05/06 Toyota Corolla XRS?

"Long Live the Longdoor" (victoryred08)
05/16/2017 at 20:06 • Filed to: None

Tell me everything there is to know! Anyone owned one?

DISCUSSION (18)

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > Long Live the Longdoor
05/16/2017 at 20:10

2ZZ goodness. mmmmmmm. Can’t tell you about the rest of the car.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Long Live the Longdoor
05/16/2017 at 20:12

If you have longish legs you won’t fit. These cars were designed for people with short legs.

dogisbadob > Long Live the Longdoor
05/16/2017 at 20:18

It has that awesome 2ZZ engine, but no folding back seat. Also consider a Matrix XRS or Vibe GT, which was made more years (03-06). Someone on here has a Matrix XRS, so all the mechanical/reliability shit on his will apply to these, too. Every single 03-08 Corolla, Matrix, and Vibe, XRS or otherwise, the odometer stops counting at 299999 miles (if you’re in Canada, it stops at 299999 km!), but the car will still work fine because it’s a Toyota.

You can get Bilstein shocks for them, which is cool.

Captain of the Enterprise > Long Live the Longdoor
05/16/2017 at 20:23

I have a 2005 corolla le feel free to poke my brain with any questions involving that. I really like mine as a daily driver. I’m 6'3' and fit okay and mine has 139,700 miles and I’ve had it for a year and a half now and about 18,000 miles.

daender > Long Live the Longdoor
05/16/2017 at 20:23

From an autocrossing standpoint, this was a formidable car many years ago, before the reign of the FiST, in H-Street (now H-Stock). That being said, it’s hard to find an example that hasn’t be beaten and abused by now.

Kinja'd!!!

Here’s a dated 2005 episode of MotorWeek reviewing the then-new XRS.

dogisbadob > daender
05/16/2017 at 20:27

turbo, dubs, and BLING!!!!!!! :p

Long Live the Longdoor > daender
05/16/2017 at 20:30

John Davis is the best. Thanks for the info!

Long Live the Longdoor > dogisbadob
05/16/2017 at 20:35

Haha, that’s ridiculous that the odometer stops just before 300k and yes, that’d be kilometres, I hail from Canada. Kinda funny actually. I always liked the Matrix too, borderline even more of a sleeper than the Corolla. Time to research the Matrix now too.

Long Live the Longdoor > Captain of the Enterprise
05/16/2017 at 20:37

Right on, how is it comfort wise? I’m 6' so a little shorter, does yours have a sunroof? Is it loud on the highway at all?

Long Live the Longdoor > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
05/16/2017 at 20:39

Really? I’m 6'0 and a good chunk of that is leg. It’d be a bummer if I didn’t fit. This week’s car thought is “maybe I should ditch my car loan and buy an XRS...”.

Long Live the Longdoor > Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition
05/16/2017 at 20:40

I know! I watched this and was immediately convinced; such an awesome sleeper:

Captain of the Enterprise > Long Live the Longdoor
05/16/2017 at 20:41

Mine does not have a sunroof so I can’t really speak to the headroom of those but I have a couple inches in mine so it might be okay. It’s louder than my old Crown Vic on the highway but I don’t think it’s too bad I’m usually very easily annoyed by road noise and I adjusted to it pretty quickly. Mine might be a little louder than normal because my front window seal is starting to go. I don’t think it’s bad for a compact car of the period at all. It’s quieter than my sisters 03 Saturn Ion for example.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Long Live the Longdoor
05/16/2017 at 20:42

I’m 5'11 and I could never find a seat position that didn’t either have my knees wedged in the dash or my arms stretched to each the wheel in my 2006 LE.

wafflesnfalafel > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
05/16/2017 at 20:46

agree - it’s not that they don’t have enough room, it’s the ergo that is completely designed for short folks... frustrating.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Long Live the Longdoor
05/16/2017 at 21:00

We had a 2006 as a loaner car for about two weeks while my Subaru Impreza was in the shop. Compared to the Impreza I hated it. The engine was buzzy and had no torque. The suspension was not so great either. Really turned me off for Toyota at the time.

Funktheduck > Long Live the Longdoor
05/16/2017 at 21:12

My 04 Corolla S was a decent car. Someone mentioned the seating position: I’m not tall but I never had a perfect position. The pedals were too close or the wheel too far away. My fiancée (her car before mine) said she didn’t have that problem. Huge trunk. Reliable. Traded it in for my Mazda 3 when it was around 250k miles

Serenespeed > Long Live the Longdoor
05/16/2017 at 23:31

I owned and modified one. I’ll give you the nutshell: 2,580 lbs stock, w/ reinforced chassis (why you can’t fold rear seats down). I had Tokico adjustable shocks with lowering springs, rear beefy sway bar, dunlop direzza z2's, ebc yellowstuff pads. It handled amazingly and kept up with a tuned Cayman around Angeles Crest (where I live). Loves to rev and sounds great with a CAI. Yet it would fall out of ‘lift’ easily if not shifted at redline, and on some gears it would regardless :( No easy remedy for this as there is not much aftermarket support, especially for easy ECU tuning. I’m 6'3" and fit fine but as others have mentioned, you sit on it rather than in it. Shifter position & feel is not great but I think I put some better bushings in to help. Gets great mpg’s even when driven hard. Bulletproof reliable and prices have dropped out. More unique than a Civic SI sedan, but in hindsight the boy-racer civic is probably a better drivers car.

Textured Soy Protein > Long Live the Longdoor
05/17/2017 at 11:47

The lower body aero bits shared with the Corolla S are ugly and tacked on looking.

It’s got a very basic twist beam rear suspension.

I’d rather have it in hatchback form as the Matrix XRS.

Kinja'd!!!