Memory is a funny thing. It has a habit of putting on rose-tinted spectacles and erasing the mundane, focusing exclusively on the highlights. The BMW 2002 is iconic, but fewer people remember the 1602. The Dodge Neon SRT-4 is now pure nostalgia, but fewer people remember the Neon R/T. You can probably guess where I’m going here. This is the 2026 Toyota Corolla FX Hatchback and if you’re overly excited at the thought of a reborn Corolla FX-16, I’m going to need you to hold your horses for a second.
Right out of the gate, the 2026 Toyota Corolla FX Hatchback comes in three colors: the pictured Inferno, the Enterprise-worthy Ice Cap, and the extra medium Blue Crush Metallic. No matter which paint you pick, you’re getting white wheels, a bear to keep clean but far more interesting than the industry-wide infestation of diamond-cut rollers that frequently make cars look like they skipped leg day. From there, Toyota adds a spoiler to the Corolla FX Hatchback, orange stitching, a bit of suede, and a throwback badge.
I know what you’re thinking at this point, what about performance? Well, the Corolla FX Hatchback does get some very GR Corolla-like seats and that’s about it. No word on suspension, no extra power, just a pack of 169-horsepower CVT-equipped creamsicle hatchbacks for sensible extroverts.
It’s the sort of move that sticks a pin in the balloon of hope for a Honda Civic Si competitor, because nobody remembers the base-model Corolla FX hatchback of the 1980s but everyone remembers the FX16, a twin-cam three-door hot hatch with a rampaging 112 horsepower thanks to a 1.6-liter 4A-GE four-cylinder engine.
An FX16 this is not, and that’s largely due to the car community’s own unrealistic expectations, like a group of college juniors nervously stumbling into the campus pub hoping to not go home alone, only to sink a combined 23.5 Twisted Teas and still be too shy to talk to anyone. See, Toyota already makes a hot Corolla, the all-singing all-dancing 100-horsepower-per-cylinder GR Corolla, and the hot hatch market has proved slim enough that, well, why would Toyota sell something in between the 169-horsepower regular Corolla and its 300-horsepower creatine-mixing brother?
So, if you want a mildly more interesting compact hatchback with better seats and a fantastic shade of orange, Toyota’s building 1,600 of these Corolla FX Hatchback models for the 2026 model year. If you were hoping for a Toyota-built counterpart to the Honda Civic Si, maybe put another small bill in the slot machine. Between the cost of development, the cost of homologation, and the fact that enthusiasts like you and I are the worst customers ever because we complain about everything then largely go out and buy second-hand stuff on this end of the market, throwing something like the 244-horsepower S20A-FTS two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine from the Chinese-market Highlander in a Corolla just doesn’t make sense, assuming it would even fit. Besides, it’s not like we’re that short on sport compact options. If you want something hotter than a regular Corolla but not as expensive as a GR Corolla, Toyota has something called the GR86 they’d love to sell us.
Top graphic credit: Toyota
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The Corolla hatch is a weird car. It’s one of the few current Toyota cars that isn’t available in hybrid form. I think the underlying problem is that if they hybridize the Corolla hatch, the pricing comes very close to a base Prius.
In fact, I think the only reason the Corolla hatch base exists (along with this new FX) is to help defray the development and production costs of the Corolla GR.
I’m here for the white wheels. Just saw a Cooper S with white wheels, roof, and Union Jack mirror caps and I’m thinking yes that’s the move.
Put together my dream MINI S in 2003 in black with white wheels and roof.
Enjoyed constantly cleaning those wheels and that paint ‘cuz they looked SO GOOD clean, but it is alot of work…
The 1.8L 2ZZ in my XRS (with the 6-speed manual) wouldn’t fit?
I dig the white wheels in spite of the perpetual effort required to keep them free of brake dust. I guess I’d just have to keep a rag in the driver’s side door pocket and hope for the best.
Ceramic brake pads would be an absolute necessity.
I rent a lot of cars and Toyotas are the worst in my opinion. They may have a reputation for reliability but they are boring to drive. Disengaged, cheap interiors flaking apart on nearly new cars, totally disconnected steering. And this FX-16 is a 4-door with a CVT. This thing promises zero fun.
Worse than Nissan?
Actually, the Nissan Sentra is one of my favorite rentals. I wouldn’t necessarily spend my own money on it, but it’s a pleasure to drive and actually fun.
Most hated rental: RAV4
Having had a Rogue and then a RAV4 for my last two rentals (the joys of small airports), the RAV4 might as well be a BMW in comparison to the truly horrific Rogue.
We’ll see what joy Hertz brings me in Augusta, GA this evening. I do not have high hopes. Sigh.
I’ve had both as rentals. The Rogue panic stopped when in Boston early on a Sunday morning when there were no cars, pedestrians or cyclists around. I was like WTH? It only did it once, but I never figured out why.
I could probably do a PHEV RAV4 as a DD if I had to replace my ’17 Accord V6. But I’m hoping I never need to.
I got stuck with another Rogue tonight. But I have to say, this one steers better than the last one. The tracking must have been off with that thing, it was truly terrible. Interestingly, the emergency braking is OFF on this one, and it won’t let me turn it on. Hmmm.
Hertz at small airports suuuucks these days – might as well be a Nissan dealership.
My company’s rental company was National. I’ve been retired for a couple of years and now I just try to find what’s cheapest through Expedia. My last, through them, was a bare bones Corolla, but I do have to say it was not a bad car. Better in many ways than the first couple I owned in the ’70s.
The trouble with National, and I do use them too, is that their frequent renter program sucks. It’s not my money, I don’t really care what the rental costs (within reason – I can’t expense a Porsche). I do care about convenience, and that on the rare occasion I need a rental car personally, that I can get one for free. That is MUCH easier with Hertz than with National, but these days National has WAY better cars, especially at small locations.
I suspect I will just rent from National at small airports that lack Hertz Gold Choice where you pick your own car. I get to do what I want with my travel choices.
National worked ok for me. Pick a car in the correct part of the garage and check out at the airport exit. About as hassle free as it could be. The company used Avis before that. A lot more red tape.
With National, even on the corporate account, I got free days to use on vacation. That and FF miles on United and Alaska Airlines and Marriott stays made for some pretty cheap vacations.
But in retrospect, I would have preferred to be home more.
And OMG, I got a BMW i something i28? with a front wheel way out of balance a couple of years ago. It was miserable to drive from MKE to friends in Madison, WI and back.
Renting cars several times a month from before 9/11 through late 2023, I have some stories.
I am a longtime Toyota hater, but that hate is earned. I was really into Toyota as a new driver in the 1980s, they had a full lineup of interesting cars, and they kept innovating. And then, by the mid-90s, they fell into a rut of selling on bland reliability and nothing else. And it feels like they’ve been there ever since.
I’m always ready for Toyota to redeem themselves, but at the last auto show I checked out the new Camry and was SO disappointed to find that it’s still the same tinny toolbox that it’s been since around 1997. It gets fantastic mileage and I’m sure it will last a long time…and none of that compels me to buy one.
I find Toyotas to be the ultimate in “dull but worthy”. Not something I would EVER buy for myself (with vanishingly rare exceptions), but something I recommend to non-car-people.
No manual? Bruh.
No manual! I feel so catfished.
They have a manual… The Owners Manual!!!
Nope, that’s loaded into the infotainment system. You people and your BOOKS.
A digital owners manual is still and owners manual…
Enthusiast blather from a guy who almost always buys used: assuming that it only cost a little more than a vanilla Corolla, it’d actually be interesting if it was buyable with a manual transmission. It doesn’t need more power if it’s just a slightly spicier Corolla (though yes, a very mild factory tune for a small bump using the same hardware would be appreciated). The white wheels do look nice, but keeping them free of brake dust is gonna be a PITA. This is just a plain Corolla hatch with a few swapped bits: it essentially costs Toyota nothing beyond building a Corolla, so even if only a few buy it, it’s managed to goose total Corolla hatch sales.
I like the Corolla hatch… it’s MUCH more appealing than the sedan, which retains its historic econobox vibe. Again: would it have bankrupted Toyota to simply allow buyers to check a ‘six speed manual transmission’ box, even if only 5% chose to do so? For a car with sporty pretensions?
Nice orange though.
My wife’s brother-in-law bought a 2022 corolla hatch with a manual. My wife drove it on a visit and we went looking for one the next day to replace her matrix.
Ended up having to get a manual transmission 24 Honda civic hatch even though she doesn’t like it as much as the Corolla hatch.
We would buy 2 of these Corolla fx today if they came with a manual. 1 to replace her civic and 1 to replace my transit connect. CVTs are a deal killer.
But I guess we should have been paying attention when you could still find a manual transmission compact hatchback.
Agreed… I was unaware that it even came with a manual option in the beginning. But that happens a lot: the Honda HRV was available with a manual only for the first three years of the first gen, and wasn’t offered at all in the second (current) gen as far as I know. I drove both the manual and auto HRV, and though it wasn’t fast or sporty, having the manual (Honda makes nice ones) made the car much more involving and satisfying to drive. Same with the Hyundai Venue: a manual was an option (at least in the first year, I don’t know exactly when it was dropped but they no longer have it even though the current Venue hasn’t been significantly revised since release). Again, I drove both the auto and manual and again, at least for me, the manual was by far the better choice: it made the most of the car’s limited oomph, and frankly it made the little cute-ute/crossover/lifted, boxy hatchback more fun.
At least Honda still offers a manual (I think) in some version of the Civic. And I think the base Nissan Versa does too. But the list is very finite.
Too bad Toyota stopped offering the manual on the non-GR hatch 🙁
Also, they need to offer a sunroof.
White cars with white wheels are awesome, but those wheels are too big. 15-16 inch would be more appropriate.
Of course, the orange is an awesome color, but you can get that on the base hatch.
Was the Corolla hatch (regular, not the GR monster) actually buyable with a manual transmission? I was totally unaware of that.
It was until 2022, just fairly uncommon to find.
Thanks! Love your username btw. 🙂
needs a small turbo’d six-cylinder and a real transmission. Then you have a decent, if not great little hatchback.
At least as an alien you may have the ability to time travel and get one (turbo 6 M hatch).
I’m surprised they even bother. There’s more GR Corollas available in my region than there are regular ones. And every single one is white or silver. All but one is a 30k XSE trim. A 50 mile radius, and I see 4 total. Half the dealers don’t have a single one in stock. Which sucks, because the hatch is actually a sensible, but reasonably fun daily.
As for the CVT, the one being used in the hatch (not sure about the sedan) has a trick real first gear to avoid the awful rubber-banding that you usually get from CVTs off the line. It helps a ton.
Something else that I didn’t know (the real first gear on the CVT). If Toyota of Hollywood hadn’t recently moved further away from my house I’d test drive one just to see.
I totally get why most here avoid CVTs like the plague (our friend JATCO excluded). The rubber band effect is terrible, they tend to sound like shit, and they tend to be tragically unreliable. I hate them too.
But some are better than others. In my admittedly limited experience with the Corolla Hatch, it’s better than most.
I appreciate the exclusion from what would otherwise be blatant slander
I would never!
Duly noted and thanks Taargus!
There is a red/maroon one at the Toyota dealer near me, its been on the lot for ages.
On top of my comment that Toyota doesn’t really build these, they also probably have trouble selling them because a) they’re not RAV4s and b) nobody knows they exist.
I’ve discussed the GR with a number of folks and typically they’re unaware that the basic version exists. Which is wild because you would think that Toyota would be attempting to take advantage of the halo effect here? But they seem to be making more GRs than anything else.
I would rather drive an ev then drive a CVT. Literally all they needed to do was make a not track ready GRC. I recently took one for a 24hour test drive from Carmax and upon making it up in the hills where the roads aren’t great it showed how awful of a car it is for US roads. I love the GRC but the suspension is damn near unusable (at least on the latest version).
The GRC isn’t even track ready. The differentials overheat after 3 or 4 laps and Toyota still hasn’t figured out how to address it.
Which is weird why the suspension is track tuned. I had a fucking race car I built and it was more compliant than the 2025 GR corolla.
Obviously I have a Hyundai N and it also rides like ass….but at least it can make it through an HPDE day with minimal complaining.
Yeah no way it rides as bad as the 2025 gr does. For the price it really has no excuse for not having adjustable suspension.
Sure they have, it’s called reading the built in tattler and denying warranty claims!
Bummer. I do not like the newer Civics, and I love the look of these Corolla Hatchbacks, I have looked at getting one of the uber rare manual ones but they are hard to find and carry a huge premium these days. If this was an Si competitor it would be far more interesting than a sport. Both ends of the Corolla spectrum are too extreme right now, and I would love to see a detuned GR with 220ish and FWD.
Speak for yourself.
I’d rather a new mild-hatch with 6MT than a used hot-hatch. The CTR & GRC/GRY seem like fun, but I could never justify the pricetag they command – nor would I want to daily-drive them.
New gives me reliability, lower maintenance costs, and a warranty.
I’ll now go back into my little corner of the internet and get mad at Subaru for still not having a hatchback 6MT WRX.
If something is really new, you have no idea what the reliability is. Just go ask Hyundai or Toyota (Tacoma). That’s part of the reason I prefer to buy used or new only when it’s a model that has some track record in its current form.
Warranties are great, but if the car is unreliable and in the shop most of the time, it doesn’t do me much good even if I don’t have to pay. I’d prefer to have something older that is actually reliable and has a rich history so that any future repair has likely been tackled before and can be easily repeated.
Besides all of that, the current trend is towards things I don’t think increase reliability in any way – CVTs, GDI, small displacement+turbos, “lifetime” fluids, internet connected features, touch screens instead of buttons, etc.
Maybe I’m just getting old, but all of that crap screams better for the mfr and service department (at least as far as revenue goes), but not necessarily any better for the consumer.
By ‘new’ I think Spikedlemon meant new from the dealer, not a first-year all-new car with untested engineering. I almost always buy used also, mostly because the depreciation hit of buying most any new car (well, any within my price range… there are some Ferraris that are worth more a week after delivery just because they’re hard to get) is just too much for me to bear emotionally. 🙂
Given how anything vaguely ‘hot hatch’ gets abused (by the younger guys who mostly drive them …I used to be one many years ago) I’d especially avoid buying one of those used barring that theoretical little old lady from Pasadena (a half-hour from me as it happens, but so few LOLs actually buy hot hatches, preferring Camrys instead). A Mark 7.5 GTI is a great car hampered by typical VW unreliability when it’s older (yes, I’m generalizing based on the sum total of everything I’ve read to date, plus my own experience owning several VWs) but if you bought a used one that spent its formative years with the tach needle pegged all the time due to the spastic right foot of a 20-year-old frustrated by his perpetual boner, you’re in for even worse trouble.
I also agree: I’d much rather have a 2.5 liter naturally aspirated four cylinder engine in a sporty small car (like the non-turbo ones in smaller Mazdas) instead of a turbo’d 1.5 (like the ones found in so many Hondas over the past few years). And while we’re at it, let’s skip wet timing belts (Ford, etc…), plastic exhaust manifolds and oil pans (VW), and interference designs (so many manufacturers, sadly including Mazda), and anything that makes ownership painful and costly ten years after purchase.
Alright, I’ll cut back on the coffee now. 😉
Yes, thank you.
I’m not too much a fan of “year one” unless it’s mostly evolution.
To clarify: I don’t want to buy Kevin’s used WRX that he’s “improved” with a tune, exhaust, and other questionable history. Just as I don’t want Dave’s “executive” C63 Merc that he probably drove like an asshole into the office every day. Both sound like unpleasant ownership experiences to me.
I want a brand new vehicle from the manufacturer. E.g. A new WRX hatch from Subaru that I know it’s maintenance history as I’m the one writing that story, and can make my own adjustments as I see fit over the life of vehicle ownership.
But as for the “mild hatch” part – I’m very much in favour of of a small turbo mill: like Honda’s 1.5T. Something that’s got a bit of history behind it, and I know what I’m walking into (reports of oil dilution have been a bit of an overreaction with my personal experience with it).
My buddy with the 1.5T in his Civic also complains about the paint peeling off the plastic exterior parts, like the side-view mirrors. And yes, I could live with the 1.5T even w/its flaws because it’s still a Honda and likely to be OK in the long run, but I’d still prefer the 2.5 NA from Mazda, but I’m weird. 😉
I understood he meant new from the dealer and not necessarily year one (hence my admittedly vague inclusion of “really new” to refer to first model years with potential teething issues), but I probably should have been more clear.
I guess my main point is that new (of whatever kind) is not particularly advantageous, at least to me. The largest plus is getting the options you want (more) easily. Other than that, I’d consider used to be better in many ways, assuming you do your homework.
Warranties are great – if you don’t need to use them regularly and the mfr doesn’t try to weasel out of them at every opportunity. Otherwise they’re not much better than nothing.
Understood and agreed. 🙂
Somebody buying from Carvana lucked out buying my ’17 GTI. Absolutely adult-driven and meticulously maintained. And I was a first-class idiot for selling it. Fell for the stupid money they gave me, and regretted it ever since. For the reasons you cite, I will never find a good one used, and the new ones suck donkey balls.
For sure, the best time to buy a car is just before they are discontinued. My penultimate year BMW e91 has been an absolute anvil for 14 years now.
I partially agree but there are a lot of caveats to your statement. I have seen many people and friends get absolutely BURNT buying low mileage “little old lady” owned vehicles trying to avoid a “used and abused” car, only to have a list of issues pop up because the car was not regularly driven or maintained, myself included. I love examples like import long blocks with ~50k miles coming over with absolutely grimed valves and intake manifolds because they were not regularly heat cycled or taken on long drives. Compared to doing a valve adjustment or inspecting a higher mileage engine that regularly sees track days and autocross, the valves are sprayed clean from WOT fueling and heat cycling.
Granted that maintenance and use should always go hand in hand, but cars were meant to be used! It’s helpful and healthy for them to be heat cycled and operated, like exercising your own body.
And as a side note, the majority of MK7+ drivers we see are well above 45 years of age, what’s up with that?
With age comes wisdom. 😉
We’ve clearly never met, haha. One day hopefully….
I’m sometimes remarkably unwise despite my years on the planet… there was a solid few hours yesterday I was researching a flight to Dallas to buy a 61-year-old Corvair and drive it back to LA by myself (I have no cell phone, but of course I could get one for the trip). Luckily, the urge passed, but had I been a wiser man, I’d never have considered it in the first place. 😉
Yeah I wish this trim had come before they canned the manual on these but at this point seems like it’s not really even worth mentioning anymore…
The Venn Diagram of “people who complain about new cars not having manuals anymore” and “people who actually buy new cars” has like 1 atom of overlap.
Car blog: Here is an article about a new minivan
Enthusiasts: NO MANUAL NO CARE
Car blog: check out this HD truck
Enthusiast: NO MANUAL NO CARE
Car blog: there’s a new performance EV
Enthusiasts: WHY DOESN’T IT HAVE A MANUAL
Car blog: check out this new family crossover
Enthusiasts: I’D BUY IT IF IT WAS BROWN AND MANUAL AND AN INCH SHORTER BUT AS IT IS DAMN IT TO HELL
Manufacturer: here is a new hot hatch that’s exclusively manual
Enthusiasts: TOO EXPENSIVE ILL CHECK IT OUT IN 10 YEARS MAYBE
Manufacturer: since it’s not selling as well as we thought we’re gonna add an auto option
Enthusiasts: WOW *insert manufacturer* IS DEAD TO ME! WAY TO OPEN UP A FORMERLY COOL CAR TO FILTHY CASUALS!
Et cetera, in perpetuity
I never understood the argument for manuals in heavy duty pickups. Arguably the least engaging type of vehicle you can buy and you’re mad it doesn’t have a stick? In 2025? There may have been an argument back in the day but not anymore. HD trucks come in essentially two flavors – stripped down work truck and luxury car that can tow 30,000lbs. Neither of those need or would benefit from a stick.
My nuclear take is that the vast majority of cars today wouldn’t benefit from a stick. I get the kvetching about VW killing the stick in the spicy MK8s, I think it’s a scam that Porsche won’t give you a manual in a base 911, the Supra launching as auto only was worthy of derision, etc.
There is no goddamn need for a stick in non performance luxury sedans, family crossovers, full sized trucks, efficiency focused hybrids, etc. Really the only normal car related hill the manual cult is willing to die on that I agree with is economy shitboxes. I’d much rather drive a manual Sentra, Mirage, etc. if I’m stuck in a cheap penalty box.
Sure there is. Automatics universally annoy the ever-loving-piss out of me, because they do things I don’t want them to do. Manuals NEVER do anything I don’t want them to do. And then there is the minor dilemma that modern zillion speed autotragics (or God forbid CVTs) are very, very good at breaking in incredibly expensive ways, early and often. I can and have changed a clutch in my garage, but I am not going to be able to rebuild a 10spd automatic myself.
So I am not spending new car money on a car that will inevitably annoy me.
I have a 2015 Ram 2500 (with auto). When I bought it (new) I really wanted the stick but I drove one and it was a lot of work – you’d be in third gear before getting across an intersection. Decided to go with the auto, objectively it was the right decision but I still revisit that decision constantly – the transmission not taken.
Define “benefit”. I would define increased control on load handling and increased pleasure in driving both as benefits. Both, for us manual transmission enthusiasts, are gained from having a manual transmission in big trucks. I prefer manual even in big haulers. No luxury truck would be diminished for me as an owner by being manual, it would be improved. I may not be the guy on here shouting “no manual!!!???” but I prefer everything I drive to be manual. I’m the guy who buys extremely used then starts researching how to manual swap a car (seriously, I’ve done 2 auto to manual swaps and heavily researched a few others while considering purchases).
It wasn’t that long ago that you could get everything with a manual transmission. When I bought my six speed Forester in 2017, you could still get manuals in most crossovers in its class (at least in FWD flavors).
Manual Civic Sports were available last model year.
It’s not like we’re whining about the lack of crank starters.
You could not get a manual RAV4, CRV, Tucson, etc. in 2017. Really the only company that still offered manuals in crossovers back then was Subaru, and they stopped doing it because people didn’t buy them.
You’re right. I bought a used manual Outback in 2014, and I am getting the two shopping projects confused. There were used manual CR-Vs and RAV4s from the early 2000’s, not new production.
Subaru also may have missed an opportunity to sell more manuals when they had the Forester XT in CVT only. They could have offered it as a consolation prize to those who wanted a WRX hatch. I absolutely would have purchased one – I was not thrilled about the options that just weren’t available with the manual.
The real reason Subaru needed to kill the manual is that it is incompatible with its driver aid systems.
The strange thing is they eventually
cavedfigured out how to pair EyeSight with manuals – WRX and BRZ have it standard now.Then it died for nothing.
It was the case for a while though, even as everyone else figured out how to do pair their systems with a manual. It’s strange that Subaru held out only to do it in the last couple years. Unless it was something Toyota offered to help throw dollars behind, since that meant the 86 didn’t have it before.
But emissions/certification regs were just as much culprits for everyday cars. GTI being the most obvious example, even as a lower volume car, it wasn’t cheap and had a high take rate for a manual. Take rates just are easier PR-speak.
Regardless it’s not like it’s had an impact to Subaru’s sales goals. Honestly Mazda gets lauded for being the enthusiast choice and they were some of the first to start restricting and stripping out manual choices.
All it takes to claim enthusiast credit these days is decent tires and a slightly thicker roll bar.
I blame the half-assed enthusiasts. Let’s get back to full-ass, people!
I had hoped when they dropped the Forester manual, they’d add a better-equipped Crosstrek manual trim as something of a consolation, rather than topping out at a no-options Premium. Something more like the HR-V EX manual when Honda still offered that. It could even just be a token/custom manual-only trim like the remaining Mazda 3. I’d have given it serious consideration. They did make it, but for Canada; as usual they almost always get more manual choices.
As my comments show I’m far from a manual diehard but I’d absolutely consider one in a Subaru. I’m going to need a bigger car for family duty in the next couple of years and I find the Forester Hybrid kind of appealing if a bit boring. The options for a reliable/low maintenance new car with character that seats 4 and a dog comfortably for $55,000 or less are oddly limited. Hell if I had to buy my next car today I’d probably just get a Chevy Colorado.
One of my buddies has a manual Crosstrek. I’ve driven it and actually think the transmission is kind of rubbery and the clutch is a bit vague but it makes an otherwise anemic car a lot more enjoyable.
I test drove the Impreza and Crosstrek in manual when I got the Forester. At the time, both only came with the 2.0 which was not awesome.
The six speed in the Forester is also garbage. It’s like a tractor transmission. I hope the manual in the WRX is better. The anti-rollback feature is also slow to release the parking brake, so any attempt at scooting off the line can be met with a stall.
My wife is the one insisting on a manual transmission (although I am entirely un-sold on anything CVT after my 98 Civic HX). It took me ten years to get her to drive manual and now she hates the idea of anything else.
Volvo V60 is calling your name.
Get it with a discount and Euro Delivery
This is a solid rec but remember reliable is one of my requirements haha
I have a 23 S60 Recharge, and it’s been flawless so far.*
*frantically looking for wood to knock on.
The non-Outbacked V60 is no longer offered in the US.
And even when it was, the price was *stupid*. Mercedes E400 money for a *Volvo*.
Volvo is a solid 10K less. Unless you’re comparing V60 Polestar, but that’s not really an apples to apples comparison, as it’s a hybrid 455HP wagon
The Polestar was the *only* non-Outbacked V60 wagon they offered in the states the past quite a few years. Utterly stupid. $72K+ base price – which was actually MORE than an E400, albeit with slightly more standard equipment. There is no universe where that care was worth that much cheddar no matter how many hybrid ponies they stuffed into it compared to the Mercedes.
Agreed. It’s a great wagon, but not $70K worth. The S60 version was $15K+ less. That’s a hell of a premium for a longroof.
I think the only manual / AWD / hatch options in 2017 were Jeep Wrangler, some Mini models and a couple of Subarus.
The wrangler is a hatchback?
It had room in the back for cargo / dogs and a back opening to access the space.
I was open to hatchbacks, wagons, or anything that let me put the stinky mofos at the rear of the vehicle with side windows they could rub their snot on.
I actually wish we could go back to bitching about manuals. Now everything is $63,000 and that’s the new problem.
Actually, I do know one old-fashioned way to knock $1,000 of the price of a car!
Manual.
That hasn’t even been true in some time. Late manuals have usually been either their own specifically equipped trim (so no direct corollary), or the exact same price as the same trim with an auto – Honda did so in the late Civic and Accord manuals.
Fair point, just wishful thinking. The turning point for me was when the Pontiac G8 came out, and the manual option on the GXP (or GT?) model was $1,000 more, allegedly due to low production numbers.
So manuals are only cheaper than automatics at scale…and most cars haven’t had proper scale (for both trannies) in a long time.
BMW started that in mid-2011. Made the autotragic standard on the 3-series with the manual being a no-cost option. I put in my order the day before that took effect, and saved $1000.
It is also a fairly reliable theft deterrent.
If I were to buy a high end performance car (as if that’ll ever happen lol) and own it here in DC I’d absolutely go manual for this reason. We have a massive carjacking problem and I guarantee that a grand total of 0 of the teenagers who are perpetrating the thefts and benefitting from our local court system’s catch and release program have any idea how to operate a clutch pedal.
Oh you want my GT3? Lol good luck bozo. Start running now and save us all the trouble…
The tweaker that stole my subie managed to get it at least a few miles despite the extra pedal
I’ve bought eight new cars, every one of them a manual. All but one a wagon or a hatch, and the one that wasn’t was a coupe. I won’t spend new car money on an autotragic. We are out there. <shrug>
The FX sedan basically replaced the Nightshade, so assume that will happen here too. This will probably sticker at least $27k with destination. Which is okay, but it also isn’t really a value against any of the other small hatches.
It still feels like Toyota doesn’t really want to offer the hatch, yet also doesn’t really seem to have a niche that explains why they do other than allowing for the GR. It’s rated for better mileage than some of the competing hatches, but also tighter inside and rarely cheaper. An Impreza is cheaper/Mazda 3 is cheaper when comparably equipped, Impreza and Civic are much roomier inside, even the Mazda 3 has more space.
If you want a small Toyota hatchback with more zip in between this and the GR, the Prius is honestly the closest bet.
The next generation needs to ditch the belt CVT in favor of hybrid-only (as seems to be the trend for Toyota) apart from the GR, and put the hatch on the same wheelbase as the sedan so it’s not so tight inside – usually hatchbacks are roomier than the sedan on the same platform, Toyota!
With how sedans for North America have grown more vs. the equivalent international model, seems unlikely. VW has had the Jetta sedan on a longer wheelbase vs the Golf, and Hyundai and Kia do the same with the Elantra and K4/Forte on a longer wheelbase than the i30/Cee’d for a while now. ‘Course they’re designed to be cheaper too.
Seems like it’s more the exception rather than the norm – Honda as a good example, same size for both, but the Civic doesn’t have the reach in all markets the way it does here so they try to do more with less.
Toyota’s issue is the whole line is too tight. The Corolla sedan shrunk in this generation, and is much tighter than most all of its competitors.
I am 100% here for any wannabe Darth Vader “Nightshade/Blackout/Midnight Edition/Batmobile Cosplay” appearance packages being tossed in favor of orange cars with white wheels.
+1. The Nightshade hatch oddly seemed to have gold-finish wheels, not blacked out for whatever reason.
Offering this without a turbo option significantly hamstrings its tunability. There’s maybe another 20-50 HP to be gained with a tune and bolt ons, but that’s it. And CVT only? Ugh.
The Corolla hatch is a handsome car. But the FX is an appearance package with better seats and an upcharge.
The options for a ‘warm’ hatch with a manual were limited when I was shopping last year. GR Corolla and Civic Type R are too high-strung for daily highway commuting. The manual Civic Sport Hatches were limited in inventory with no more on the way.
That’s how we ended up with the Ioniq 5. I’d rather jump to an entirely foreign propulsion system than drive a CVT.
I ran a GRC and then an FL5 as my DD for a year each before finally trading the Civic in for a TourX wagon. Contrary to your disqualification of GRC/CTR as too high-strung for daily duty, among my top reasons for letting them go is that when driven normally as a DD they felt too normal. They may as well have just been a regular Corolla and Civic for how I was using them, which was a waste of $10k worth of performance.
They had my GR86 as a stablemate, which out-funned them in every way except raw power. This drove the bulk of the feeling that they were redundant. If I had to go down to one vehicle, it would be a hard choice of which one, but I would go back to either FL5 or GRC.
I decided to go to a DD that was still cool (always had a crush on TourX) maxed out practicality and also got rid of a car payment.
I tend to keep cars for a while. The problem with high-strung in my mind is the maintenance on a small-displacement high-boost engine that is going to spend 90%+ of its time pushing the car in a straight line at relatively constant speed on the interstate.
I want something that is useful in most cases and capable of brief bursts of engaging driving. It’s not going to the track and probably won’t even see an autocross.
I will probably end up with another GR86, since I hardly ever drive my Miata (I’ve driven it ~40k miles in 18 years) and should sell it. I would prefer a hatchback just so I can bring the dogs and still run to costco without a stop at home in between.
FWIW with the exception of tires and front brake pads the maintenance on my Type R cost the same as my Si. Except with the hatch I can fit two rear facing car seats, a double stroller, plus all of the things to take two under two on a weekend trip, or a set of track wheels for it, a set of NA miata track wheels, tools, helmets, and bag for a weekend track day with my dad. The whole reason I was able to sell it to my wife was the fact we could fit the kiddos comfortably in it, vs my Mazda 3 hatch that couldn’t fit the 4 of us comfortably. Just passed over 100k miles on Friday. It’s shockingly comfortable to daily drive, and if it didn’t have aftermarket spherical bushings, you couldn’t tell it apart from a regular civic. To echo Fredzy, it’s a fairly normal car in commuting, just looks crazy from the outside.
A neighbor just got a blue one and it has me considering them again.
While I get the truth of appealing to the boring middle, can I at least get more choice for snazzy colours offered on other cars and less ugly wheels?
Bummer about that CVT but otherwise another mildly spicy hatch is always appreciated.
Solid logic. Toyota can ignore, a bit, the cries of “Why are you not making a car that I want to buy used in 5 years?” That attitude worked to kill off the Kia Stinger.
It’s a Corolla, so more people would be able to buy it new. Also, if Kia had built a manual awd stinger I absolutely would have purchased one new.
There is a lot of noise on the internet, but there are still buyers in that noise.
It’s not enough to put out limited numbers (announced or otherwise) of an enthusiast car. That’ll just get them caught in inventory while dealers add markup and buyers wait for the markup to come off.
What they need to do is dump them on the dealerships in such numbers that the dealers know on day one that they’re going to have to struggle and put cash on the hood to move these things.
Even if it’s not limited production, the dealers will still try to gouge. I went to look at the Genesis Coupe when it came out. Local dealer wanted a $5000 adjustment and also wouldn’t allow test drives.
They changed their attitude after a few months, but I was no longer interested in anything from that brand or dealer. That dealer later went out of business.
Truth
Me and me 2023 WRX(purchased 3 months ago) agree to that statement.
It doesn’t help that my state doesn’t tax cars bought through private party transactions.
As a recent purchaser of the GR86 I do agree that it is truly a magnificent choice between this FX and the GR Corolla.
However, if you have ANY intentions of carrying more than one passenger, then it isn’t the car for you. I think there’s a case for a fun hatchbacky 4-door option that slots between the two Corollas, if only for space and carrying people.
Having said that, I still would have bought my 86 because I love it and it’s truly one of the best vehicles I’ve ever purchased, even if it can’t carry more than one extra person.
Can confirm, I have a BRZ and have accepted that it’s a 2 seater with a decently sized parcel shelf in back.
I never got it, my 3500lb Evo X I had during the time these came out had a shorter stopping distance, better slalom speed by nearly 10mph, and of course can make power and drop weight later.
I never got the point of the BRZ. It wasnt any better than a 4 door awd.
I had a WRX hatch before my BRZ. I LOVED that wagon and would swap my BRZ for another one today if Subaru brought it back. It was ruined by a hurricane and insurance cut me a check for it. I sat on that check for an entire year trying to decide what to do with it. The obvious answer was to go buy another WRX since I loved the last one so much but they quit making the hatch by then and I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that much money on the sedan. I knew it would drive the same as my wagon and it looked ok, but I didn’t want to spend $30K on something I only sort of liked. I knew the BRZ was down on power compared to the WRX but to me it looked way better, especially in the WRB color, and I can say it handles way better. It may not be as fast through a slalom but it’s more fun to throw around probably due to it’s unending eagerness to throw the rear end out just the right amount.
I wouldn’t mind an EVO too, but after owning 3 Starion/Conquests and 2 AWD DSMs I’m over my Mitsubishi phase. The Starion widebody is the most beautiful car ever made in my opinion, and when it was running the 1G DSM is by far the best car I’ve ever driven, but I couldn’t rely on any of them to actually get me to work every single day. I’d love to have another 4G63 as a weekend car, but I don’t make weekend car money, whatever I drive has to be reliable and fun to drive. So, I’m in a great looking but slow BRZ sliding sideways at least once or twice a day and getting 28mpg on my commutes all while holding great resell value. I guess that’s what’s important to me now, I am officially an old. 😐
If it makes you feel any better my daily drivers are a 2000 5mt Insight and a heavily modded 03 TDI that at one point had an hy35 from a cummins making 330whp.
I used to daily Cobras and Evos but $20 in gas a day for a 100 mile commute is stupid when my Insight averages 70mpg+ and does 800 miles on 10 gallons of gas in a never rusting Aluminum Monocoque.
I feel old too.
I owned an ’83!
We owned 2 ’87s and an ’88 and I miss just about everything about them.
I had friends with EVOs that were always broken, including one who bought a Cayman to drive because his EVO MR was always on extended bed rest. It basically lived at a shop for months while the transmission was pulled and sent to another specialty shop and slowly rebuilt.
I also did some work on one of their EVO VIIIs that had been a Texas car yet still had absolutely tragic undercarriage rot. Some of the smaller body braces towards the front had even rusted entirely through.
Those were modified cars, but it still left me with a negative impression. They were awesome to drive, but it’s hard to enjoy them when you’re listening for death noises.
My FR-S was always fun, and only needed tires, a throwout bearing and a full engine replacement during my ownership.
I like them in theory, but any time I use one I’d be carefully counting how many times I’d need to get in and out on any given trip.
Thank you. This is one of the aspects that bugs me about the Toyobaru hype. Sooooo many blogs and YouTubers tout it as THE one car solution and it just isn’t. I haven’t driven one, partially because I’m almost certain I’d come home with it and have a lot of explaining to do, and I understand that they’re great cars. But if you have a family and/or a furry friend of even modest size they’re not going to work.
In the 9 years I had my FRS I’m not sure the back seat was used more than a dozen times.
The backseats work in a pinch – I’ve put adults back there but they’re usually a bit drunk. Kids would fit better, but if they’re young enough to be in a booster that’s a pain in the ass. As much as I loved that car and would get another in a heartbeat, I just couldn’t see recommending it to someone with kids (unless I caught them mid-stride running to buy a Miata and you were trying to be more sensible than that option)
Nope, definitely not a one-size-fits-all situation. It’s for me to commute and have some fun with, but practicality wasn’t even a consideration for me since I have of other “boring but capable” options already.
GR86 is a great car, but there are huge practicality tradeoffs. The rear seats are nice to have for emergencies, but they are not suitable for full-sized humans. I used to put my 30 pound dog back there. I don’t think I’d be able to put my current dogs back there. Small trunk with a weird-shaped opening. There is a pass-through, but you’re limited because of the weird trunk opening.
It’s definitely not a comparable solution to a five door hatch.
It’s fine honestly. It’s a better looking Corolla with nice seats. As long as the option isn’t too expensive and people actually buy them maybe they’ll continue past 1,600.
Because an option between a $24k sensible hatchback and a $40k rally-inspired turbo monster seems like a fairly large target.
Right? Honda can manage to sell a regular Civic, a Civic Si, and a Civic Type R.