things i hate about my new Corolla.

[jcr71]

i picked up a new 1.8 hybrid Corolla estate 1 week ago. its a company car. im still getting used to it, and scratching my head, when i try to work things out. but here are some things, that ive found i dont like, so far. there will probably be more as time goes on. im old and set in my ways, so please take this as a bit of light hearted banter, not a slag off thread.

id like to say, the car is lovely and smooth to drive. very refined, and not bad looking too.

so here goes, in no particular order-

 

the steering wheel is off centre. about half inch to the right. annoying, and possibly uncomfortable on long journeys. time will tell.

its too blinking complicated. basically a computer on wheels. im regularly getting the hand book out, to try and figure things out.

its automatic. thats just personal preference, but i like gears.

the roof is too low. some people struggle to get in and out, and the view through the front windscreen is reduced.

i cant lock the doors with the engine running. when defrosting the car for example. 

i cant lock the doors with any door open. im used to locking the car and putting the key away, before retrieving stuff from the boot. so that i can just shut the boot with my hands full and walk away. 

i cant turn the lights fully off. again, annoying when defrosting car, or when idle.

very poor storage space. coming from a Seat Leon, which isnt a particularly big car, ive lost about a third of my storage space. the area in the front door panels is ridiculously small. i struggle to get my hand in it.

the front screen defrost vents are set too high and leave ice on the part of the screen where the Wiper Blades rest. thats a very poor design!

no mechanical hand brake.

a lack of usb ports. quite poor for a new vehicle.

only 2 parcel hooks in the boot.

the window controls on the door are set too far back.

 

feel free to agree or disagree, and maybe add some of your own dislikes to the thread. 

 

on the plus side, i managed 60 mpg on my first tank of fuel. thats impressive. 

  

[FROSTYBALLS]

9 minutes ago, jcr71 said:

please take this as a bit of light hearted banter, not a slag off thread.

Well isn't that exactly what it is!

[Mojo1010]

With the myT app you can pre set it to defrost at the comfort of indoors. 

[jcr71]

3 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Well isn't that exactly what it is!

i guess, but its just my initial opinion. like i said, im old and used to basic cars. i moan about most modern technology  

[jcr71]

3 minutes ago, Mojo1010 said:

With the myT app you can pre set it to defrost at the comfort of indoors. 

thank you for the heads up. i'll have to look into it. i hate leaving the car running with the doors unlocked.

[simond64]

Remote services is a feature coming to MY23 which includes climate control, it isn’t on the MY22 models

[Devon Aygo]

1 hour ago, jcr71 said:

i cant lock the doors with the engine running. when defrosting the car for example. - You can use the mechanical emergency key to lock the door the old fashioned way

i cant lock the doors with any door open. im used to locking the car and putting the key away, before retrieving stuff from the boot. so that i can just shut the boot with my hands full and walk away - leave the doors unlocked and lock the car using the lock function on the tailgate handle (little nipple to right of release pad)  

 

[Devon Aygo]

1 hour ago, Mojo1010 said:

With the myT app you can pre set it to defrost at the comfort of indoors. 

Not on Corolla currently it will become available with MY23 models

[Niky]

3 hours ago, jcr71 said:

The steering wheel is off centre. about half inch to the right. annoying, and possibly uncomfortable on long journeys.

the window controls on the door are set too far back.

  

Those two are very annoying indeed

I even asked the dealer to check the steering wheel when my TS was in for its first service, and they said nothing wrong with it. They gave me an Yaris 22 reg for the day which had the same steering wheel position. I find it very annoying

 

[TonyHSD]

I would agree with most of the things although I haven’t got a Corolla but been inside few of these.
The doors can be locked with the physical key built into the key fob if the car has a smart entry.  
Yes when the car is ON no option to turn light off, that is annoying., all you can only do is set to parking lights instead . Steering wheel off centre can be as a result of camber on the roads and the tendency of the car to pull over to the left, more common on cars fitted with larger wheels with low profile tyres 17” and above.  

[jcr71]

i think you are misunderstanding what i mean by the steering wheel being off centre Tony.

when sat in the car, rather than being positioned directly in front of you, the steering wheel is physically positioned slightly to the right of centre. 

[Niky]

1 hour ago, jcr71 said:

i think you are misunderstanding what i mean by the steering wheel being off centre Tony.

when sat in the car, rather than being positioned directly in front of you, the steering wheel is physically positioned slightly to the right of centre. 

Same with me

The car doesn't pull to any side at all

[Ian.S]

8 hours ago, Niky said:

Those two are very annoying indeed

I even asked the dealer to check the steering wheel when my TS was in for its first service, and they said nothing wrong with it. They gave me an Yaris 22 reg for the day which had the same steering wheel position. I find it very annoying

 

My dealer agreed and rest the tracking to align the steering wheel to the position I wanted. At no charge. 

[Ian.S]

1 minute ago, Ian.S said:

My dealer agreed and rest the tracking to align the steering wheel to the position I wanted. At no charge. 

Sorry “reset” not rest. 

[Bernard Foy]

12 hours ago, jcr71 said:

i guess, but its just my initial opinion. like i said, im old and used to basic cars. i moan about most modern technology  

Ask your company to buy you a basic 1970s Mark2 Ford cortina. 🤣😂. You will soon realize that it’s a bit of nostalgia you’re hankering after.🤭🤔🤣

[jcr71]

i would genuinely prefer a car without all the electric aids and the big screen on the dash.

electric windows, and a simple old style radio with nobs and buttons, plus aircon is plenty enough. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

6 minutes ago, jcr71 said:

i would genuinely prefer a car without all the electric aids and the big screen on the dash.

Here you are then - the 1966 Toyota Corolla:

[TonyHSD]

5 hours ago, jcr71 said:

i think you are misunderstanding what i mean by the steering wheel being off centre Tony.

when sat in the car, rather than being positioned directly in front of you, the steering wheel is physically positioned slightly to the right of centre. 

I thought on that matter but I never noticed that in any of the latest Toyota cars and I have been in all in the showroom. To me seems like normally positioned steering wheels. For the road camber situation, the car doesn’t feel like pulling to the left exactly but on some roads if you pay attention to maintain straight direction you are slightly load the wheel to the right . 

[Cyker]

Dacia might be the manufacturer for you then - They have gone very much down the keeping it old school route!

[Bernard Foy]

16 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Here you are then - the 1966 Toyota Corolla:

One of those in mint condition would cost nearly as much as a new modern Corolla 👍

[TonyHSD]

Here it is my favourite car at all times, better than any other make or model, a forgotten cult but still alive in my heart 🚙🏁✅  The simplicity and cleanly designed interior, the ideal driving position, seat, steering wheel, pedals, gear shifter and all other controls including the heating and ac, add the ultra reliable reputation and this car can even lead ahead of Toyota. Made in Japan by all means 🇯🇵👌

[forkingabout]

6 hours ago, jcr71 said:

i think you are misunderstanding what i mean by the steering wheel being off centre Tony.

when sat in the car, rather than being positioned directly in front of you, the steering wheel is physically positioned slightly to the right of centre. 

As a former 308 T9 owner with the same odd quirk for right hand drive versions, I found it lead to back pain.

[JayCee88]

16 hours ago, Mojo1010 said:

With the myT app you can pre set it to defrost at the comfort of indoors. 

Is this a paid feature? I can only via stats (vehicle location, Hybrid Coaching and if the car is locked) in MyT app.
The location is not really accurate when I am parked at home. It seems to think I am in the next street 🙂 Perhaps this is just due to the location of my home, some sat navs cannot seem to pin point the exact address too.

[JayCee88]

16 hours ago, jcr71 said:

the steering wheel is off centre. about half inch to the right. annoying, and possibly uncomfortable on long journeys. time will tell. - I didn't notice this until you've mentioned it 😄 Slight OCD but nothing I cannot live with. I kind of like the steering wheel feel on my Corolla TS, very weighted and comfortable to hold.

its too blinking complicated. basically a computer on wheels. im regularly getting the hand book out, to try and figure things out. - Yes, does take a while to get used to the function. As a nerd I quite like it, I like how I can access various data and settings from the steering wheel. Although dissapointed there is no tyre pressure display when it comes with sensors...

its automatic. thats just personal preference, but i like gears. - It's my first CVT (had manual, auto and DSG) and I am getting used to it. Sure it doesn't give the same experience as a manual or DSG box, but it encourages a more relaxed driving experience, which is the main point why I've bought this car. 

the roof is too low. some people struggle to get in and out, and the view through the front windscreen is reduced. - The roof at the rear could use with touch more height, but can't really complain. No issues getting in and out although so far I haven't had giants in the car 😁

i cant lock the doors with the engine running. when defrosting the car for example. - Didn't realise that, I normally just sit in the car whilst it's defrosting and enjoy some music

i cant lock the doors with any door open. im used to locking the car and putting the key away, before retrieving stuff from the boot. so that i can just shut the boot with my hands full and walk away. - My car has keyless entry and locking, and there is also a button to close + lock the boot as previously mentioned. Bonus is the function where I can kick to open the boot. It's really handy. 

i cant turn the lights fully off. again, annoying when defrosting car, or when idle. Main lights? I am sure you can...

very poor storage space. coming from a Seat Leon, which isnt a particularly big car, ive lost about a third of my storage space. the area in the front door panels is ridiculously small. i struggle to get my hand in it. - I find the door pockets ok for my needs. The centre console could be wider but I can live with it. The space in the estate boot is massive, and I like how to can lower the boot floor for deeper storage. Shame it doesn't come with a spare wheel though.

the front screen defrost vents are set too high and leave ice on the part of the screen where the wiper blades rest. thats a very poor design! - Yeah, sort of have to agree with this. Not a biggie though.

no mechanical hand brake. - Don't really see a point of one, unless you like to do handbrake turns 😅I find the auto hold function good, and the parking brake also comes on automatically when in P.

a lack of usb ports. quite poor for a new vehicle. - Yes, could use with one full size one in the centre console. However the positioning of the side USB in the dash is great. Wished it came with wireless charging though.

only 2 parcel hooks in the boot. - Again, not a biggie for me. Be great with 4 hooks so I can use a cargo net, but my car came with the rubber mat which does great job of preventing stuff sliding around too much.

the window controls on the door are set too far back. - Yup, took me a while to get used to it as I kept pressing the wrong button 

on the plus side, i managed 60 mpg on my first tank of fuel. thats impressive. - That is impressive! Mine is a 2.0 and the best I've got is 53.3mpg. Although to be fair I was stuck in heavy traffic for 30% of the journey. I hear the mpg improves a little once the engine is run in. Mine is around 8000 miles, so we shall see

  

 

[Hybrid21]

20 minutes ago, JayCee88 said:

Is this a paid feature? I can only via stats (vehicle location, Hybrid Coaching and if the car is locked) in MyT app.
The location is not really accurate when I am parked at home. It seems to think I am in the next street 🙂 Perhaps this is just due to the location of my home, some sat navs cannot seem to pin point the exact address too.

Yes my RAV4 is the same Jonathan.