2023 Toyota Corolla

My First Hybrid!

Friday, September 17, 2021

And so far, I like it. I was able to get a 2022 with leather seats, heated front, adjustable driver seat (lumbar support), stitching on the steering wheel and weather mats. I did notice a little bit of a pick-up in power mode on the highway, but it's not a race car. Gas mileage is great. The car had 571 miles on it when it gave me a warning of low fuel. The dash read 29 miles left until empty. I gassed up. The driver seat is comfortable with the options for adjustments. When you press the start button, the car is quiet once on. The car was preset for automatic door unlocking when you shut the car off. I disabled that on the touch screen for safety reasons. I want to be the one to unlock the doors. I keep some armor-all wipes in the door because the leather can get a little scuffed up looking. One time when I shut the car off, the dash showed, "window open." Cool. I think it's pretty fun to drive. IMO, the car needs better visibility. The touch screen should be lower and I removed the rear head rests. (They are easy to put on and take off). I don't often have rear passengers. The trunk is a little small. I haven't signed up for Toyota Connect yet (SOS button, Wi-fi, drive history, theft tracker). As far as value, I bought at a BAD time (during the chip shortage) so I did pay over sticker. However, I needed a reliable and safe car, and I owned a Corolla in the past - this one fit the bill. No more belts to change either. So far, So Good!

Nice, safe vehicle!

Sunday, November 14, 2021

Personally, I was searching for a car that has a nice, sporty look to it, but most importantly, a car that I would feel safe driving. The exterior has a great, sporty and aggressive look compared to older Corolla models, while the interior is well-designed and comfortable—The dashboard has a clean, futuristic feel to it. I like that the dashboard also gives you the option to view your speed digitally, and displays speed-limit signs, brighten or dim control lights / LCD screen. The reverse camera has a nice view range while displaying great image quality. Taller drivers/passengers have lots of legroom upfront, but I’ll admit not so much legroom when sitting in the backseat. also something to think about when using lane assist—depending on the quality of road you’re driving on, the car sometimes picks up tire skid marks resulting in the car trying to divert away from it, but it rarely ever happens. Overall, it’s a great sporty and reliable car with great fuel economy.

Surprised by Joy

Saturday, November 20, 2021

My beloved 15 year old 2008 Ford Taurus X Limited was an AMAZING, versatile, solid, safe family car with all the bells and whistles. Kids grown up, needed a newer car, preferably a hybrid with gas prices now $4.50/gallon. Wandered over to the neighboring Toyota lot, with my Ford waiting, waiting for service (everywhere, not just Ford). The night before, Toyota had just received a 2022 Corolla Hybrid. (fyi, right now 11/2021), there are no cars, no parts to service cars (supply chain stuff), and certainly no hybrids. Beautiful powder blue color caught my eye, with grey interior. Not the sexiest car alive, BUT I was surprised by how smooth and the powerful the 4 cylinder ride was (I live in a hilly area). Interior is far more basic than the car's performance and it's nice exterior design - and this was a huge adjustment coming from a solid car with all the bells and whistles with a V8 engine, yet 52 miles per gallon, when I don' need the 7 seats, etc.