2009 Toyota Corolla XRS

After more than four decades and over 30 million units, the Toyota Corolla is the undisputed, all-time best-selling car in the world, and despite drastic changes over the years, Toyota says it has stayed on top because of three guiding principles: affordability, high quality, and reliability. And we concur. So the question for this all-new, tenth generation Corolla is simple. What have you done for us lately?

With a heritage that began the 1960s, the Toyota Corolla is one of the grand old men among all cars, and a perennial benchmark in compact family four-doors.

So, true to form, the 10th-generation 2009 Corolla is no aging also-ran. This heavily-upgraded compact sedan offers an ever wider array of features in five trim levels; features that are aimed at the smart and sensible than fast and furious.

But it definitely has a speedier look, courtesy of input from Italian designers, while also carrying forward strong elements of the larger Camry.

The sharply raked greenhouse sits atop the same 102.3-inch wheelbase as before, but the new body is 2.4-inches wider and almost 1-inch shorter, giving the new Corolla a more centered look.

Our XRS test car’s color-keyed lower body package with integral fog lamps, rear deck spoiler, and standard 17-inch alloy wheels in place of the base 16-inchers, give it a sporty, but not extreme look. Tire pressure monitoring is standard.

The XRS is powered by a 2.4-liter dual-cam four-cylinder, similar to the one used in the Camry and Scion tC. Output is 158 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. Pickup is energetic and impressive.

Standard, LE, and XLE models use a new 1.8-liter, with a more modest 132 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque.

Both engines use a standard 5-speed manual gearbox, but while the 1.8 offers an optional 4-speed automatic transmission, the 2.4-engine can be had with a 5-speed auto. 

The 2.4 is punchy but smooth, spinning up rapidly from a strong bottom end. The engine note gets a little raspy at high rpm, but otherwise, it’s one of the best 4-bangers on the market. 

And a reasonably economical one as well, with Government Fuel Economy Ratings of 22 city/29 highway with the manual transmission. Even more frugal is the 1.8-liter with top ratings of 27 city/35 highway. And all on regular gas

Both electronic stability and traction control are standard on the XRS, and optional on all other models.

We covered everything from highways to twisty back roads in our XRS Corolla.

The reworked suspension produced a more upscale ride, and the cabin is much quieter. The new electric power steering is sharper and quicker and handling is indeed more stable, and the standard ABS brakes were reassuring. Still, even with its racy looks, the Corolla XRS remains more of a well mannered commuter. Which is just fine with us, and we think most of its fans too.

The interior atmosphere is more upscale as well. The cabin is the same size as before, but a cleaner design and more polished finish provides a more open feel which, along with more supportive seats and tilt/telescoping steering wheel, makes the Corolla also suitable for long hauls.

The user-friendly center stack features a choice of four different audio systems, all with MP3/WMA capability, auxiliary audio jack, and speed-sensitive automatic volume adjustment.

Also available is leather trim and satellite navigation, a very upscale options for this class. High-efficiency air conditioning with a pollen filter is standard, as are front side-impact, and 2-row head curtain airbags.

The rear seat offers almost mid-size passenger room, and a useful 60/40 split seatback.  That’s good since the 12.3 cubic foot trunk is on the small size.

As we went to tape, exact pricing was not available, but given the highly competitive compact market, we expect little change from the current $15-17,000 range of base prices.

The 2009 Toyota Corolla is more sophisticated, more comfortable, and packed with more value. Just as you would expect a practical benchmark sedan to be, which tells us that this tenth generation standard will continue to impress yet another generation of intelligent car buyers?