Toyota Corolla T-Sport

Bought this as a trade down on my BMW335D M sport little to say it is rather a big step down in terms of quality and performance, but to say it you pay for what you get. I've owned a Civic type R a few years back, and at that time it was my dream car ,needless to say its was the hot hatch to have. I have a soft spot for NA cars Personally.

I was never happy with Type R as I found the ride two hard, it suffered from torque steer and I never liked the seating position. I really felt as though Id paid 14k for an engine and a gearbox!. I had a Skoda VRS mk1 as a company car and actually preferred driving it at the time. Back to the corolla, even though the T sport gets continuously slated,you must understand this is a 1800cc NA engine that produces 189BHP not a 2000cc.In terms of performance it feels no difference from the Honda and I find it easier to get this off the line than I did in the Honda. The ride is a lot more comfortable but at a sacrifice for this it loses out in the handling department, body roll etc.

I love the character of the engine, I can poodle around with my wife and daughter in the car and when I'm on my own I can enter the magic 6000rpm range. Please bear in mind I came from a 335d and when I hit lift in 4th on a dual carriage way for the first time I was surprisingly impressed thinking this is Definitely not slow. The other small issue I have is the cars 6th gear is Definitely not long enough, as you find the engine revving quite hard at 80mph.If you want a cheap, quick, comfortable car that doesn't stand out as boy racer and surprises a few faces when you hit lift its the car that make sense and the bonus it reliable!

I gave up a 306 GTI 6 for Toyota's "Hot Hatch" and the 306 pisses all over it. The T-Sport is a huge disappointment with a lot of noise and bluster but no performance until the second cam kicks in at 6,000 revs. The fuel economy is atrocious too. For 189 BHP I expected better but the power is delivered too high in the rev range.

I use my T sport as a regular car, with a cherry on top. It is fast, I once tested the 0-100 with a computer that indicated just about everything on a flat dry road, with a side wind of 7 kph, I got 7.21 seconds 0-100 kph, 12,79 seconds to 140 kph, 22,68 to 180 kph, 31,2 to 200 kph The trick is : off traction control, hot oil (needless to say), no wheel spin, and no 'lift' in 1st gear, but go up to 5900 rpm before 2nd gear, and than shift just before rev limiter. In daily use (no highways), I get it at 7.4 litres/100 km, but when I drive through Germany to Belgium :9.5 liters. The noise at 3600 rpm (120 kph) is not pleasant. Thin leather, and indeed :chippy paintwork (try to be careful). The top speed, that day was set at 230,93 kph, not bad for a 1.8 without turbo, 3 quarter tank.

I have had a CTR and bmw 320ci - this feels more powerfull than both. As it is the later models it looks and handles much better. I have caught out plenty of other motorists who fail to realise that "its a wolf in sheeps clothing" :) i do alot of long distance driving and i have done 3500 miles in the 3 months ive owned it and so far trouble free. The lift at 6000rpm is addictive so i regularly find myself above 6k which is bad for my wallet.

I would highly recommend Toyota Corolla T-Sport. Ok, the early models (mines an 02) look a bit boring compared with the facelift models, however the performance when driven correctly is outstanding....the car rewards in buckets! The t sport gets a bad press because the power band is located so high up the rev range....but if you drive it properly you can easily keep within this band. The car just keeps going and dont forget....this is all from a 1.8 litre engine. As its a toyota it'll go forever and has plenty of room inside the slightly bland interior. However, I still say this car is vastly underrated and worthy of ten out of ten anyday. Pay no attention to the conservative 0-60 times quoted.......get it in the power band and it is BALLISTIC!!

Great smooth low speed drive. Very practical with plenty of boot space.

I've had my Corolla T-sport for nearly 2 years now and I love it. As other reviewers have said, it is a wolf in sheeps clothing and leaves other so-called hot hatches standing without really breaking sweat. I have also found the fuel consumption very acceptable considering the potential bhp. I regularly achieve 40 mpg plus on journeys just driving "normally".

This Toyota Corolla T-Sport car can kick butt! Its subtle looks mean Ford and Vauxhall drivers just don't expect the whipping they get in there st170 and sri bangers! I've been really pleased with the overall performance of the car, however I feel I have been let down by the Toyota dealership run by Arnold Clark.

Ok after owning 27 rubbish cars from Alfa to Land Rover and Fiat to VW I finally decided to go Japanese. The normal Corolla did nothing for me but when I found my Racing Green (told rare colour for this model) T Sport and listened to the dealer about its vital statistics and saw the 6th gear well that was it.

It took a while for me to be brave enough to get to 6000 revs but by god when I did I had a smile on my face for the rest of the day. I am loving this car especially the fact it looks only slightly sporty which just adds to the look of surprise on peoples faces when you burn them up.

This Toyota Corolla T-Sport is a superb mix of great fun, practicality and comfort. It is a sedate family hatchback at lower revs, then when you want it, it's wild. The handling at speed could be better, from other reviews, it clearly needs lowering, but so long as you repect it, this is never going to be a problem.