I pulled the trigger! - 6-spd Manual 2020 Corolla SE Sedan

[kimona]

Hmmm... I might do the rear bumper diffuser in black.

[Leegamer]

Originally Posted by ern-diz

saying it reminded them of the Kia Forte.

First thing I thought of, too. Good looking car, though. Much better than the previous gen.

[ern-diz]

Originally Posted by kimona

Hmmm... I might do the rear bumper diffuser in black.

+1

Originally Posted by Leegamer

First thing I thought of, too. Good looking car, though. Much better than the previous gen.

Overall, I also think it's an improvement.

[justanotherdrunk]

Originally Posted by KALISPEL II

https://www.bellroadtoyota.com/vehic...KTUD35FA029712

My 2015 Yaris SE for sale at dealership. Poor girl needs a good home.

Looks like she was sold

[KALISPEL II]

I went ahead and ordered the Toyota OEM Front Hood Insulation Pad that attaches to the underside of the front hood of my 2020 Corolla SE sedan. Apparently, only the XSE has it as standard equipment. WTF Toyota? Even my 2015 Yaris SE hatch had that as standard factory equipment (though they did skimp on having no SS exhaust tip for the Yaris). The one on the Yaris was pretty cut-rate though. Pretty lame & cheesy ninja-corner-cutting to reduce costs I guess. So, there goes about $200 more to get it.

[KALISPEL II]

I picked up the OEM hood insulator piece & 6 clips today at a local Toyota dealership, since the package dimensions made it too expensive to ship directly to me ($35-40) - especially considering how overpriced it already is before shipping. Not surprisingly, it takes only a few minutes to install. I still can't believe that this part costs about $260 retail USD$ (Around $200 total for insulator piece & clips after "special internet discount" & taxes). Seriously, this piece of rigid ultra-lightweight molded insulation fiber couldn't have cost more than a few dollars to manufacture.

I know Toyota reamed me with that sort of pricing, but I had to do it since it bugged me that much. The car just had that unfinished look & feel without it (at least to me it did). I can at least say that the engine now sounds more deep, rich & robust with the insulator piece installed & the RPMs going through their paces while shifting/driving. Before, it had more of a hollow/echo-y sound to it. This really should have been standard equipment on all trims, especially considering it costs Toyota next to nothing to manufacture. Another WTF Toyota moment.

Below are some before & after pics that I took:





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[kimona]

Looks proper now. Can't believe it didn't come with this standard. Yes, the price was outrageous! Nevertheless, I would have caved and got one as well.

[Hamster]

Looks great! I agree, pretty silly that the hood insulator didn't come standard.

[bentjazz]

Congrats, KALISPEL and Bronsin! Hope you guys have a lot of luck with your new Corollas. I'll help keep the Yaris spirit alive, as I'll be putzing around in my 2010 hopefully for many years to come. Speaking of tech bloat, one (or possibly more than one---who the hell knows) of the tire sensors in my Yaris (would prefer not to have them in the first place) has gone bad. The Toyota dealer I've been going to since 2010 for routine maintenance wants $235 per sensor. Whichever sensor(s) went bad, it did last almost 9 years. So, I suppose it's hard for me to complain too much. But all of these new Toyotas (and new cars in general) with sensors up the wahzoo I can imagine will become quite expensive to repair as sensors go bad. That's one of the things that'll keep me in my Yaris...it's minimalism. Good luck, guys. That's a really beautiful Corolla, KALISPEL.

[Hamster]

Hey Kalispel! Just wanted to thank you for answering all my questions. Guess what? I'm officially getting a new Corolla, too! I went to test drive the sedan recently. Had to take my mom along, because I don't know how to drive stick. My mom, who is by no means an auto enthusiast, couldn't stop talking about how much it was a blast to drive the Corolla. I also attempted to drive it around in an empty parking lot as part of the test drive. I was surprised by how easy it was for a total novice. Yes, I stalled numerous times, but for the most part, I was able to competently drive the car around in the parking lot up to second gear. I can definitely say that the Corolla is a great car for those who want to learn to drive a manual.

Ultimately, I decided to get the hatchback, in the SE trim. Because the only thing better than having one hatchback is having two hatchbacks, right? LOL! My Yaris will be getting a big brother. Anyway, because it's hard to find a manual, and the 2020 Corolla hatchback is so new, the dealership had to put in a factory special order for me. The sedan is made in Mississippi, while the hatchback is made in Japan. So, I'll have a little bit of a wait, because the car has to be shipped across the ocean. My new Corolla is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in Japan later this month, and is scheduled to arrive in Ohio in mid-February. Can't wait! I instructed the salesman to leave all the shipping plastic on the car and to not wash it, because I don't want some kid with a sponge grinding dirt into the paint and creating swirl marks. Will update with pics in a couple months once I get the car.

[Nu18F]

Toyota advertises close ratio in the lower few gears . At what upper gear can you tell it's getting into much taller or overdriven territory?

[Hamster]

Nu18F - I have the sales brochure in front of me that I got from the dealership. Here's a direct quote out of it:
"Three pedals. Six speeds. One fun drive. Corolla's available 6-speed Intelligent Manual Transmission (iMT) features close-ratio gears down low for spirited acceleration and taller gears up top for optimized fuel economy while cruising. It also incorporates an intelligent rev-matching feature, helping reduce transmission shock when downshifting."

Anyway, that's all it says. Note that the brochure uses "gears" in the plural form for taller gears. So, I'm just going to presume that both 5th and 6th gears are overdrive gears. Anything below that, I don't know at this time.

[KALISPEL II]

Originally Posted by Nu18F

Toyota advertises close ratio in the lower few gears . At what upper gear can you tell it's getting into much taller or overdriven territory?

From what I have observed, 5th gear in the 6-MT Corolla is pretty much the same RPM level as 5th gear was in my 5-MT Yaris while traveling at my usual highway speeds. 6th gear drops it down from the 2800-3000 RPM's of 5th at those speeds to 2200-2300. That is probably one of the reasons why the 800+ pound heavier Corolla can still average close to what my Yaris was doing in MPG (40-41 average thus far versus the 42-43 I was averaging with the Yaris). I would agree that both 5th & 6th on the Corolla have the feel of overdrive gears to them. Gears 1 & 2 are very short & quick to shift out of.

Minus all the stupid tech bloat, the Corolla is a nice car - but I actually liked my 2015 Yaris SE hatch better, overall. It was just more my speed & preference in a lot of ways. I would have jumped at the chance to buy the new 2020 TNGA Yaris hatch over the Corolla if it was offered in the U.S. I don't see myself keeping this Corolla longer than 3-4 years.

[Hamster]

Kalispel - I plan to keep the Corolla forever, just like my Yaris. I come from a family that keeps their cars 20+ years, so I don't know any different. Anyway, because I plan to keep the car forever, I ordered the SE trim. I really liked the leather, heated seats of the XSE trim. However, the XSE had an electronic instrument cluster, rather than the physical, analogue gauges of the SE trim. I don't trust a TV screen to last a couple of decades. I'm not pleased with the tech bloat, either. However, I wanted a compact car that didn't have a plain, direct-injection engine, and the Corolla was basically the only option.

[KALISPEL II]

Originally Posted by Hamster

I'm not pleased with the tech bloat, either. However, I wanted a compact car that didn't have a plain, direct-injection engine, and the Corolla was basically the only option.

I agree. The TNGA innovative combo direct+port 2.0L engine design in the SE/XSE sedan is the only reason I even considered my new 6-MT Corolla, otherwise I might have rolled the dice on a new Mazda3 sedan with regular 6-speed automatic & their SkyActiv direct-inject engine (which is supposed to be the best in terms of straight GDI designs & minimal carbon sludge buildup). I was actually surprised that Toyota carried over the (very reliable) legacy port-injected engine from the previous Corolla gen to the new 2020 Corolla's in non-SE/XSE trims - though shame that they likely ruined the overall reliability of the vehicle with yet another push-belt CVT automatic. Toyota had the most reliable regular automatics on the planet, & it is a shame that they didn't stick with them like Mazda has with their's.

[bentjazz]

Tech bloat, or lack thereof. Thanks to KALISPEL II, I use that term all the time now in describing why I love my Yaris and plan to keep it for the long haul.

[Nu18F]

I am missing the days of Radio Delete

[KALISPEL II]

Originally Posted by KALISPEL II

Here is a pic of the modified front fascia of the car after the small vinyl grill/housing project idea was installed yesterday.

Should I stick with 'SE Red' up front, or switch it to a white that closely matches the color of the paint?

When I get some free time in early-mid February, I plan to switch up the front "Dragon Red" vinyl mod to my Corolla, in favor of something a bit more low-key, conservative & blending. Going to go with a light/med gray or color-matching white this time around. I will post some pics when the job is completed.

I'm still sad that the all-new 2020 TNGA Yaris hatchback never made it to the U.S./NA market. Looks to be a nice little subcompact. My 2020 TNGA Corolla feels like the runner-up consolation prize.

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