A surprisingly not bad rental car

"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
09/23/2020 at 17:27 • Filed to: Rental Car Review

Oppo. I don’t now what to do. I got a rental car and didn’t hate it.

I can count on one hand the rentals I’ve had over the last 10 years I didn’t hate (or at least strongly dislike). In fact, here they are:

Ford Mustang

Cadillac CST

Kia Soul

Chevrolet Impala

This one

The rental in question? A 2020 Toyota Corolla.

I know, right?!

Hear me out though. We all know that basic, small cars are fun and car are getting less basic and less fun. Every time I drive an Altima or a Camry I die a little on the inside. Fussy transmissions and automated features mated to sleepy 4-cylinder engines. Ugh.

Still though, I’d expect more of the same from a Corolla but seemingly no!

When I push the pedal, stuff happens!

It is small and has glass that I can see out of!

Ok... really just those two things. Amazing how little it takes to please me in a rental these days....

In fact the Corolla was a good car despite its tech. Amazingly this little econobox has radar cruise control, lane keep assist, automatic braking, and an electronic parking brake.

The radar cruise worked better than most I’ve used, but still tended to brake earlier than I’d expect, have too far of a following distance, not be very smooth, default to the max following when turned back on, and keep locked onto cars that change lanes longer than is strictly safe. My biggest frustration, however, is that you can’t fucking turn it off. It is either no cruise or radar cruise. There is no middle. Overall... it was fine. I even used it a bit on some backroads where I had no chance of passing the person in front and they were going seemingly random speeds. Just set the cruise and let it follow them.

The lane keep was miserable like all that I’ve used except the Volvo one. Unlike the Chevrolet Tahoe I rented last year, whose system didn’t appear to do anything, or the Altima I had a little after that which gave up after one correction, the Corolla’s lane keep was TOO active. Whenever it was on the steering felt... unsettled. Like a car with a loose front end or a very new and very nervous driver. Even when I was in the center of the lane it was constantly pulling at the wheel one way or the other. Even more damning, because of this I only used it when I wanted to drive in an unsafe manner, aka when I needed to dick with my phone. Not... great.

The automatic braking didn’t get used, which I guess gives that system a pass compared to some others I’ve used in the past.

The parking brake applied automatically and therefore did not have a chance to anger me. Also a pass.

Wait I thought you liked this car?

I DID! I DO!

Basically despite being made in 2020 (or maybe 2019? It had 37,000 miles...) pushing the skinny pedal still made things happen! The CVT was actually kinda responsive and peppy and didn’t make me have a sad!

Apparently that is all I want out of a car.

So now we know that.

Also for having damn near 40k rental miles on it, the interior was holding up well! You know those were all abusive miles and it honestly still looked pretty new!

Also I probably logged 8 hours of seat time in this bad boy and wasn’t uncomfortable. So that is near!

Back to the complaining....

The “messages” readout is very coy and won’t let you see your texts, it’ll just read them to you... which is odd.

The road noise is out of a early 2000s Honda... which is to say it is appalling.

There is no external trunk release.

The infotainment system is a bit ugly and has a buttons for features that are not available. (Slightly worse than blanking panels, IMO)

There is nowhere to put your phone while driving.

The only power port is in the center console.

But all these issues are fairly minor

Overall good car. Since you can apparently still get these in 6-speed, I’d even say I recommend it! Do I recommend it over a similarly priced Civic Si? No, probably not, but heh.

DISCUSSION (19)

smobgirl > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/23/2020 at 17:33

I’ve enjoyed the Corollas I’ve rented. I think they would be far more fun as a manual, but they were possibly in my top 5 or near my top 5 last year.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/23/2020 at 17:34

The current Corolla is the most honest-looking Corolla since the late 90s.

It doesn’t attempt to look swoopy. Or sporty. Or aggressive. Or upscale. Or carry big-car styling cues on a small body (looking at you, Nissan).

It’s just a small, practical car that looks handsome in a small, practical way.

My only nit is that fake diffuser. That needs to go.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/23/2020 at 17:37

I didn’t like the Kia soul that much at all. I drove it around San Francisco for two days and it was just gutless and noisy. I liked the Kia Optima tho, and agree with the mustang, even a 4cy or v6 mustang is a fun car to drive.
Nice surprises ? The nissan rogue is pretty good, the Rav4 is not high on my list...

Brickman > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/23/2020 at 17:38

Chevy colorado is like that with texts. it will read, but takes like 5 min to come up on screen

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/23/2020 at 17:49

The Corolla is a very decent car and one I’d consider for a daily, though I think they dropped the manual gearbox from even the base version . I’m curious about how your American version might differ in terms of its systems and their calibration from our Japanese (hatch) and Thailand (sedan) sourced options though. Local reviews have made scant mention of wobbles with cruise control, lane keeping and other safety systems despite the fact they often don’t work well in many cars due to the lack of local calibration to our road network.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/23/2020 at 17:51

I’m really hoping that the GR Corolla is amazing (and sells like crazy).

wafflesnfalafel > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/23/2020 at 17:52

right - I think it is their best looking sedan in their entire current lineup.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/23/2020 at 17:52

I had one recently as well. Same review. Lane-keep Assist worked gr eat for about 40 exits on the freeway... on the 41st exit, the damn thing jerked the wheel hard to the right and tried to follow the white lane marker and take the Off Ramp.

I did not wish to take the off ramp. We disagreed. Naughty words were spoken. Tempers flared.

I then disabled that shit for the rest of the week-l ong rental.

I hate that everybody is following T3sla over this cliff about 25 years before the tech is ready to actually “help”.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
09/23/2020 at 17:55

I only skimmed the W ikipedia, but allegedly the 6-speed is only available with the 2.0L in the US and only on the 1.2L in Japan. It would be interesting if there are actually software differences....

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
09/23/2020 at 17:55

I have hope!

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
09/23/2020 at 18:40

My brother who lives in Japan has an order for a GR Yaris, I’m very jealous. Expected delivery sometime around February (h e’s a Toyota nut and currently has a 90s Corolla BZ Touring as well).

The GR Corolla is the closest we’ll get to the Yaris, so I’m hopeful that it is excellent as well.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/23/2020 at 18:42

My neighbor (not a car guy) has one, a lower trim level, and he haaates the thing. He’s leasing it and pretty sure he’s paying some ungodly amount to have the pleasure of driving it too (at least I know he’s paying more than I am on my Bolt lease, which was $0 down and $230/month). I forbade him from making any further car purchases without consulting me.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/23/2020 at 18:53

I could see how loud it is being an issue over time, but seriously I’ve driven cars that cost 2-3x more and are much worse overall. Maybe he has the 1.8 and this one is the 2.0? Heh

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/23/2020 at 18:56

Yeah, no clue. I’m just confused as to how you can end up leasing a car you hate in the first place. I can understand not exactly being in love with it forever, but actually hating? Geez do your research and test it until you know you want it before signing the paperwork instead of treating it like buying a toaster at Target (confession - did a ton of research on our latest toaster purchase, and absolutely love it) .

Khalbali > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/23/2020 at 20:27

Lucky! I would kill for that corolla, I have a 2019 sentra while my 2 is getting a new trunk, I hate it. It has literally the worst seats of any car I've ever been in, it's like sitting on your jacket in the bleachers.

Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/23/2020 at 22:20

If the Corolla is anything like the Lexus's with dynamic cruise, and it certainly is, you can still set the cruise to old school non-radar guided. Press and hold the Cruise On button for about 5 seconds, it'll show a different symbol on the gauge cluster.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's
09/23/2020 at 23:20

Oh hey I didn’t try that. I tried pressing and holding the range button and that didn’t work

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
09/24/2020 at 03:38

Checked the Toyota Oz website...both the base sedan and base hatch can be had with the 6 speed and the 2.0 litre engine...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/24/2020 at 09:09

Nice! You’ll have to have him do a write up for us.

I need to get on the list for the GR Corolla now...