Minor buyer's remorse: got HB, should've gotten TS

[Persimmon]

Hi all,

I got my Corolla 1.8 Hatchback last autumn, and driven around 7000 miles so far. Overall, probably the best car I owned. However, I'm having minor buyer's remorse every time I see a nice Corolla Touring Sports.

There was only one occasion where the space in the hatchback wasn't enough for cargo (there's at most only one passenger in my car, the back seats actually never had a passenger riding :)) But I guess I didn't do enough research in the first place, and later learned that TS is objectively a better car. More space, electric tailgate, LED lights in the boot (nicer rear design — subjectively), slightly softer ride due to increased wheelbase, etc, etc...

This week I had to put roof bars, and learned another advantage of TS: it has roof rails! The HB doesn't, and roof bars have to be attached to those small holes inside the door sills, which worries me because now the rubber door seals are slightly deformed due to increased thickness at the anchor points. 

I keep losing money on cars, and I promised myself to drive this Corolla A LOT before even thinking of selling, but I can't stop thinking about trading it up for a 2.0l TS... I only have three criticisms of my current car: noise, practicality and power. An upgrade to 2.0l TS would fix two of the three criticisms (although some people on this forum mentioned that TS is quieter, and 2.0l cars supposedly have better windshield, but I don't have any expectations).

Sorry for all this rambling... I guess, I thought I could manage with decreased space and decreased power (coming from a powerful PHEV SUV to a 1.8 Corolla Hatchback), but clearly I'm having those pesky thoughts lately... The car is worth more than I owe, so trading it in wouldn't be too painful I guess, but I'm not sure it's worth it. I will still be unhappy about the noise. Maybe, it's better to suck it up and upgrade to something drastically different in a few years (maybe, Toyota's new EV?).

Oh, if only Toyota offered a Camry in estate form... 

[john p williams]

7 minutes ago, Persimmon said:

Hi all,

I got my Corolla 1.8 Hatchback last autumn, and driven around 7000 miles so far. Overall, probably the best car I owned. However, I'm having minor buyer's remorse every time I see a nice Corolla Touring Sports.

There was only one occasion where the space in the hatchback wasn't enough for cargo (there's at most only one passenger in my car, the back seats actually never had a passenger riding :)) But I guess I didn't do enough research in the first place, and later learned that TS is objectively a better car. More space, electric tailgate, LED lights in the boot (nicer rear design — subjectively), slightly softer ride due to increased wheelbase, etc, etc...

This week I had to put roof bars, and learned another advantage of TS: it has roof rails! The HB doesn't, and roof bars have to be attached to those small holes inside the door sills, which worries me because now the rubber door seals are slightly deformed due to increased thickness at the anchor points. 

I keep losing money on cars, and I promised myself to drive this Corolla A LOT before even thinking of selling, but I can't stop thinking about trading it up for a 2.0l TS... I only have three criticisms of my current car: noise, practicality and power. An upgrade to 2.0l TS would fix two of the three criticisms (although some people on this forum mentioned that TS is quieter, and 2.0l cars supposedly have better windshield, but I don't have any expectations).

Sorry for all this rambling... I guess, I thought I could manage with decreased space and decreased power (coming from a powerful PHEV SUV to a 1.8 Corolla Hatchback), but clearly I'm having those pesky thoughts lately... The car is worth more than I owe, so trading it in wouldn't be too painful I guess, but I'm not sure it's worth it. I will still be unhappy about the noise. Maybe, it's better to suck it up and upgrade to something drastically different in a few years (maybe, Toyota's new EV?).

Oh, if only Toyota offered a Camry in estate form... 

If you really,really want the Touring Sport and you can afford it then just buy it Sam.

Your ticket marked "LIFE" does not have a return option !

[Persimmon]

22 minutes ago, john p williams said:

Your ticket marked "LIFE" does not have a return option !

Ha! I've used this one too many times perhaps 😄 Overall, my car purchasing history is a pathetic series of such remorses, exchanges and losses of money. Which driven me to earn more money, which I then waste on cars, ad infinitum. I might have a problem. Do we have a support group on this forum? 😄 

[Obsidian Estate]

I have an estate (I'm old enough to remember when an estate was an estate)

I only bought it because it's a good looking thing, I'll probably never fill it.

Plenty of room for this ***** head though.

[TonyHSD]

If it’s me I will swap it straightaway. Get the TS but make sure you are buying minimum Design mode spec or higher to get all the goodies. Design, Trek , GR or Excel. 👌🚗

[Cyker]

Yeah, there has never been a better time to swap a new car - In the past you'd lose a chunk of its value just driving it off the lot but right now you can probably swap for no loss; I've even heard of people making a profit selling their car on shortly after buying it because of the demand outstripping supply!

Also I feel we might need to start a cute doggo picture thread...  

[Gray86]

I’m really pleased with my 2.0 TS estate, for all the reasons you admire it. The big boot has come in handy over the last few months the with house renovations. Fuel economy is better this year than last - despite the E10 petrol.  Roof bars carry the bike easily (the low roofline helps to list them up there too). 
 

I quite admire the RAV4, for the extra interior space, but the cost to change is just too much

[Persimmon]

5 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Yeah, there has never been a better time to swap a new car - In the past you'd lose a chunk of its value just driving it off the lot but right now you can probably swap for no loss; I've even heard of people making a profit selling their car on shortly after buying it because of the demand outstripping supply!

Also I feel we might need to start a cute doggo picture thread...  

That's not quite the case here in Finland, at least in my situation. I bought the car for 35k€, and now dealers are offering to trade it in at 27€. While I do owe the bank less than that, it's still almost 7k€ loss. 

[TonyHSD]

3 minutes ago, Persimmon said:

That's not quite the case here in Finland, at least in my situation. I bought the car for 35k€, and now dealers are offering to trade it in at 27€. While I do owe the bank less than that, it's still almost 7k€ loss. 

In uk car prices are crazy. Recent visit to a local Toyota dealer just proof that. There were used 3 years old Corolla outside for 3-4 grand more expensive than brand new same spec cars, unbelievable but true. Even like my car bough in 2015 now worth more money, this is shows how bad economically is England at the moment. 

[john p williams]

12 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

In uk car prices are crazy. Recent visit to a local Toyota dealer just proof that. There were used 3 years old Corolla outside for 3-4 grand more expensive than brand new same spec cars, unbelievable but true. Even like my car bough in 2015 now worth more money, this is shows how bad economically is England at the moment. 

It is the Market operating Tony.Demand is greater than supply,so prices rise.

[Cyker]

16 minutes ago, Persimmon said:

That's not quite the case here in Finland, at least in my situation. I bought the car for 35k€, and now dealers are offering to trade it in at 27€. While I do owe the bank less than that, it's still almost 7k€ loss. 

Ahh fair enough, so things not as crazy over there as here!

Over here it's just gotten stupid - As Tony says sometimes the nearly-new 2nd hand ones often cost more than an actually new one!!

They're gouging people that want the car now and aren't prepared to wait; people who're are downsizing like catlover can making a killing selling right now!

 

[Persimmon]

14 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Ahh fair enough, so things not as crazy over there as here!

Over here it's just gotten stupid - As Tony says sometimes the nearly-new 2nd hand ones often cost more than an actually new one!!

They're gouging people that want the car now and aren't prepared to wait; people who're are downsizing like catlover can making a killing selling right now!

 

That's... obscene! Used car prices did rise quite a bit here, but not as much. EVs got more expensive than regular cars though. 

[TonyHSD]

These particular cars I had seen nobody was walking around only me, inside the showroom there were people enquiring the new ones and particularly Corolla. 

[Notfer]

Your buyers remorse can't be as bad as Fourbanks' "bought from the wrong marque, everything about the car is wrong, I didn't see this coming, but I'll make a thread about every little snag" remorse 😁

[TonyHSD]

Tbh if I compare my Auris hybrid top spec from 2010 to Corolla excel hatchback 2020 I can see many areas that has been corner cut and it’s not just me but many other owners. My car has better build quality and materials by far. 

[Cyker]

Alas that does seem to be a trend every time there is a new models; I remember when they changed the old-shape Corolla to the Auris - similar comments were made all the way back then too!

[Gray86]

3 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Tbh if I compare my Auris hybrid top spec from 2010 to Corolla excel hatchback 2020 I can see many areas that has been corner cut and it’s not just me but many other owners. My car has better build quality and materials by far. 

I’m surprised you think the materials are better - I’ve had a 2010 Auris hybrid, and the dashboard plastics are hugely better in the Corolla. Soft touch galore in the Corolla. Auris had some quite flimsy plastics in comparison. It was an area Toyota needed to improve on 

[TonyHSD]

Auris from 2010 indeed has mainly hard recycled plastic dashboard with some soft touch around upper glove box and instrument cluster. All that was  similar to the Prius from that era but apart from those details anything else , door cards, roof lining, sun visors, pillars, seats, door seals  they are much better and plusher. The next generation Auris is even not as good as the first one t-spirit variants. 

[Persimmon]

Ah, what the hell... 2.0 GR-sport TS it is then

 

[forkingabout]

Do I spy headlamp washers? 

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, forkingabout said:

Do I spy headlamp washers? 

And better headlights. UK has the poorest specs Corollas from all eu countries. In the rest of Europe all specs from design and above has bi-led, washers, wireless charging, auto rear door closing/opening etc. , more colours to choose, more wheels sizes and types to pick. Toyota uk office simply does not understand their own customers., period. 👍

[StreetHawk]

37 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

And better headlights. UK has the poorest specs Corollas from all eu countries. In the rest of Europe all specs from design and above has bi-led, washers, wireless charging, auto rear door closing/opening etc. , more colours to choose, more wheels sizes and types to pick. Toyota uk office simply does not understand their own customers., period. 👍

Agreed. Why give other markets all the toys but we only get a few? Must hurt sales over here. Maybe MY23 will offer more? 

[forkingabout]

An optional winter pack with heated steering wheel, heated seats, headlamp washers & the better headlamps would be an idea.

People could then choose what they wanted.

[Persimmon]

Well, I blame john p williams, I visited a Toyota dealership a few days ago to take another look at Touring Sports, thinking that the best case scenario I maybe, perhaps, who knows, I would order one in a few months, and it will take another 6 months to build, yada yada. And the first thing I see as I come in is that beautiful 2.0 TS GR-sport with bi-tone colorus ("Precious Silver", color code 2RD). Black roof, black logos, black roof rails, black door trims, darkened headlights. Someone ordered it, but had to cancel last minute, and the car came to Finland a week ago, and was being sold as a "Toyota approved user car", with staggering 7 km on the odometer.

It's a 2022 model, with absolutely everything. Well, except for a panoramic roof. It has 18" GR sport wheels, wireless charging, blind spot monitor, rear cross traffic alert, HUD, JBL 9 speaker system, new navigation with wireless Apple CarPlay, electrically operated boot lid with kick-to-open feature, bi-led headlamps... It's ridiculously specced! Btw, heated steering wheel comes standard on all Corollas in Finland.

What I did not realize is that this model comes with Toyota Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS). So, in addition to "Eco", "Normal" and "Sport S" it has "Comfort" mode which softens suspension response. Also, being a 2.0 GR sport model, it has "Sport S+" mode, but I'm not sure how it differs from the regular "Sport S" mode. There's also "Custom" mode where you can configure suspension and throttle response yourself. E.g. you may want softer suspension with sportier acceleration.

The salesperson was very helpful, and I took the car for a test drive, adding another 33 kilometers to the odo reading.

In short — this is a better car in all aspects compared to my 1.8 HB. Feels like a grown-up version of it.

Variable suspension, in addition to a slightly longer wheelbase, does make a difference. In "Comfort" mode, the car goes over bumps with a floaty feeling. And this is with enormous 18" wheels and, as usual, overinflated tires (yes I checked ;)) 

I didn't want to push the brand new engine too much, but with my limited testing the 2.0L engine feels a great deal more responsive and refined. Again, it's like a grown up, more capable, more reassuring version of my 1.8L. It doesn't sound as struggling as the 1.8, even at 5000rpm. Feels effortless in most situations, and has a different growl.

I did a lot of sound deadening in my HB (wheel arches, floor, boot, bonnet, doors), and I have 17" wheels with Davanti tires (pretty quiet ones). And this 2.0L TS with 18" and stock Falken tires felt a bit quieter. The glass of the windows and the windshield have different codes (none say "Acoustic" though), and the sound of cars passing by is much quieter in the TS. I imagine if you apply the same sound deadening and switch to at least 17" non-Falken tires, then this TS would be pretty damn quiet.

Wireless Apple CarPlay works well, HUD is nice. Too bad it doesn't show blind spot warning (like it does on current gen. Mazda 3/CX-30), but at least it shows the speed, speed limit, customizable tachometer/power band, compass, navigation and some other notifications like phone, music, etc (can be disabled). Position, rotation and brightness are also customizable.

JBL sound system made me actually want to listen to music in the car again. It's fantastic! I'm no audiophile, but the difference between the stock system I had in the HB, and this JBL system is enormous. The bass is crisp and clear, and I can hear all the details. 

The boot is the work of art (TS owners know this). Reversible and height-adjustable boot floor, rubber anti-slip strips, LED lights, lots of storage, and seats go completely flat. 

Fuel economy: in ECO mode I got the same kind of consumption as with a 1.8 HB in normal mode. However, ECO mode in 2.0L does not feel underpowered at all! 

So, I went for it — swapped the 1.8 HB for a 2.0L TS GR-Sport. Driven 2000km already. It's so weird — same car, but better in all regards, as if my HB went through a self-improvement program, hit the gym, learned new tricks and became more solid and capable 😄

While the 18" wheels with factory Falkens look great, I did swap them for my old 17" wheels, which made the ride quieter and softer. 

 

[DC_Ms]

19 minutes ago, Persimmon said:

Well, I blame john p williams, I visited a Toyota dealership a few days ago to take another look at Touring Sports, thinking that the best case scenario I maybe, perhaps, who knows, I would order one in a few months, and it will take another 6 months to build, yada yada. And the first thing I see as I come in is that beautiful 2.0 TS GR-sport with bi-tone colorus ("Precious Silver", color code 2RD). Black roof, black logos, black roof rails, black door trims, darkened headlights. Someone ordered it, but had to cancel last minute, and the car came to Finland a week ago, and was being sold as a "Toyota approved user car", with staggering 7 km on the odometer.

It's a 2022 model, with absolutely everything. Well, except for a panoramic roof. It has 18" GR sport wheels, wireless charging, blind spot monitor, rear cross traffic alert, HUD, JBL 9 speaker system, new navigation with wireless Apple CarPlay, electrically operated boot lid with kick-to-open feature, bi-led headlamps... It's ridiculously specced! Btw, heated steering wheel comes standard on all Corollas in Finland.

What I did not realize is that this model comes with Toyota Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS). So, in addition to "Eco", "Normal" and "Sport S" it has "Comfort" mode which softens suspension response. Also, being a 2.0 GR sport model, it has "Sport S+" mode, but I'm not sure how it differs from the regular "Sport S" mode. There's also "Custom" mode where you can configure suspension and throttle response yourself. E.g. you may want softer suspension with sportier acceleration.

The salesperson was very helpful, and I took the car for a test drive, adding another 33 kilometers to the odo reading.

In short — this is a better car in all aspects compared to my 1.8 HB. Feels like a grown-up version of it.

Variable suspension, in addition to a slightly longer wheelbase, does make a difference. In "Comfort" mode, the car goes over bumps with a floaty feeling. And this is with enormous 18" wheels and, as usual, overinflated tires (yes I checked ;)) 

I didn't want to push the brand new engine too much, but with my limited testing the 2.0L engine feels a great deal more responsive and refined. Again, it's like a grown up, more capable, more reassuring version of my 1.8L. It doesn't sound as struggling as the 1.8, even at 5000rpm. Feels effortless in most situations, and has a different growl.

I did a lot of sound deadening in my HB (wheel arches, floor, boot, bonnet, doors), and I have 17" wheels with Davanti tires (pretty quiet ones). And this 2.0L TS with 18" and stock Falken tires felt a bit quieter. The glass of the windows and the windshield have different codes (none say "Acoustic" though), and the sound of cars passing by is much quieter in the TS. I imagine if you apply the same sound deadening and switch to at least 17" non-Falken tires, then this TS would be pretty damn quiet.

Wireless Apple CarPlay works well, HUD is nice. Too bad it doesn't show blind spot warning (like it does on current gen. Mazda 3/CX-30), but at least it shows the speed, speed limit, customizable tachometer/power band, compass, navigation and some other notifications like phone, music, etc (can be disabled). Position, rotation and brightness are also customizable.

JBL sound system made me actually want to listen to music in the car again. It's fantastic! I'm no audiophile, but the difference between the stock system I had in the HB, and this JBL system is enormous. The bass is crisp and clear, and I can hear all the details. 

The boot is the work of art (TS owners know this). Reversible and height-adjustable boot floor, rubber anti-slip strips, LED lights, lots of storage, and seats go completely flat. 

Fuel economy: in ECO mode I got the same kind of consumption as with a 1.8 HB in normal mode. However, ECO mode in 2.0L does not feel underpowered at all! 

So, I went for it — swapped the 1.8 HB for a 2.0L TS GR-Sport. Driven 2000km already. It's so weird — same car, but better in all regards, as if my HB went through a self-improvement program, hit the gym, learned new tricks and became more solid and capable 😄

While the 18" wheels with factory Falkens look great, I did swap them for my old 17" wheels, which made the ride quieter and softer. 

 

If I wouldn't be waiting for my TS to be delivered , reading your review of the car would have made to go and get one 😁