Other views of the car

Other views of the car

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To get a broader perspective on the new Toyota Corolla Altis, we invited three Corolla owners to try our testcar. Regulars on the AW forum, they were Flee, Eve and AlbertT. Flee and Albert T have the 1.6-litre versions of the 7th generation model and 8th generation, respectively, while Eve has a 1.3-litre 8th generation.

Here are their comments:

Flee: “It was apparent that the ride was firm and better than my car’s. The engine felt strong, and even going uphill, it pulled well. I thought that the steering is about the same as my SE-G’s but the brakes were a tad spongy for my liking. I prefer the Volvo type of feel in the brake pedal, where you feel the brakes work the minute you step on them.”

Eve: “The performance was certainly much higher than what I am used to since my car is a 1.3. During cornering, I felt like the car swung out more but that must have been because I could corner faster and harder so the force was stronger. I liked the brakes… nice feel and progressive. The meters? Don’t give me the blue and the orange! Sitting behind, I found good legroom but headroom seemed insufficient – and I’m not a tall person! I feel the wood trim may be classy but somehow it doesn’t match. The console box is nice and deep, just what I like… excellent!

AlbertT: “One thing I immediately felt was more space around my legs. It was less restricted than in my own car. The meters are a bit bright in the daytime (blue looks cool but no way would I choose it!). I also found the meter panel more compact than in my car. I felt the power was good but would have liked to get a bit more ‘oomph’. I felt that when I just got my car, the noise level was lower and I don’t really like the way the engine sounds… doesn’t sound ‘solid’ enough to me. Ride comfort is good and the tyres feel well matched to the car. The steering feel is a bit light for my liking. I noticed that the opening to the boot from the cabin is larger in the Altis. The Altis is a good car and I’m impressed but for me, if I am going to spend RM122,000-plus, I think I would prefer to buy a secondhand Camry which is larger.”

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