Thoughts/ Verdicts on Corolla 1.4 d4d please

john.west

Hi all, As the title says I am looking for thoughts, considerations and verdicts on the Corolla 1.4 d4d please. Come September I will be doing a lot more driving so with the price of fuel I am considering getting my current petrol car NCT'd in or around the due date of late August, selling it privately and changing to a frugal diesel.

One car that has crossed my mind is the Corolla 1.4 d4d. A friend drove a company van corolla 1.4 d4d for a spell and was well impressed with it. Very nippy and responsive considering it was a low displacement diesel he reckoned and also an absolute miser on fuel. As serviving and repairs where outside of his domain I'm hoping some of yer well informed thoughts and verdicts in this regard please. Reliability and low running costs are at the absolute top of my agenda but something reasonably comfortable to drive would be an added bonus. Also does anybody know how these would compare to the older Toyota 2.0 diesels in terms of fuel economy/ performance reliability? If I was to go for an older 2.0 litre diesel I would probably go for a van with commerical tax and road tax is extortion on older 2.0 litre cars. Most of the time I'm only carrying myself and some groceries perhaps in the car so wouldn't necessairly need a four/ five seater car in any case.

Any thoughts or considerations are most welcomed please.

shedweller

I don't have a corrolla 1.4 but i do have a yaris 1.4. Same engine i guess so i would say the corrola is as reliable as the yaris!
Which is completely (touch wood) reliable.

I do all my own servicing on it so i cant say how much it would cost to service at a toyota garage but a quick phone call will give you the answer to that.
The corrolla will be a bit heavier than the yaris so i'm guessing it will be a little more thirsty. But i'd say you would easily get 4L/100k per tank, if not better.
It does take forever to warm up in the winter though so be warned!

bazz26

Yaris 1.4 D-4D had 75bhp, the Corolla 1.4 D-4D had 90bhp.

colm_mcm

Post 2006 Yaris has the 90hp engine too.

(not very) interesting fact: The block is actually based on the 1.5 petrol from the Yaris T Sport.

From a driving point of view, the 2.0 D-4D is nippier in low revs, although both peak at 89bhp. The 2.0 can also be tuned (to around 120hp) safely.

There were 2 versions of the 2.0 in the Corolla, 90 and 110 (later 116) hp versions.

The 2.0 can have issues with the flywheel if abused.

johngalway

My Dad has the van version, if I'd the money at the time I'd have bought it from under him Very reliable and very easy on fuel, but plenty of poke when you need it. Can't specifically answer your Q's but I'd have no hesitation recommending it.

Low Energy Eng

Did Toyota use the 1.4 diesel engines from Peugeot/Citroen due to emmission reasons??

shamwari

Low Energy Eng wrote: »

Did Toyota use the 1.4 diesel engines from Peugeot/Citroen due to emmission reasons??

No the 1.4 is Toyota's own engine, and not the same as used by PSA and Ford. The only time Toyota installed a PSA engine was the 1.9XUD which went out in the Corolla sold up to the end of 2001. Toyota's then aged 2.0 IDI engine didn't reach (I think) Euro3 limits.

john.west

Many thanks for the comments thus far folks, they are much appreciated. No negative comments thus far either which is good! Looking through the motors forum history it would appear that dual mass flywheel failure is a bit of a problem in modern diesel engines and can be quite expensive to replace. Can anybody tell me if the Toyota d4d engines are prone to this problem also? Also, if so, would good maintenance possibly prevent this problem happening? Anything else to specifically look out for when looking at these cars?

Would there be a big difference between the 2.0 d4d engine and the 1.4 d4d engine in terms of economy? If I was going to go for 2.0 diesel I would go for the van version as I think I'm paying enough tax already! Also would need to check insurance first. Finally are there any credible alternatives in terms of small diesel engined cars I should be considering, again reliability, economy and longevity being priorities?

bazz26

2.0D-4D passenger Corollas are tough enough to sell due to the tax disadvantage. They are also pretty rare to find. In fact you might pick up an Avensis D-4D for not too much more money, 125bhp, more room and generally better equipped.

EPM

Didin't they give some gearbox troubles? Remember a thread or two on this a while back...

Buddy used to work for a rental company that had a few and he used always take one for a weekend away and all that craic.

jock101

It a great everyday car, but I would wait for the new Petrol 1.33 Litre Corolla.

colm_mcm

jock101 wrote: »

It a great everyday car, but I would wait for the new Petrol 1.33 Litre Corolla.

They're only coming out now, it'll be a long time before they'll come down to reasonable money (presuming anyone opts for one over the diesel which should be only 600 more to buy new)

The Avensis was 116bhp from mid 03-06 and 126 from after mid 06, it was 110 before that.

Re: problems, When I was with Toyota I never saw a 1.4 diesel Corolla with gearbox failure or DMF problems from when they were launched in 04.

john.west

Thanks for the continued replies folks. They are most helpful

jock101 wrote: »

It a great everyday car, but I would wait for the new Petrol 1.33 Litre Corolla.

Won't be buying a new car jock101 7-8k is my absolute maximum spend. Apologies, should have mentioned this earlier.

Sniipe

dragging up an old thread - but I found this on google.
I've never heard of a 1.4 diesel. Is it too little an engine for the car? I've a friend who is looking at buying one and I couldn't advise her. All I said was that I had never heard of a 1.4 diesel...

Its a 05 diesel - garage will look after its NCT but only give a 3 month warranty...

PaulKK

No offence but if you are unaware of the existence of relatively common smaller displacement diesels are you really the person to ask for car advice?

Smaller capacity engines are available in larger sized cars in both petrol and diesel now, for example VAGs 1.2TSI and 1.4TDI. (The good old octavia for example).
Both are adequate for the average Joes needs but naturally are not anything more than adequate in terms of power. Economy however is relatively decent, particularly on diesels with some models returning ~70mpg.

I have not heard any bad reports about the reliability of these smaller capacity diesels either so IMO could be a good buy for someone if it suited their needs.

Sniipe

PaulKK wrote: »

No offence but if you are unaware of the existence of relatively common smaller displacement diesels are you really the person to ask for car advice?

none taken - I only know what I drive.