Toyota Corolla - 1.4 petrol or diesel

tcow

Hi

Goin buying a 2009-10 1.4 corolla, but not sure to go for the petrol,or the d4d diesel?

Which is best , in terms of mpg, and reliability??

I think the petrols are more reliable, less reliable on servicing, but the diesel may be better mpg.


Can anyone give an opinion on this?

colm_mcm

There'a 2 petrol engines you'd be saeing, the 1.4 VVT-i 5 speed from 2000, and the newer 1.33 Dual VVT-i engine. The older 1.4 has high tax and is too underpowered for the weight of the car. The 1.33 is a bit better, and the 6 speed box helps things,
Same story with diesel, some are 5 speed, some are 6, but they're all 89bhp.


The Corolla itself is a bit of a strange one, they're quite a long car on the outside, bit a lot of that is taken up by dead space in front of the engine, they're a low enough car (designed for the Asian market more than Europe) so interior space isn't great compared to rivals like the Jetta (itself not exactly a big car)

For my money, if you're looking at Toyota, I'd be looking at the last of the old shape 09 Avensis in a 2.0 D-4D if you can get a nice one. They're better equipped, bigger inside, more comfortable, and feel more solid. They are an older design, but the Corolla wasn't cutting edge in 2007 either. MPG differences between a 5 speed Corolla and a 6 speed avensis wouldn't be huge, the Avensis will be better mpg at motorway (as in a little over the limit) speeds. In terms of parking etc, there;s no difference.

A diesel will give better MPG alright, but you need to consider your driving in this, If you're doing a lot of short journeys a petrol would be better.

Your budget will be a factor too, if you're looking for the cheapest examples a petrol will be less risky.

bazz26

Do you actually need a diesel car? If it going to be used for mostly short journeys then your not going to benefit from better fuel economy. It takes a diesel engine a lot longer to warm up than a petrol engine so fuel economy suffers. Diesels become cheaper to run on longer journeys.

tcow

Thanks lads. Ya I do about 110km a day, so may justify the diesel. Reason I'm not goin for the avensis 2l diesel is I think it may give trouble - flywheel, turbo etc etc. Iv had a 2l Passat and it broke my hearth. Or wud the 2l avensis be safe enuf. I'm no worried about looks or space, just mpg and reliability

bazz26

What about a Prius?

tcow

bazz26 wrote: »

What about a Prius?

Don't like em at allll

bazz26

Auris Hybrid?

colm_mcm

I30

JohnBoy26

tcow wrote: »

Hi

Goin buying a 2009-10 1.4 corolla, but not sure to go for the petrol,or the d4d diesel?

Which is best , in terms of mpg, and reliability??

I think the petrols are more reliable, less reliable on servicing, but the diesel may be better mpg.


Can anyone give an opinion on this?

The diesel one is the better buy. Both are the same for reliability but since the tax changed from being cc based to emmisions based in July 2008 the cost of taxing the 1.4 vvti petrol is much more expensive than when it was cc based. It is €385 per year on the old cc system and €570 on the new co2 system.

The cost of taxing the 1.4 d4d on the co2 system is around €200.

If you must have a petrol corolla go for a pre July 2008 example or go for the facelift model with the newer 1.33 dual vvti engine which is €280 to tax.

166man

For 110km a day there's definitely nicer places to be than an 89bhp Corolla. Even the Prius would be nicer and have a nicer interior. Corollas of that vintage the interior is very dreary.

For reliability Toyota don't have the same name they used to have for quality imo. Most of the competition has well caught up with them and Toyota have gone through some cost cutting to keep up.

Essentially there's nicer and better cars out there I reckon.

tcow

I like the opel insignia . . . . . Is this any good, reliability or mpg wise??

166man

tcow wrote: »

I like the opel insignia . . . . . Is this any good, reliability or mpg wise??

I actually like them quite a lot. They're very common on the road. Lovely looking car and they drive very well.

Reliability on the newer ones seems to be generally good, older ones had some issues I believe. MPG is good on the diesels too and the 160bhp is pretty fast.

All in all a much nicer place to be than a boggo Corolla.

tcow

166man wrote: »

I actually like them quite a lot. They're very common on the road. Lovely looking car and they drive very well.

Reliability on the newer ones seems to be generally good, older ones had some issues I believe. MPG is good on the diesels too and the 160bhp is pretty fast.

All in all a much nicer place to be than a boggo Corolla.

Thanks. What's your definition of "older"? 2008?

fancy pigeon

tcow wrote: »

I like the opel insignia . . . . . Is this any good, reliability or mpg wise??

Company I work for use them for their reps/line managers. They take some abuse at times and don't break into a sweat. Some are really well specced and the intellilink radio is both very user friendly and tough. Not too hard on diesel and comfortable to be in for long periods

I would recommend one, if you can stretch to the facelift that's further refined (very late 132 on)

ba_barabus

fancy pigeon wrote: »

I would recommend one

So would I but not one built before 2011 as reliability was poor in 09/10 reg cars. After that they took a big step up and I'd easily recommend one.

tcow

What about the 2008 - 2010 1.8 tdci ford mondeo zetec? There a nice lookin car

tcow

[QUOTE=colm_mcm;99831189
For my money, if you're looking at Toyota, I'd be looking at the last of the old shape 09 Avensis in a 2.0 D-4D if you can get a nice one. They're better equipped, bigger inside, more comfortable, and feel more solid. They are an older design, but the Corolla wasn't cutting edge in 2007 either. MPG differences between a 5 speed Corolla and a 6 speed avensis wouldn't be huge, the Avensis will be better mpg at motorway (as in a little over the<script id="gpt-impl-0.42304963992390376" src="http://partner.googleadservices.com/gpt/pubads_impl_88.js"></script&gt; limit) speeds. In terms of parking etc, there;s no difference.

A diesel will give better MPG alright, but you need to consider your driving in this, If you're doing a lot of short journeys a petrol would be better.

Your budget will be a factor too, if you're looking for the cheapest examples a petrol will be less risky.[/QUOTE]


Thanks very much for that info Colm. Much appreciated.

The thing is,my heart has been broke with high powered diesels, between fly wheels, turbos, oil pumps(2l Passat). I'm very temped in the 1.33 petrol,unless u think the 1.4 d4d will b as reliably??

colm_mcm

the issues you had with your passat aren't as a result of power. just bad design.

tcow

colm_mcm wrote: »

the issues you had with your passat aren't as a result of power. just bad design.

So u think the 2010 2l avensis wud be as reliably as the 1.4 d4d corolla?

wetgarden

Hi Folks. I'm looking desperately for a car manual for 2010 Corolla Diesel. Haynes don't have one (well they do in the States which is no good for me). All I want is a manual for this car...Toyota Corolla 2010 Diesel..

Does anyone have any idea where I can source as I'm finding it very difficult.

Thanks

wetgarden

By the way any manual will do. I don't care where I get it from or who publishes it...just need a manual/DIY manual

colm_mcm

Auris manual would be largely similar if one exists.

wetgarden

colm_mcm wrote: »

Auris manual would be largely similar if one exists.

Thanks for that but any idea wher I can get one? Any website??

Cheers