New Toyota Corolla Altis review, test drive

Toyota says the new Corolla will appeal to the heart and head. It certainly looks more appealing than the outgoing car. So, what's it like to drive?

Published on Apr 10, 2014 02:50:00 PM

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New Toyota Corolla Altis.

As a result, this new car feels much nicer to drive. Stepping into the driver’s seat is just as easy, but the driving position is now a bit lower slung. The steering wheel is a tad smaller, the steering column less vertical and the seat has better bolstering and thigh support. Singapore’s roads don’t provide too many opportunities to throw the car around, but once we are closer to the outskirts of the island city, the roads open out and allow me to carry greater speed. And immediately this new Altis feels much better from behind the wheel. There’s less body roll and sloppiness to contend with and what’s also nice is that the new car doesn’t keep shifting its weight around either.

The steering is more responsive too. It felt disconnected on the earlier car but this updated electric power steering feels nicely ‘linked up’ to the front wheels. Stability while turning into a corner, even at a relatively high speed, is pretty good and the front end really sticks. The non-independent torsion beam rear suspension, however, lets the car down. Its setup is a bit too soft and that means the rear of the car is often shuffling and shifting around uncomfortably in tight corners. This is a bit of a shame, as while the new Corolla is definitely improved in the handling department, it isn’t good enough to take on cars like the Jetta and new Octavia. It lacks their fluency, it lacks precision and it isn’t as confidence-inspiring either.

The upside of that soft rear suspension is that the car rides pretty well even over rough patches. Out in the docklands, where trucks with heavy containers manage to break up the roads, you do get plenty of patchwork even in sterile Singapore, and there are some pretty bad patches. But the Altis isn’t fazed. It takes even medium-sized bumps in its stride and swallows them silently, a slight bob the only giveaway. Here’s hoping the raising of the ride height of the car for India doesn’t impact ride and handling too badly.

What the new Altis does suffer from is a bit of road noise. This is especially true on coarse surfaces with plenty of texture, where the din from the air pockets on the road and in the tyres can become quite loud. That the Altis needs better insulation, there’s little doubt.