In my last COAL, I had mentioned that I used to write car reviews for a Washington D.C.-based car magazine, African Americans On Wheels. A couple of commentators mentioned that they’d like to see some of those old reviews, which I fortunately held onto. Due to the Toyota love going on from PonderosaMatt’s posts, most recently the review of his 2013 Corolla, I thought I’d start with a review of the new 1998 model, one of my earliest. The reviews were limited to 350 words since the managing editor wasn’t sure people wanted to read anything longer on this new-fangled internet thing. Still trying to push the limits, the below review is the 384-word version that I submitted since I really don’t like the changes that were made to the published version to get it down to size. For reference, $18,715 is $29,815 in today’s dollars, or more than MSRP of a fully loaded 2020 Corolla XSE.
Let’s get the shocking part out of the way first: the retail sticker price of the tested “sandrift metallic” Toyota Corolla LE sedan is $18,715. Before you tune out and go looking for the latest SUV, base Camry or two-year-old Avalon, think for a second: You can fit four adults (five in a pinch) and a good amount of luggage while getting nearly 30 miles-per-gallon around town and fitting into parking spaces that a Ford Explorer would never dream of attempting. Best of all, you do not have to give up any of the luxury you are used to. Besides the necessities (power windows, locks and mirrors, 4-speed automatic transmission, cruise control, in-dash CD player) there are extras not usually found on compacts, like aluminum alloy wheels, moon roof, auto on/off exterior lights, an outside temperature gauge, and expensive-looking cloth seats.
The Corolla (along with the almost identical Chevy Prizm) has been completely re-designed for 1998. It’s a little larger and a little more powerful, but it’s still a compact. Besides the tested top-of-the-line LE, it comes in base “VE” and mid-level “CE” trim. Style wise, the Corolla breaks no new ground, being as conservatively styled as its predecessors. But it’s at the engineering level that this car shines. It feels tight and solid, more like a mid-size than a compact. The all-new 1.8-liter engine responds quickly, with impressive acceleration and passing power even with the optional automatic (a 5-speed manual is standard).
The Corolla’s ride is a little more active than a larger car, but it coped with pot-hole infested downtown D.C. better than many of the now-popular SUVs. On the highway, it can easily cruise at 75 mph.
Complaints are few: the orange-on-silver gauges offered poor contrast at dusk; the accelerator sits in a too-narrow space between the brake pedal and the console, so that people with big feet may have difficulty; and the tail lamp design is a little busy for my tastes.
“But gas is the cheapest its ever been, so why should I care about gas mileage?” If gas prices ever skyrocket again, $18,715 will seem like a bargain, and you’ll be laughing at all of your friends with 12 mile-per-gallon land yachts. People who bought Corollas just prior to the last two gas crunches were doing the same thing.
For more information contact 1-800-GO-TOYOTA
SPECIFICATIONS
Type: 4-Door Sedan
Engine: 120 horsepower, 1.8 liter I4
Transmission: 4-Speed Automatic
EPA Mileage: 28 city/36 highway
Base Retail Price: $15,598
I don’t think the Corolla was technically “all-new” for 1998, even if it was mostly redesigned. IIRC, it shared the doors and platform with the 1993-1997.
Technically you’re right. I’ve edited out the “all”. It was the newest generation.
Thanks Paul. Not sure why I wrote that.
“Now-popular SUVs…” How time flies!
I see the fully loaded test car is a tradition with deep roots….and people will focus on the sticker price alone while ignoring they nobody admits to paying that.
I can’t even imagine which 35 words got cut out for the final draft, I think my “above the fold“ here is usually 350 words alone…nicely crafted review, you got the most important points across well.
Thanks Jim. It was mostly lines like, “…why should I worry about gas mileage?” that got cut.
Having written for small word-count publications myself, the amount of work that goes into being succinct is considerable. I just wanted to commend you for all your work on a great review.
Agreed, very nice job fitting a lot of information (along with some personality!) into a condensed word count.
We had used 89 Prizm for a bunch of years. Judging from that your new car review did it justice.
Did you get any replies to this (or other) review at the time?
There was no comment platform, so I can’t say for sure whether anyone actually saw these reviews.
Of course there were no comment platforms…we were just emerging from the use of stone tools and chisels on tablets.
The 4-speed automatic may indeed have performed well with the 1.8 motor, but it was much costlier than the disappointing 3-speed automatic that was also offered, and most people chose the latter. (Our new 1999 Prizm was a 5-speed and not only was fun to drive, but is still running – we sold it to a friend in 2010.)
US were lucky, for 1997-98 in Brazil we received this little nasty style:
Thats what we had here 1.6 4 speed auto but the other models have arrived since then exJDM
Wow, you packed a lot into 374 words. Nicely written…makes me want to go out and buy one! This is a good illustration how cars have increased in value, too. When we were looking for our Corolla back in ’14, the average price of a new and nicely-equipped LE was a little under $20K.
I’ve mentioned it before, but in the summer of 2017 I picked up a new LE (nicely equipped) for exactly $15,308, out the door (registration and tags). A terrific bargain, given what a nice ride it is. I donated it to my daughter’s group home, and the staff loves it.
That price is almost exactly one half of the reviewed 1998 version (adjusted).
I believe you did and you got a helluva deal. You must have some serious negotiating chops.
Well, double the price is a bit of an exaggeration. A quick Google search shows that the actual 1998 base model (“CE”, back then) started at $13,788 which is $21,821 in inflation adjusted 2020 dollars. The $15.5k price is the for the mid-level “LE” and the $18.8k test car is the absolutely loaded version which made up maybe five percent of the ones they actually sold. How many 98-02 Corollas have alloy wheels and a sunroof? Dealerships still stocked these as bare bones “economy” cars back then – most of the ones they actually built and sold didn’t even have power windows or a CD player.
The brand new and completely redesigned 2020 Corolla “L” base models starts $19,600, which is only $2k less than the base 1998 Corolla CE, adjusted.
Granted, the base Corolla “CE” was STRIPPED in 1998. Manaul windows, locks, mirrors, seats, (styled) steel wheels with no hubcaps, no cruise, no AC, and probably a million other bare bones features I forgot even existed because they went extinct in the ’00s. They did sell a fair amount though… I’ve ridden in many and see them on craigslist all the time. The base 2020 model is larger, nicer, faster, more efficient, more luxurious, and filled with features that didn’t even exist in 1998 or even 2008, at that. The current Corolla is closer in size, comfort, and NVH to what a Camry was in 1998. So yes, you’re getting a LOT more for the money now, at a ~10% lower price.
EDIT: The ultra basic trim I was thinking of was actually “VE”, which was even one step below the “CE”… it looks like cost only $11,908, or $18,846 adjusted. So, even closer in price to the 2020 model.
https://www.autotrader.com/toyota/corolla/1998
Still, that car was an archaic Flintstone-mobile compared to the one sold today.
Thanks for posting this! I remember in the 1990s reading newspaper car reviews whenever I could — many smaller-city newspapers still had their own car reviewers, and I enjoyed reading reviews of “normal” cars like this Corolla.
And I agree with you about the tail lamp design. Though largely identical, I’d choose a Prizm over one of these Corollas on the basis of the rear-end design alone, which I thought was much more substantial-looking on the Prizm.
My uncle is still driving my grandmas 99 Corolla that she bought new and gave up a few years ago after she stopped driving. It replaced his first gen Mazda3 which rusted out.
I kinda like the short review format, and this is coming from someone whose last review was about 2000 words. 350 is a bit short, but 600 would be interesting to try for.
An acquaintance bought one of these in 2000 or so, as his first new car, with the stick shift. It was peppy for the time, and the interior was fairly nice. Tight backseat, but that wasn’t unusual. What *is* unusual is how many of these I see belching blue smoke now. I rarely see them on the road now, and they used to be everywhere. Not one of Toyota’s prouder moments.
The generation after this is the Corolla to get. Dorky proportions, but it was a little Lexus inside compared to everything else of the time.
Yes the first generation of the chain driven 1ZZ is notorious for sticking oil control rings that lead to immense oil consumption, and with a “it’s a Toyota I never have to do anything” attitude, many were starved for oil and ruined. The few oddballs that bought these and treated them to synthetic oil were rewarded with an immensely durable and problem-free car. I helped a friend buy one of these in 2012 or so for his GF who just started to drive in her 20s (grw up in NYC). Helped them find a decent 140k mile example on craigslist with some burned up clear coat but solid mechanicals for $2000. They drove it to 240k miles with minimal hassle before a utility truck sideswiped it this past winter and they cashed out.
You mean I’ve got to maintain it? Get outta here with that nonsense!
Would the oil control rings become problematic with regular, recommended oil changes, or are the smokers I’m seeing reaping the neglect that they’ve sowed?
When we bought our Corolla new in 1993, it seemed pretty sophisticated to me. The first 4 cylinder economy car we had with DOHC, fuel injection, power steering and AC. Oh, and “low profile” 185/65-14 tires. Just a few years earlier that would have been a “+1” upgrade on a Corolla. On the other hand, it still had manual crank windows and manual adjust mirrors, and no cruise control. By the time we sold it in ‘04 it seemed dated and not that great a value compared to contemporary cars, but still 100% solid. I often wish we’d kept it. Biggest complaints, from new, were vague steering prone to torque steer and wheel spin (with multiple sets of tires) exacerbated by a heavy clutch with poor engagement feel. On the other hand, a rental experience in a same-gen Corolla with the 3 speed auto was far worse.
My 02 corolla has 230k miles and runs great
This generation of the Toyota Corolla 1998-2003 bears a superficial resemblance to similar sized but otherwise much different Lexus IS aka Toyota Altezza in its home market and to a lesser degree that generation Subaru Impreza as well.
These cars are little tanks. You can’t kill them. I own a 96 Corolla DX with a whopping 369,000 miles. Just replaced the timing belt and water pump. It put my son through college and now I commute about 3k miles a month and change the oil monthly. Doesn’t even leak oil. When people ask me why I don’t get rid of it, I say it will outlast their next three cars. Best A to B transportation ever made.