Under The Spotlight: Toyota Motor Philippines Launches The Heart Pounding Corolla Altis.

Last January 16, 2014, Toyota Motor Philippines has launched to the public the all-new Toyota Corolla Altis.

Launched with the tagline, “Heart Pounding”, the Corolla Altis promises owners that the Corolla is anything but a conservative car. With a new, striking and sporty look, the Corolla Altis is anything but boring to look at. Dimensions have increased as well, with the whole car growing by 80 mm, but the main story is at the wheelbase. It has been stretched by 100 mm, and this results in a very huge rear legroom that can be considered as the best in its class, how good? Read on as I provide my first impressions for the Corolla Altis.

Exterior

A Corolla Altis in 2.0 V guise was displayed at Alabang Town Center for the whole weekend, and I took this opportunity to explore the car well. It definitely is a looker compared to its predecessor. A feature worth talking about is the Corolla Altis’ segment first LED Headlamps with LED Daytime Running Lights. The headlights emit a white glow, and along with the LED DRLs, the Corolla Altis will definitely capture the people’s attention. New, two-tone 17 inch rims are a sporty touch, and it definitely adds excitement to its looks. The bodykit comes as a standard equipment for the 2.0 V.

Interior

While I did forget to take a photo of its cockpit, let me tell you that its interior is again, far from what its predecessor had. Soft-touch materials run atop the dashboard and above the doors, which makes the new Toyota Corolla Altis feel a lot more upmarket than its predecessor. The faux carbon-look treatment in the dashboard adds depth to the cockpit, while the blue ambient lighting in the gauges, radio, and the climate control system, create a youthful and relaxing environment. Upon pressing the push button ignition, the Corolla Altis greets you with a welcome message that appears in the TFT LCD between the two cylinder gauges. A nice and human-centric touch, if you ask me.

The reason why I wasn’t able to take a photo of the Corolla Altis’ cockpit is because I was so impressed about its legroom. I am 5 foot 10, and as you can see, that is a lot of space in the rear, and the driver’s seat has already been adjusted for my position. This is the result of increasing the wheelbase by 100 mm and making the front seats a little bit slimmer. Combined with the rear sunshades, the Corolla Altis will surely be a relaxing long distance cruiser.

Powetrain

Powering the Toyota Corolla Altis is still the same 3ZR-FE Dual VVT-i 2.0 liter engine from the 10th Generation facelifted Corolla Altis, which was released in 2009. It produces 143 hp @ 6200 rpm, and 187 Nm of torque @ 3600 rpm. It is delivers through a CVT, with 7 pre-selected rations, simulating a 7-Speed Automatic, while using the paddle shifters in manual mode. In case you are wondering, yes, the 4-speed automatic in the other variants have also been eliminated, in favor of this CVT transmission.

Verdict

As far as I have seen, Toyota has done a good job in making the new Corolla Altis, and with 40 million units sold worldwide, the new Toyota Corolla Altis will surely hold its crown as the world’s best-selling car. While many reviews have said that the new Corolla Altis is anything but a fun to drive car, I don’t think that will ever be a problem for this new one.

Pricing for the new Toyota Corolla Altis are as follows. 

Toyota Corolla Altis 2.0V 7-speed CVT – P1,201,000
Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6V 7-speed CVT – P999,000
Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6G 7-speed CVT – P935,000
Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6G 6-speed MT – P879,000
Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6E 6-speed MT – P836,000

On A Side Note

Ever since the new Corolla Altis was launched globally half a year ago, many people have noticed the huge wheel gap in the rear. While I am not sure why this exists, as far as looks go, it doesn’t look too bad in most angles.

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