The 2013 Toyota Corolla presents a dilemma for compact car buyers - the Corolla is not going to be winning any drag races style competitions or economy runs, but that's not why millions of people have purchased Corolla. Oh, they have outstanding reliability, strong resale value, and offer satisfying comfort, fun to drive, not a big selling point in any of the three trim levels L, LE, or the sporty S which is the one we're driving today.

Dilemma continues inside the Corolla - the control layout couldn't be simpler and the instruments are well illuminated and easy to read, but look around and you're going to find some cheap looking plastics. The base L model has few frills with flat boring seats - we do prefer this S level for its more supportive seats up front, no matter which Corolla you might choose. There is enough room for five adults although the three adults in the back won't want to stay there on a long trip.

Now if technology is your priority, this S or LE is the way to go, especially with the premium complete package - it gets you Toyota's excellent InTune interface that's loaded with features including this hands-free voice navigation system. And we should mention that the LE and S trim levels do come standard with a 6.1-inch touchscreen.

The Corolla is powered by a 1.8L inline-4 with 132 horsepower and 128 lb-ft of torque, not much muscle there, standard in the L and the S is a 5-speed manual transmission mated to front-wheel drive - but most Corollas will be fitted with a rather outdated four-speed automatic instead of a more modern five or six speed or CVTs. Besides the lack of power we did notice some primitive noises coming from the Corolla during acceleration like it's trying really hard.

Fuel economy doesn't lead the class either, 27 City/34 Highway is its best with the 5-speed, it's nearly the same with the automatic - but even the Corolla's larger cousin, the Camry, can top those numbers. Powertrain is protected by a 5-year 60,000 Mi warranty, even there the Corolla is bested by some of its competitors.

The Corolla is Affordable - $16,230 is the base MSRP for the L trim level and it's only a couple thousand more for the top-level S - but the competition is Stout in this class. The Dodge Dart has a turbocharged engine and gets better fuel mileage. The Ford Focus costs more in the upper trims but is quicker, more refined, and feels more upscale.

The Hyundai Elantra has more aggressive styling and includes a ton of features for the price despite its shortcomings - the 2013 Toyota Corolla still defines the term basic Transportation not sexy or Swift or sporty just a reliable way to get there. We do recommend the L or S trim levels especially for the little extras that become much bigger when traveling in the Corolla every day. Hey, millions of Toyota Corolla drivers can't all be wrong!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe 2013 Toyota Corolla presents a dilemma for compact car buyers the Corolla is not going to be winning any drag races style competitions or economy runs but that's not why millions of people have purchased Corolla oh they have outstanding reliability strong resale value and offer satisfying Comfort fun to drive not a big selling point in any of the three trim levels l l or the sporty s which is the one we're driving today dilemma continues inside the Corolla the control layout couldn't be simpler and the instruments are well illuminated and easy to read but look around and you're going to find some cheap looking Plastics the Bas L model has few Frills with flat boring seats we do prefer this s level for its more supportive seats up front no matter which Corolla you might choose there is enough room for five adults although the three adults in the back won't want to stay there on a long trip now if technology is your priority this s or the Le is the way to go especially with the premium complete package premium complete get you Toyota's excellent InTune interface that's loaded with features including this hands-free voice navigation system and we should mention that the Le and S trim levels do come standard with a 6.1 in touchscreen the Corolla is powered by a 1.8 L inline 4 with 132 horsepower and 128 lbet of torque not much muscle there standard in the L and the S is a 5-speed manual transmission mated to front-wheel drive but most Corollas will be fitted with a rather outdated four-speed automatic instead of a more modern five or six speed or cvts besides the lack of power we did notice some primitive noises coming from the Corolla during acceleration like it's trying really hard fuel economy doesn't lead the class either 27 City 34 highway is its best with the 5-speed it's nearly the same with the automatic but even corolla's larger cousin the Camry can top those numbers powertrain is protected by 5year 60,000 Mi warranty even there the Corolla is bested by some of its competitors the Corolla is Affordable $1 6,230 is the base MSRP for the L trim level and it's only a couple thousand more for the top level s but the competition is Stout in this class the Dodge Dart has a turbocharged engine and gets better fuel mileage the Ford Focus costs more in the upper trims but is quicker more refined and feels more upscale and the Hyundai Elantra has more aggressive styling and includes a ton of features for the price despite its shortcomings the 2013 Toyota Corolla still defines the term basic Transportation not sexy or Swift or sporty just a reliable way to get there we do recommend the L or the S trim levels especially for the little extras that become much bigger when traveling in the Corolla every day hey millions of Toyota Corolla drivers can't all be wrongthe 2013 Toyota Corolla presents a dilemma for compact car buyers the Corolla is not going to be winning any drag races style competitions or economy runs but that's not why millions of people have purchased Corolla oh they have outstanding reliability strong resale value and offer satisfying Comfort fun to drive not a big selling point in any of the three trim levels l l or the sporty s which is the one we're driving today dilemma continues inside the Corolla the control layout couldn't be simpler and the instruments are well illuminated and easy to read but look around and you're going to find some cheap looking Plastics the Bas L model has few Frills with flat boring seats we do prefer this s level for its more supportive seats up front no matter which Corolla you might choose there is enough room for five adults although the three adults in the back won't want to stay there on a long trip now if technology is your priority this s or the Le is the way to go especially with the premium complete package premium complete get you Toyota's excellent InTune interface that's loaded with features including this hands-free voice navigation system and we should mention that the Le and S trim levels do come standard with a 6.1 in touchscreen the Corolla is powered by a 1.8 L inline 4 with 132 horsepower and 128 lbet of torque not much muscle there standard in the L and the S is a 5-speed manual transmission mated to front-wheel drive but most Corollas will be fitted with a rather outdated four-speed automatic instead of a more modern five or six speed or cvts besides the lack of power we did notice some primitive noises coming from the Corolla during acceleration like it's trying really hard fuel economy doesn't lead the class either 27 City 34 highway is its best with the 5-speed it's nearly the same with the automatic but even corolla's larger cousin the Camry can top those numbers powertrain is protected by 5year 60,000 Mi warranty even there the Corolla is bested by some of its competitors the Corolla is Affordable $1 6,230 is the base MSRP for the L trim level and it's only a couple thousand more for the top level s but the competition is Stout in this class the Dodge Dart has a turbocharged engine and gets better fuel mileage the Ford Focus costs more in the upper trims but is quicker more refined and feels more upscale and the Hyundai Elantra has more aggressive styling and includes a ton of features for the price despite its shortcomings the 2013 Toyota Corolla still defines the term basic Transportation not sexy or Swift or sporty just a reliable way to get there we do recommend the L or the S trim levels especially for the little extras that become much bigger when traveling in the Corolla every day hey millions of Toyota Corolla drivers can't all be wrong\n"