the outgoing model of the Corolla Altis, Toyota Wish, Celica SS1 and even the Lotus Elise S, it is the proverbial mid-range workhorse in terms of budget and perky performance.

However, Toyota hasn't yet decided to option our market with the new 2ZR-FE Dual VVT-i employed in the Japanese and American markets, but that isn't an issue really, given the present unit's strong points.

Anyway, the 1794cc 1ZZ gives us 132 hp at 6000rpm and a nice, fat 170Nm of torque from 4200rpm, and coupled with an average fuel economy figure of 9.4 kilometres to the litre under rather harsh driving conditions in the city over two days, we can't find any reason to be unhappy over the aging power unit.

0-100km/h was "stopwatched" close to 9.7 seconds with a full tank of petrol on a hot day, but that really isn't important if you're looking for a Corolla, isn't it? There's a lovely, flat torque curve with lots of pull from just over 2500rpm. Not much if you're the sort of driver who expects a lot, but enough to occasionally surprise you into not downshifting, should you feel like doing so.

The auto box worked well enough to keep any use of the self-shifter at bay - a very useful feature only when descending something like Genting Highlands or in the very least, Mount Faber. That, and the fact that 4 gears aren't really worth the trouble with a smooth functioning unit such as this.

The rest of it, ride, suspension, comfort and refinement and all, feels similar to the 1.6A tested earlier this year. We do not exaggerate when we can't discern if the engine is turned on or off at idle, lest we look at the tachometer for good measure.

The Corolla's roof isn't as well insulated as one might like it to be. Rain patters through loud and clear during one of those tropical thunderstorms. That spells a little mismatch when the car's otherwise excellent sound-proofing characteristics are taken into account.

The trunk is amusingly light to lift and slam shut - one's "pinkie" fifth finger does the job, but that controversial torsion beam alongside the rear axle does wonders for boot space and leg room- almost three-quarters that of the Camry's, we figure.
When it all comes down to it™

A donation of $69,388 in your name to Borneo Motors fetches you a 1.8-litre Toyota Corolla with a few perks over that of the 1.6-litre variant. You get everything the Altis' 1.6-litre sibling has to offer, with the addition of 60:40 split fold rear seats, single Xenon high intensity discharge headlamps with selectable leveling (see pictures), driver's electrically adjustable seats, an automatic transmission with self-shifting capability, and a really competent sound system that has a proper command console.

Personally, we would pick the 1.8 because it feels so much more capable through traffic, however, would you really care? Because, as perfect as it is for those who want the comfort of a Camry without the size or price, would they really care about what goes into the engine bay? Perhaps the younger generation of car-savvy buyers would, and then, they would go for the sportier, sharper Honda Civic, which leaves us to conclude that the present generation Altis, like so many before, has it's own following.

It is a competent all-rounder with robust mechanics, but it is rather short on style and desirability. Like forks, spoons and other utensils so essential to dining, the Corolla has become so.

I really want to be enthusiastic about this car, but we just can't bring ourselves to do so - although we fully know, that this car will fight a good battle through an entire COE cycle, perhaps two. So how could anyone go wrong buying one of these? You can't. Like said owner of a Corolla mentioned - "You just don't think about it."