2017 Toyota Corolla: The middle of the road gets a little nicer

[MUSIC] If you feel like every other car on the road is a Toyota Corolla well you're not far off the mark. Toyota has produced 43 million Corolla's since it was first introduced in 1966 and it's running neck and neck with the Honda Civic in terms of overall sales. So what this tells me is that folks care more about having an affordable and dependable car than they do about having a fun and engaging ride. I know, duh, right? [MUSIC] The Toyota Corolla came to the States in 1968, and Toyota has given me a 50th Anniversary Special Edition to celebrate. Toyota will make 8,000 of these special editions, and they're based off the SE trim line. So, standard, I have a seven inch touch screen running Entune Audio Plus. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not offered, and the system, well, it's pretty basic, although it is functional. If you want to learn more, we've got a separate deep dive video just for you. New for twenty seventeen is a redesigned grill, LED headlights and updated wheels, but the rest of the sheet metal and power plant, well, that's exactly the same. Under the hood is a one point eight liter four cylinder engine that's It's pumping out 132 thundering, Japanese horses and 128 pound-feet of torque. Power goes to the front wheels through a continuously variable transmission, although a six-speed manual is available in the SE trim line. [MUSIC] Now, I have not gone gently into that good, CBT night, but I've got to give Toyota props, because this Transmission is much more livable. They've tuned in, so it's a little bit more like a traditional automatic and I can even operate it manually from the paddle shifters stepping through seven kind of step light gears I mean, is it the same as a manual or even a regular automatic? Well,no, of course not. But, those things are going the way of the dodo all in the pursuit of really good fuel economy. And, the Corolla does pretty well. EPA fuel ratings for my Special Edition are 28 miles per gallon in in the city, 35 on the highway and 31 combined and during my week that's pretty spot on. I'm getting about 32. And the Corolla drives, I mean it's fine, it's not any kind of a track twisty monster, nor is it an under powered fling it through the corners with glee and abandon type of car, but you know- Neither are it's drivers. Instead it offers a reasonable amount of power and handling wrapped up in a safe and dependable package. The acceleration is a little sluggish and there's a sports button, but I can't really tell what it does. The suspension is tuned in warp for comfort. So if you really keep you foot in while your going around to turn, be prepared for quite a lot of body roll. You know there are other cars in this segment that do driving better, like the Mazda3 or the Honda Civic. But if you're looking for an affordable, comfortable, dependable, commuter car, well, the Corolla might just be your jam. Toyota does earn my respect when it comes to safety, as the Toyota Safety Sense is standard across all trim lines of the Corolla. Now that includes a pre-collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic high beams, but also a lane keeping alert with steering assist. So let's say you don't signal, you kinda wander out of your lane a little bit. You'll get an audible and visual alert And then the car will gently steer you back into the correct lane. And if you're the kind of person that thinks that turn signals are for chumps, well you can turn off that lane keeping assist. And you can just weave right on through traffic to your heart's content. Adaptive cruise control is also standard but it doesn't work below 30 miles per hour, making it pretty useless in stop and go traffic [MUSIC] The 2017 Toyota Corolla starts at just $18,500. And my 50th anniversary special edition here with a few bells and whistles, well that comes in at about $24,500. Look, not everybody needs to be the second coming of Mario Andretti. And for those folks the Toyota Corolla hits all the right marks. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]