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2018 Toyota Corolla LE – an Introduction

Known for their durability and reliability as a steady commuter vehicle, the 2018 Toyota Corolla remains largely unchanged from its 2017 predecessor (with some minor enhancements). With outstanding predicted reliability and high fuel efficiency, this vehicle offers economy over performance, and reliability over some of its more untamed, sporty counterparts.

Packages and Options

This review is going to focus on the LE edition/package, which is priced right around $20,000 USD for entry level trim. Other options include the L, LE, SE, XSE and XLE.

For those of you that are safety conscious, the LE edition comes with a five star crash test safety rating. And if you’re constantly sweating every time you look at gas prices you’ll be happy to hear that the LE gets around 36 miles to the gallon the highway, and 28 in the city.

The 2018 Toyota Corolla has a great predicted reliability rating and high fuel efficiency, but it’s not as refined or fun to drive as some rivals. These shortcomings result in the Corolla’s bottom-third ranking.

Toyota Safety Sense

Not only does this 2018 Corolla boast a five star crash safety rating, it includes patented features to help prevent you from getting into an accident in the first place.

Lane Detection

The mirrors of the vehicle include Toyota’s very own safety sensor cameras. These cameras detect lane changes and alert you if the event that it isn’t safe to make the move. Additionally, a front facing camera helps to provide automated steering assist in the event that you veer off the road or across lanes inadvertently (i.e. in case you dose off are dealing with unruly children). What’s this mean in laymen’s terms? If you accidentally veer off the road or your lane, the steer assist will kick in and as long as you are traveling at 32 MPH or faster, it will safely and effectively keep you on the road and safely in the proper lane.

Collision Protection

And if all that wasn’t enough, both the front and a rear facing camera work in conjunction to prevent any forward or reverse collisions with both people and objects. Meaning you’ll never have to guess how far your front bumper is from that garage wall again, or stress about accidentally backing into a person. In yet another all too common example, imagine someone slams on the breaks in front of you before you have time to react. Oh crap is right! But not with Toyota’s collision protection. This system can react faster than you, applying the breaks to avoid that front end collision and saving you from hours of insurance paperwork, stress and injury.

Smart Pacing

This system also allows you some other fun uses. Say you’re traveling on the highway and someone cuts in front of you but then slows down. Annoying, we know. This system will kick into gear and will ease of the throttle to make sure you don’t accidentally get too close. Best of all, the distance settings can all be customized to your liking.

Performance

We already touched upon the (quite generous) gas mileage of this ride, clocking in at around 36 MPG highway and 28 in the city.

But when it comes to horsepower, don’t get too excited. This car was built for reliability and economy, not the Fast and the Furious. The 1.4L four cylinder, dual overhead cam, 16 valve VVT-I engine comes standard with 132 horsepower and 128 pounds of torque. This engine comes paired with a matching continuously variable transmission known as Toyota’s CVT.

Interior

Moving from outside to in, we’ll take a look at the interior of this ride. A quick look around are you see a few prominent feature:

• Conveniently placed traction control button
• Adequate cup holders
• Auxiliary USB 3.0 port
• Digital thermostat (standard)

On to the radio. Here we were pleasantly surprised with a nicely proportioned touch screen for both music and other relevant information such as miles driven, and up to the second updates on gas consumption.  This control panel can also be commanded from your phone and voice controls which is a nice feature.

Cruise control can also be highly modified to adjust the ideal amount of car lengths you would like the car to adapt to between you and others on the road. A green light on the left lets you know this feature is active, and an icon of lanes indicating that the “lane departure” safety feature is also engaged. Other settings are what you would expect in most vehicles, illuminated by a bi-LED system.

Space

The Toyota Corolla LE edition has a spacious interior adequate for those of larger proportions or sizes and even those in the backseat won’t feel cramped up. Front and the rear passenger volume inside the vehicle is 97.5 Cubic feet. And the cargo volume comes in at 13 cubic feet

This is an added plus if you need to transport boxes, groceries or other large items for work or play. The seating is comfortable and is made from durable material with a number of options available at the dealership.

Other Included Options / Features

Navigation System – For those of you that tend to get lost, you can have your sedan outfitted with a 7-inch touch screen navigation system utilizing the Scout GPS Link App.

Star Safety System – Featuring 8 strategically placed airbags. Driver knee, front dash, steering wheel, passenger dash, and seat mounted air bags protect you from every angle. This system also boasts a stability control feature that comes standard.

Hill Start Service – Basically, if your vehicle is located on a hill, and you take your foot off the gas, instead of rolling backwards, your car will hold you in position.

Tire Pressure Monitoring System – Self-explanatory, this system simply monitors your tires

Bi-LED Headlamps – Bright, illustrious and includes daytime light mode

Traction Control – Intelligent steering wheel sensitivity and combined traction control helps limit any slippage of the wheels no matter what the road conditions throw at it.

Electronic Brake Force Control – if you need to slam on the brakes, normally they would lock up. But not with the Corolla. It will intelligently apply brake pressure millions of times between you and the object you’re trying to avoid, ensuring optimal stopping power without loss of control. In essence the car will measure the input of the steering wheel and tires to help you both avoid collision and veer around objects without locking up the wheels.

Smart Stop Technology – With smart stop technology, if you hold down the gas pedal but then begin to brake (for longer than 3 seconds), the car will override the throttle, killing the gas supply and allowing you to break fully and come to a safe stop.

Awards and Accolades

Over 40 million Corollas have been sold worldwide, making this vehicle a popular choice amongst consumers…and for good reason.

The Corolla has won the:

• Kelley Blue Book Intellichoice award
• International Institute of Highway Safety IIHS top safety pick
• 5-star crash safety test

Summary

The Toyota Corolla 2018 LE edition is a solid vehicle, providing an array of standard features you don’t often see on other makes and models. It provides stellar gas mileage, a user friendly information system and touch screen, and boasts superior safety ratings and features that far surpass its base pricing. On the flip side, the engine isn’t the most exciting, handling is moderate, and the interior isn’t exactly luxurious.

If you’re looking for a stable, predictable and reliable commuter or family car, the Corolla is a perfect fit. If however, you’re looking for something a little more upscale or sporty, there are other options available at the same price range that might be a more suitable option.