Evolution: Toyota Corolla

Toyota Corolla has been among the most distinctive vehicles on the streets, because more than 40 million of them have been sold and the Japanese sedan carries almost 60 years of history. Toyota Corolla has been known for its strength, back seat solace and has always had a sophistication factor attached to it. The sedan has been a smash-hit for the Japanese car maker over the years internationally and as well as in India. Corolla has seen a lot of changes over the years and the I.8 liter VVT-i petrol mill has been tweaked again and again to botch up the output. The year 2010 saw the addition of the much-needed Diesel engine in the corolla to keep up with the competition.  Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cruze, Skoda Laura/Octavia and the Hyundai Elantra have been the major competitors of the Corolla in the D segment. So lets take a look in to the history of Toyota Corolla.

Toyota Corolla Generation 1 (2003)

India got the International 9th generation of the Corolla in 2003. Powering the Corolla was a 1.8 litre VVT-i engine that churned out 125 PS of power. It was launched with all the bells and whistles and raised the bar in our luxury car segment. Reliability, rear seat comfort and luxury were the main USP’s of the Corolla when it was launched.

Toyota Corolla Generation 1 Facelift (2005)

Just after 2 years of its inception in our country, the car got its first facelift in 2005. New honeycomb grille design, sharper bumpers, round fog lamps, LED tail lights, 10-spoke alloy wheels and minor interior updates (auto climate control became a standard feature in lower end variants) were amongst the many changes the car saw. In 2004, Corolla became the largest selling car in executive segment in India.

Toyota Corolla Altis (2008)

The Corolla was refreshed thoroughly in 2008 and was termed as the Corolla Altis. The tried and tested 1.8 litre engine was tweaked and now produced 132 PS of power. Cosmetically, the sedan was overhauled and got new taillights and headlights with redesigned bumpers that made a car more aerodynamic. On the interiors front, the car got included an 8-way power driver's seat, HID headlamps, steering wheel with audio controls and MID switch, and an Optitron meter.

In 2010, the Altis was launched with a 1.4 litre  D-4D Diesel engine that produced 87 bhp of power. The engine was designed focusing majorly on efficiency.

Toyota Corolla Altis Facelift (2011)

The car saw another facelift in 2011. At the heart of the car was a new dual VVT- i petrol engine which produced 140 PS of power. The automatic variant also got a new transmission called the super CVT- i with 7 speed sequential shiftmatic and the 5-speed manual gearbox was updated with a 6-speed one. Cosmetically, corolla got new blacked out LED tail lamps, redesigned rear bumper, angular front headlamps to name a few changes.

Toyota Corolla Altis Generation 3 (2014)

Internationally known as the 11th generation of the Corolla, on 27 May 2014 Toyota Kirloskar launched the next gen Corolla Altis in India. 88,500 units of the Altis have been sold in India since 2003. The 2014 Corolla is a completely new offering from Toyota and is 80mm longer than the outgoing Altis but with a massive 100mm increase in wheelbase to 2700mm. The exteriors have sharper creases now and gives the car a very sporty profile. At the front, the new Corolla Altis gets the Toyota family grille with three horizontal chrome lines that continue to flow into the headlamps as well. The two bonnet lines and two diagonal bumper lines seems to meet neatly into the front grille. The dual barrel headlamps along with the daytime running light strip are also neatly done. On the interiors front the car hosts an all new touchscreen infotainment system with a carbon-fiber-like finish. The dashboard is a mix of black, beige and metal finish.