Toyota Corolla review

As soon as you get inside the Corolla you immediately notice two things: the low seating position and the good view of the road ahead. Those two should be mutually exclusive, but the Corolla’s bonnet and instrument cluster are specifically designed to be as low as possible to give you a good view out.

As for the seats – new construction allows them to be mounted lower down than before which, paired with the taller-than-before centre console, makes you feel cosy and cocooned.

The Toyota Corolla’s seats hold you in place well and are soft enough so that you won’t feel discomfort after several hours of driving. They are also heated as standard and the driver’s seat is height-adjustable on all models so it’s very easy to find a comfortable driving position. Adjustable back support for the driver’s seat is also standard.

Things aren’t so great in the back. The rear doors in the Corolla don’t open particularly wide and you have to twist your body in and out which is a bit uncomfortable.

Manoeuvring a baby seat into position is an impressive feat of trigonometry, but at least the Isofix anchor points are easy to access behind removable plastic covers. The Toyota Corolla’s sloping roofline means you’ll have to stoop down low to strap in a child and there isn’t enough room between two child seats for an extra passenger.

Fear not, however, because both the saloon and estate versions of the Corolla are a lot better for rear passengers thanks to increased space between the front and the rear wheels compared to the hatchback.

There is a good amount of storage areas and there’s a place for all of your belongings – keys and wallet can go into the deep but narrow storage area under the armrest and you phone can go in a specially designated cubby under the centre console. If your phone supports it, it can be wirelessly charged from there as well. Even if it doesn’t it still hides your phone from prying eyes should you decide to leave it there.

The front door pockets are large enough for a litre bottle of water but rear-seat passengers only get two cupholders in the doors and no door pockets.

The Toyota Corolla’s 361-litre boot isn’t quite as big as the load bays you get in the VW Golf and Vauxhall Astra, but it’s a bit roomier than that in the Ford Focus. There’s enough space for a set of golf clubs, or you can carry for one large and one small suitcase, along with a baby buggy tucked under the parcel shelf.

Unfortunately, models with a 2.0-litre engine have a smaller boot, because it also houses the car’s battery since there’s no space for it under the bonnet. On the upside, the back seats are easy to flip down using levers beside the headrests and they fold flat to the floor which makes it easy to slide in bulky luggage.

With the back seats folded there’s space for a bike with both its wheels attached – whichever model you pick. You can carry two large boxes across the folded back seats and there’s enough space left over for eight small boxes and a couple of soft bags.