Advice On Toyota Corolla 1.6 Automatic Hatchback 2004,05 Or 06 Please?

[steve80]

I'm considering purchasing an automatic toyota corolla 1.6 hatchback (not semi mmt transmission) with a milage of 50000 to 80000 either 2004,2005 or 2006. I've driven an automatic car before but not an automatic toyota. I would really appreciate some advice to put my mind at ease.

1. Is the automatic gearbox for these cars fully automatic? I've noticed some are mmt semi automatic and I'm not keen on then I would like a fully automatic (For my line of work an automatic car is most suitable)

2. Is an automatic a good drive and are there any gremlins to be aware of for the automatic gearbox and are there any reliability issues to be aware of in terms of the automatic gearbox? My main concern is that I don't want the gear box to go kaput. I've owned a golf tdi 1.9 dsg automatic. How does they toyota automatic compare in terms of drive and reliability? Have people found them to be relatively safe and reliable?

3. I understand that automatics will have poorer mpg but is a toyota automatic relatively decent in terms of mpg for short and distance travel?

4. Is 50000 to 80000 too many miles for an automatic 1.6 toyota corolla hatchback (04,05 or 06) or is it reliable and one can get many miles out of it?

Sorry for so many questions but would love to be reassured before I go ahead with this.

Many thanks

[FROSTYBALLS]

Threads merged, so that any responses are contained within the same thread

[FROSTYBALLS]

The Multi Mode Transmission (MMT), which is a manual gearbox with an automated clutch, was only available on the 1.4 diesel. The automatic on the 1.6 petrol was a 4-speed auto. See - https://d1hu588lul0tna.cloudfront.net/toyotaone/gben/Corolla-June-2005_tcm-3060-363490.pdf

[spuddy10]

Hi Steve I've just bought one of these for my partner. There are loads of little autos out there but there was one main reason I bought the Toyota and that was it's conventional torque convertor gearbox. For some reason (probably financial) most small auto cars have automated manual gearboxes which are overcomplicated and expensive when they go wrong.

Ours is the 1.6vvti and is quite nippy off the mark. In fact the throttle is too sensitive in my opinion but good for a quick getaway from the lights.

I not had it long enough to tell you much more other than it seems OK on petrol and being Japanese would expect nothing but great reliability from it. It's an '05 with 65k on the clock and still feels in good shape.