I was at a red light, picking my cup up off the passenger floor and I thought I heard a "chirp". I looked up, the light was green, and two kids (18-20-ish) were "speeding" away. I guess I drove a little faster than normal to catch them, and the passenger seemed to think they actually had a chance to beat me to the next light so I lit up the top of 2nd and through 3rd. I stopped at the next light, even though it was green when I got there. It turned red by the time they got there... the driver looked genuinely ****ed.

Anyway, my question: as I was coming up on it, there was a red "S" sticker/emblem on the right side of the trunk. WTF is that? A $0.59 "sticker mod"? It wasn't even "type R" (the known 20hp mod).

So, to finish, I had the window down and asked the passenger if I should use the odd or even gears when the light went green, and the driver jumped the red and ran the light. I didn't feel like a ticket so I waited and they were gone when the light went green.

I won't count that as a kill.

 

No. But it's got to be good for a !

 

There is such a piece of excrement as a Corolla - s ! .. You shouldve launched in 3rd, and still beat them by 5 cars !

 

There really is a Corolla S. It's supposed to be a sportier version of that car. A sporty Corolla just doesn't seem or even look right, I don't know why.

 

It really is amusing to see an auto manufacturer take a vehicle is wimpy as a Corolla and try to turn it into a sport sedan. But what's more amusing is the fact that people actually buy them! Go figure.

 

i thought the corolla s looked real nice. the bumper was aggressive looking and overall the car had nice lines. dont get me wrong, its still just a corolla, but im just saying. and there is the corolla-s. its there to compete with all the new compacts, the sentra ser, matrix, civic si, etc.

 

yeah there is such a thing as a Corolla -S. It ain't much. you have to give Toyota credit for "finally" making the car look better. Is it me or does it look a bit tall? maybe if you lower the sucker.

 

Its not meant to compete with any sporty type car. The 'S' is just a monochrmoatic color scheme, 'sport' upholstery, leather steering wheel with red stiching and other irrelevant items. Its not faster or better handling than a Corrola Value Edition.

 

The impression one gets when looking at it is that there may actually be some muscle to it. There isn't any, of course, as you correctly point out. It's simply a marketing ploy whereby Toyota can bilk more money out of its customers for a dreadfully puny car.

 

If I *had* to buy a new Corolla, I'd buy the 'S' since it looks pretty good for a Corolla.

 

Me too. But I'd give it to my kid to drive. I'd be ashamed to be seen behind the wheel of one.

 

That's what I thought too of the 2002 Corolla. But then I saw the S on the streets the other day and said "nah, never mind!" It looks good at most angles, but when you look at it from the rear, it looks very narrow. I guess why it's kind of tall. Too narrow for my tastes.

 

True, true. I test drove a Sentra SER Spev V for fun recently while my Maxima was getting an oil change. The saleslady was blabbing about how powerful it was (she didn't know what I drove). I kept thinking, "this is what they call torque?"..... Oh well, I guess once you drive a car as powerful as the Maxima, its hard to drive other four doors.

 

So true! I test drove a Mazda Protege5 w/my girlfriend (for her, not me!!). We drove the auto, and damn it was slow. So I asked them to let me take out the 5speed, and surprise surprise. I took it on the freeway, redlined every gear, and still had a hard time pushing it past 90. Then my GF had to remind me that it's a 4cylinder, and costs $10K less than my upcoming Max.

 

because the Corolla-S is not different performance wise than the base piece of crap...just some added rice to make it look phast!

 

the corolla s is a squashed up (or a midget) lexus es300...

anyway it doesn't compete with matrix... they are practically the same car, the only thing is the matrix is a wagon...

 

Except, of course, for the Matrix XRS . . . which is the only Matrix worth considering IMO.

 

Well, my girlfriend needed a car for optometry school next fall, and was looking at a Corolla. I told her if she were to get a Corolla, her best would be to go for the S since the CE sucks (no A/C for LA really sucks) and the LE is more expensive with not much improvements.

Have you seen the commercials for this car? They have like birds flying and capes fluttering in the wind and stuff and the announcer was saying like "blazing engine at 130hp" or something like that. What a marketing ploy. Anyways, she's looking at a Camry now since it's not too much more and the interior (I think) is a lot better. Not to mention more powerful.

 

Hmmmm. I suspect the Matrix XRS would run circles around a 4 cylinder Camry. It might even run circles around a 6 cylinder Camry . . .

 

i second that...thanks...

but why settle for a 4 banger when you can get a 6 banger that is as nice as a maxima right?

 

Well the Matrix XRS is a 4-banger, all right. But according to Toyota, it puts out 180 hp . . . 50 hp more than the Corolla-S! And while the Camry V6 is certainly more luxurious, it's not going to beat a Matrix XRS from a performance standpoint. But perhaps that's not what you're looking for . . .

 

2k2wannabe,

the "S" badge you speak of is for real. you said it was a corolla, the new corollas come like that, the "S" model is 130bhp also comes with a stock body kit sorta raced out IMHO. i like the look of the car.

 

i think all factory spec cars intending to have any sort of "S" or "R" designations should provide a minimum of 180 hp cause I think 130 ain't just enough... and that 180 hp should be produce torque numbers that are within 5% of the hp numbers...

130 hp doesn't even feel that much different than my 2.4 liter 110 hp (i don't know the exact number, but it can't be more than 120 though) 22r toyota pickup...

but then again i guess anything less than 2.o liters can't produce as much torque unless boosted...

 

Me too. What I don't like is the fact that it's trying to look like something it ain't!