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New Toyota Corolla solid but not very exciting

The radical thing about Toyota's redesign of its strong-selling Corolla compact sedan is how little the big Japanese
automaker advanced the car — particularly in contrast with Honda's heroic makeover of the Civic, Corolla's main rival.

Honda offers an optional five-speed automatic transmission across the board. Toyota stayed with a four-speed, reserving
a five-speed for the optional engine.

Honda penned a dramatic, futuristic look; Toyota kept mainstream, Camry-esque styling.

Honda reconfigured the interior to match the promise of the sheet metal. Toyota's interior also is a good match with the outside,
which means it's a bit plain.

Honda has made power windows standard. Toyota gives you hand cranks on all but the high-end Corolla, unless you pay
$625 for a "power package" to get electric windows (and remote door locks).

Turns out Corolla, as unimaginative, uninspired and underfeatured it might seem, remains a reassuringly solid
and appealing small car.

And add this potentially important factor: Toyota makes stability control, including traction control, standard on the XRS
sport model and will sell it on other models for a modest $250. It even has an "off" switch for when the car would work
better without the traction control (in gravel or deep snow, for instance).

Honda puts stability control on the sportiest Civic but doesn't offer it on all other Civics.

The wagon-like Matrix, based on the Corolla and also sold by Pontiac as the Vibe, was redesigned at the same time.
It's different enough in appearance and intention that it'll be considered on its own later.

You might question what Toyota was smoking when it decided to keep hand-crank windows, like those on the Corolla
Sport test car. Turns out that Toyota Motor Sales, U.S. distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, has to pay Toyota Motor Corp.,
the Japanese parent, extra for every accessory or upgrade on the U.S. models.
Making cranks standard on all but the XLE trimmed a bit from what TMS has to pay TMC per car.

No matter that it probably costs TMC more to stock and offer two sets of window mechanisms than to standardize
power windows.

Honda, calling power windows "an expectation," switched 100% to power on all its vehicles in 2006.

Beyond convenience, power windows can be a safety feature. You can lock them to prevent kids from running them up
and down, or sticking their head and hands out when they shouldn't. And power operation lets the driver close up quickly
when a wrong turn leads into an iffy neighborhood.

Impressions left by the test car, an $18,410 Sport with four-speed automatic and 1.8-liter engine:

•Comfortable, reasonably roomy seating, front and rear.
The back has adequate knee room for most adults and will seat three if at least one is skinny.

But: Not all kid seats sit squarely in back because of placement of safety-belt buckles.

•No-nonsense dashboard.
A joy in these days of electronic madness. The materials look and feel nice enough that you don't think "rental car."
The climate-control knobs, though, were stiff to move and rubbery in motion.

•Thoughtful cubbies.
The trunk of the test car had a bin to keep small items from sliding about and to separate them from grungy cargo.
Each door had a cup holder.

•Decent dynamics.
Steering was light, but you didn't feel as if the front wheels were on ice, or the steering wheel was disconnected.
The "feel of the road" crowd will boo, but most drivers will find it a pretty nice setup.

The transmission, though a four-speed, shifted crisply up or down. In fact, it provided prompt, no-stumble downshifts
superior to some fancier boxes in pricier machines.
Still, a five-speed almost surely would improve both mileage and performance.

Brakes felt about average, which is a step up from the spongy feel common on Toyotas.

Acceleration was acceptable, considering the meager 132 horsepower, and the four-cylinder engine surprisingly
didn't sound strained doing its business. The pricier XRS version comes with a 2.4-liter engine rated 158 hp.

The left section of the folding rear seat back didn't latch securely against the bulkhead that separates the seats from the trunk.
The latch for that section sits too far inboard, leaving the outer edge so it could be pulled away from the bulkhead without much
effort.

Might be a meaningless flaw — who goes around yanking the rear seat back (other than auto writers)?
But along with the four-speed automatic and crank windows, it leaves the impression that corners are being cut.

The shortcomings suggest that Toyota was more focused on money than owners.
But overall, there's no quibble with the smooth, comfortable way the Corolla goes about most of its business.

Not looking for a song and dance from your compact car? Prefer a straightforward approach, executed well, instead
of a platform for the latest gadgets?

Remake of one of the world's best sellers, a four-door, front-drive compact. Toyota says 80% are built at Fremont,
Calif., in the Toyota-run NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing Inc.) factory. The rest come from Canada and Japan.

Trim	Transmission	MSRP*	Destination**
CE	Manual 5 Speed	C$14,565	C$1,140

S	Manual 5 Speed	C$18,930	C$1,140

LE	Automatic 4 Speed	C$19,900	C$1,140

XRS	Manual 5 Speed	C$21,655	C$1,140

315,000 this year. Toyota counts the mechanically similar Matrix hatchback/wagon as a Corolla model
and says that will add 75,000.

1.8-liter, four-cylinder rated 132 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 128 pounds-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm, five-speed
manual transmission. Four-speed automatic is optional.

•XRS has 2.4-liter rated 158 hp at 6,000 rpm, 162 lbs.-ft. at 4,000 rpm, five-speed manual.
The engine is not available on any of the other models. Five-speed automatic is optional.

Front, side and head-curtain air bags; anti-lock brakes with brake-force distribution.
Stability control, including traction control, $250 (standard on XRS).

Varies by model, but standard on all: air conditioning, AM/FM/CD stereo with MP3, WMA playback; power steering,
brakes, mirrors; tiltable and telescoping steering column; rear-window defroster. More details: www.toyota.com.

178.7 inches long, 69.3 inches wide, 57.7 inches tall, on a 102.4-inch wheelbase. Passenger space listed as 92 cubic
feet; trunk space, 16.6 cubic feet.

•Weights range from 2,723 to 2,965 pounds, depending on equipment. Rated to tow 1,500 pounds.

1.8-liter is rated 27 miles per gallon in town, 35 highway, 30 combined, with either manual or automatic transmission;
2.4-liter rated 22/30/25 with either transmission. Test car's trip computer recorded 25.1 mpg in suburban driving.