I am an 18 year old senior ripe for graduation in less than two weeks. So, due to the fact that my parents are either extraordinarily nice or extraordinarily heavy drug users I was given a brand spanking new car: a 2007 Toyota Corolla CE. The base model, automatic, air conditioning, cruise control, and CD player. That’s about it. I looked for the cruise control. Not present. I looked for my seat adjustments. They were manual. OK, I could deal with that. Windows? Manual. I passed out. To this day it’s the first thing my friends do when they get in my car, “Wow I haven’t done this in forever!” Yeah, I know. Wanna lock the doors? Strap yourself in for a stretch all the way around the car to hit each and every one of those little knobs.
Forgive my rant, for this car makes up for my parents shortsightedness in every way. Being six foot two inches tall, it took some time to adjust the seats properly but it was still an amazingly roomy interior. My father and my brother, both as big and tall as me were able to fit in the car with me comfortably. I have fitted three of my smaller friends in the back seat. Each of the (sparse) buttons and knobs I would need to reach in my travels are well within reach and simple to control. The seats are comfortable and there is a very large lever on the side that it took me forever to figure out what to do with. Turns out, you adjust the seat back with a much tinier knob in a less intuitive location, then when you’re close you resort to pumping the big lever, which acts as a precision adjuster. How… Nice. It gets around thirty five miles per gallon and a fill up will run you about twenty five to thiry dollars which will get you a good three hundred fifty, four hundred miles or more.
Ride quality is extraordinary. Inside the sound system is more than adequete and, while you certianly can’t hear what’s going on outside, the outside can hear you. I turned the volume to thirty-ish on “fergalicious” and I could make out words after I had gone across the parking lot, up the stairs, and all the way to my friend’s apartment. Keep it down, in other words. It is smooth, and the steering is precise as a surgical knife. There is no floaty dance down the street and and no pulling off the road when you let go of the wheel. The grip is excellent and the only under-steer I encounter was when I made the mistake of twisting the wheel and slamming the brake at the same time to avoid a curb (don’t ask, I’m not stupid). I have driven many cars and this is one of the better handling cars I have ever encountered.
Which brings me to my last, and favorite, category: Fun level. Aside from my Suzuki Sidekick, which I felt free to toss about recklessly due to the fact it was approximately as valuable as a used toilet, this is the funnest car I drive. I love driving little cars, there’s little to no worry of a rollover, and they are lighter and thus easier to drive. While with the Suzuki every time I entered a corner I thought, “Oh Jesus I’m about to fall over, with this it’s more like “Oh Jesus I’m about to be flung through my door.” It turns on a dime. It parks anywhere. The tires will spin, if your into that sort of thing, especially when it’s just rained. It has roughly 120 horsepower and will take off in a small hurry. I took this car to a nice big open parking lot to play with it and I must say it was exciting. It was the first time I pulled a good J turn. It took all the turns I wanted it to and only lost traction when I really, really wanted it to. It’s certainly not fast in a straight line, and it certainly would never win any kind of race except against a complete twat, but it certainly will provide you and whoever else might dare be in the car a thrilling time when called upon.
