Toyota Corolla

[Nikmohola]

Hi All,

Looking to buy (not sure yet) a Toyota Corolla 2005 1.4 TD Colour Collection Multimode (Diesel Automatic) This model does not have a DPF. I am not going to use the car during the week at all. Will only do short trips on some weekends so will cover short distances only to begin with. Any feedback on this model for someone with my kind of driving pattern. Has anyone experienced an any problems? Appreciate any comments.

 

Thanks

Nik

 

[Cyker]

I'd get a petrol car for that kind of use; Diesels like long and constant use. Short occasional use will give awful economy and probably cause the engine to develop problems over time as it never gets hot enough.

The Corollas are great cars tho' - I still think they look and feel much nicer than the Auris that replaced them.
 

[oldcodger]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

I'd get a petrol car for that kind of use; Diesels like long and constant use. Short occasional use will give awful economy and probably cause the engine to develop problems over time as it never gets hot enough.

The Corollas are great cars tho' - I still think they look and feel much nicer than the Auris that replaced them.
 

Agree that petrol is far better for low mileage / town work

Cyker  - any experience of Toyota auto boxes on models like the Auris, never used a  UK auto, just that they used to be generally known as unreliable, expensive and even more so on smaller cars ..  but do not know if that has improved in more recent times  ? .. might be looking for one if I get another car.

 

[Nikmohola]

18 hours ago, Cyker said:

I'd get a petrol car for that kind of use; Diesels like long and constant use. Short occasional use will give awful economy and probably cause the engine to develop problems over time as it never gets hot enough.

The Corollas are great cars tho' - I still think they look and feel much nicer than the Auris that replaced them.
 

Thanks for the suggestion guys I actually missed out on buying a lovely 1.6 Toyota Corolla petrol automatic but realized later that the annual tax for petrol corolla's has gone up to £280 a year after the April 2017 as per new tax rules and the diesel version is it only £135! That is why i got interested in a diesel

[oldcodger]

The new tax rules only affect New cars from April 2017, older cars remain the same, bar inflation rises.

For now, older diesel are about half of what the tax is for petrol, but that might soon change as the government wants to get rid of old diesels.ie VW-gate etc.

Also you need to factor in the more frequent and expensive service schedules for a diesel and as said the extra costs associated with clogged up repairs because of doing low mileage / town work with a diesel.

If you search the web you will find conclusive detailed proof that below 20k miles per year its not cost effective to use a diesel.

[Cyker]

Uh, I do well under 20k a year in mine but I bet it beats most HSDs for cost effectiveness... The trick is to get the engine hot regularly; Most of my driving during the day is horrible urban driving, but the commute in and out is 30 mins of fast A-road driving which gets the engine good and hot, giving it a huge boost in efficiency and burning off soot to stop it clogging.

Without that, the engine would be far less happy, so if it's just short occasional journeys a petrol engine is the way to go.

And I don't know where this more expensive servicing thing came from; Sure if you have a problem it can be expensive, but the normal servicing is the same as a petrol, cheaper even since we don't need to replace spark plugs!

 

The tax is one thing that is a benefit for petrol users; A friend of mine is itching to trade out her SUV which currently costs something like £500 a year on tax, for an even more powerful one that will only be taxed at £140  (Well, once the initial punishment tax wears off). At least plants and trees won't mind all that extra CO2...!

@oldcodger - A little; The bad autoboxes were the MMT ones, i.e. manuals with computer controlled clutch and brakes. I've always said these kinds of autoboxes are great if you're a race driver but they suck if you're spending time crawling through traffic. The computer just can't finesse the clutch at low speeds like a good manual driver, which is why they develop problems so often, esp. the MMTs with smaller clutches.

Toyota gave up on them and switched to CVTs - Now disclaimer I really really hate CVTs, but the newer Toyota CVTs are supposed to be quite good; They're a bit rev-happy if you give it the beans, but they've been quite reliable so far. Not seen anyone post here about problems with them so far which is something of a small miracle!

That said tho', if you want an autobox Auris, get a HSD - the hybrid drive is the best autobox you can buy IMHO. It has no wearing parts, it's smooth as butter and very very responsive.

 

[oldcodger]

On 26/05/2017 at 8:58 PM, Cyker said:

@oldcodger - A little; The bad autoboxes were the MMT ones, i.e. manuals with computer controlled clutch and brakes. I've always said these kinds of autoboxes are great if you're a race driver but they suck if you're spending time crawling through traffic. The computer just can't finesse the clutch at low speeds like a good manual driver, which is why they develop problems so often, esp. the MMTs with smaller clutches.

Toyota gave up on them and switched to CVTs - Now disclaimer I really really hate CVTs, but the newer Toyota CVTs are supposed to be quite good; They're a bit rev-happy if you give it the beans, but they've been quite reliable so far. Not seen anyone post here about problems with them so far which is something of a small miracle!

That said tho', if you want an autobox Auris, get a HSD - the hybrid drive is the best autobox you can buy IMHO. It has no wearing parts, it's smooth as butter and very very responsive.

 

Thanks for that; the CVT is something else I have not driven.

Had many cars over the years, company and own , but all manual boxes.

Will  have to get down to the dealers and do a few test drives, the Rolla has just clocked 100,000 today, and apart from standard service items only needed a new clutch, so will probably stay with Toyota for the reliability factor, though the reviews of the new Astra does sound good ; had many Cavs and Astras but that was 25 years ago, no idea how they are for reliability these days.

[Nikmohola]

Thanks all for your comments and suggestions. Oldcodger- The tax for Corolla comes up as £280 on auto trader and that is also true for all cars registered old or new under new Co2 emission rules as I understand- to be honest I am more confused now!

[mickburkesnr]

On 28/05/2017 at 7:54 PM, oldcodger said:

had many Cavs and Astras but that was 25 years ago, no idea how they are for reliability these days.

Well with Vauxhall being part of PSA now I think it's safe to say the reliability can only get worse.