Hi, I'm looking for a little bit of advice for my dad. He is looking to change his car some time in the next few months. He currently has a 1.4 Renault Megane (V reg) and is considering a Toyota Corrolla of no more than 3 years old. He wants a diesel this time around. He does around 10,000 miles a year (I think thats what he said anyway). He uses the car mainly for going to work and doing all the running around locally but it will be used for longer runs aswell, on motorways and country roads. Basically, was just wondering what people make of them and whether this would meet his needs.
Any comments would be greatly recieved.
Thanks
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Corolla is a good car, not especially exciting but well made, spacious, pretty safe and very reliable. I have driven one and didn't warm to it, but that's a personal preference. I can't think of anything that a Mégane could do that a Corolla wouldn't, so if he's happy with the Mégane then there's no reason for him not to get the Corolla.
The only reservation I would have is that he may not benefit from paying the extra that a diesel will cost, with his relatively low mileage. At 10k a year, he's only spending about £1k a year on fuel and switching to diesel will save him maybe £300 a year if he's lucky. However, he'll have to find £1,500 extra to buy an equivalent petrol instead of a diesel.
Probably the diesel will be worth more if he sells it in three or four years' time but there's not a clear financial case for spendning more on a diesel. Of course if he prefers the way a diesel drives, or may significantly increase his mileage, then he absolutely should go for a diesel, but if not, he shouldn't limit himself to looking at diesel versions.
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Thanks for that David. I just spoke to my dad again and he said he's not particularly bothered about it being a diesel, he's said a petrol would do him fine. He's looking at getting a 52 plate or newer in the Corolla.
Also, he's not really looking for an exciting car, more for the practicalities of family life, even though me and my sister are grown up now he still does a lot of fetching and carrying. He's looking for a car with plenty of space and a comfortable interior as he spends alot of time in the car on his breaks from work as well as driving it.
Any more comments would be greatly recieved.
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it might be stating the obvious but perhaps he should go for a test drive in the corolla. i had thought of a toyota for my next car; it added up on paper, had enough space and the reliability seemed a big attraction.
however after 20 minutes driving the thing (not a corolla) i couldn't give a stuff about its qualities - not nice to drive. even if he's only doing 10k miles a year that's still approx 250-300 hours behind the wheel.
as with everything in life it boils down to personal choice! one man's dream is another's nightmare..
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ho chi minh is right. Drive it first. And make sure you include some motorway. The Corolla 1.6 manual is a bit fussy and noisy at the speeds I travel. The auto is geared 5mph more per 1,000 rpm so is much more relaxed.
HJ
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In support of the Corolla:
I bought a 4 year old model from a franchised dealer about six months ago for peanuts, it wasn't the latest manifestation but a three door model of the one before. It's the 1.4 GS, which I think has the same VVTI engine as the latest one and it's been a dream to own. I'd never considered a Toyota before and took some convincing prior to purchase but after test driving it I had no problems about handing over my money. It depends what you want from a car? I've found it cheap to buy, run and insure. It only needs a major service once every 20,000 miles, does about 44 mpg and is stacked with extras. It goes to Liverpool from the South West every other weekend and hasn't missed a beat.
The last Corolla model's not greatly desired, since Toyota have got their act together on styling, the dealers seem quite ashamed of the old model. (I'm with HJ on the fact they look best in silver). You'll usually find them languishing at the back of dealer forecourts, but I'm not bothered, I got £800 off of the asking price before I'd even been to see it. Moreover, the dealers have been marvellous. Treated me like a king for a £4k outlay. I'm aware of the reliability record of Toyota, and read Renault's latest Megane hasn't been quite so sparkling, and where it's my money - that matters. Furthermore, the Toyota's build quality's impressed me. The only area, apart from style, where I think the Megane might beat the Toyota's in safety? I don't know whether this is a long term purchase proposition, but I know where my money would be going.
DZM.
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Make sure he is happy with the seats - see www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=10279&...e
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My parents have just bought an 04 1.4vvti corolla & must admit I'm impressed. Very well screwed together, solid fell & roadholding is pretty good (not top of class but good enough). Reliability is likely to be 1st class & personally I thought it was quite a nice car to drive, no "ball of fire" but it's not supposed to be !!
I'd certainly suggest giving it a test-drive.
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As several people have said they're a well built reliable car, they may not be the most sporty or best looking car in their segment but if your dad is looking for a reliable practical car he won't go too far wrong.
The diesels do hold their money better but i don't think he realistically needs to make the extra expenditure considering the mileage he does. For general day to day stuff either the 1.4 or the 1.6 will be fine but if he does some of his mileage on dual carriage ways or motorways i'd say go for the 1.6 as the 1.4 needs to be worked harder to keep up with the pace. I'd also leave the T2 model alone - the T3 is not much more usually and has a nicer spec.
Ho Chi Minh - if your are comparing the old model avensis to the new corolla then you are hardly comparing like for like - it would be like me saying i once drove a ford sierra and didn't like it so the new focus will be horrible too.
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I wasn't as is obvious from my posting.
I was making the point that we all have different priorities and that he should take it for a drive before deciding.
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Hi, I did about 300 miles in one (hire car) and I was very impressed. it was a 1.4, don't know what trim level. The seats were superbly comfortable, the engine was smooth though I'd have preferred top gear to be longer, and the ergonomics were great. Very quiet, good on motorway / A roads / back roads. I'm trying to persuade my wife to consider one as she's thinking of replacing her car. Unfortunately she has it marked down as a pensioner's car !!!! :-(
John
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In my opinion the current Corolla 'does exactly what it says on the tin'. We paid £9400 for a new 1.4 T2 five door in Sept '03; it has been blameless so far. It is comfortable, has more leg room in both front and rear than my MkIV Golf and the ergonomics are excellent. As small petrol engines go, the 1.4 is quite powerful (98bhp). The only criticism I can think of relates to the course nature of the accelerator which takes some getting used to. Other benefits include a sweet chain cam engine, a full size spare wheel, remote central locking on all models. The handbrake is much better that many other similar cars; it uses a dedicated drum brake (with normal disc for main ABS braking).
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