New Corolla Estate opinions / alternatives?

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Yes the website said 4 months+ lead time (wouldn't surprise me if it is longer), we are not in a rush to change vehicle so I'm fine with that. Would be happy with getting a 72 plate on 1st September. One of the reasons I'm starting the casual search now is due to the lead time as if we wait until we want/need a new car, it will be too late.

Also looked into the Suzuki Swace as an alternative which I'd never heard of, but it seems that only comes with the 1.8 not 2.0 so that's off the table.
 
Soldato
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so ? SWACE has same transmission as Corrola - suzuki seemed coy when I'd looked on web - dealer 300yds down the road has had a brown demo one for 6 months.

neighbour has the ice kia proceed GT with it's elegant Macan boot - their 3 cylinder petrol makes a good noise.
 
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Reading this thread makes me want to get a Corolla !

I know how you feel, I'm in the market for a new car and want something with a comparable boot to my Octavia hatchback (circa 600L) and the Corolla looks to be there or there-abouts!

On a side note I popped into my local Toyota dealership and the sales lady told me that they had just been told that the Corolla was going to be discontinued!?!?!
 
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plot twist - missed these - don't tell your wife it has a shared 308 platfrom, but they look nice, decent zf gearbox, almost a calibra look,
may have a sweeter pricepoint than the asia-pacific alternatives

2022 Opel Astra Sports Tourer with two PHEV powertrains
Hybrid boot is under 550L so doesn't fit in my criteria. It's close, but you have to draw the line somewhere and our current car already has a boot 20% bigger than that.
Pricing wise the cheapest trim Astra Hybrid hatchback with an auto box starts at an eye-watering £32.9k already, so it's hard to see the Estate being competitive with the Corolla on price.
 
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Soldato
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I think you could offset/rationalize the additional purchase price of a phev againt the 30(/60) cheaper electric miles per day ... also with the 8 speed autos, these should be giving better mpg on the other miles (I don't know if the 2022 gm engines are shared with peugot and they have done something to permanently fix the belt in oil failure mode)
 
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If it helps at all, owning a hybrid car really changes your driving behaviour. On my 4 mile commute half A/B roads and half town driving I consistently manage 60+ MPG even this winter ( I have the 1.8). That's almost double what I have on my old run around which was a 2.0 150BHP Accord Petrol which did 35-37MPG on that same commute). Had fun with the VTEC yo moments even with that measly power. What really surprised me is how much faster the 1.8 hybrid feels than my 2.0, the electric motors can really give a good push. What even feels better is that the front end feels much more planted on the Corolla going around corners - it's actually quite fun in the twisties. Not saying it's a boy racer car, far from it, but it is an entirely different experience in driving altogether. Almost a training ground when we all eventually move to BEVs.

Also, 10 year warranty with that servicing caveat. I think I'll buy mine outright once the monthly payment comes to an end.
 
Soldato
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spritmonitor had corroberated corrola hybrid 55mpg average - which is impressive -
hadn't realised the ford kuga now has an ecvt, but there is no small battery/non-phev option like corrola - yes it's an suv
 
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With the current market if we proceed with this it will definitely be brand new. 2L Icon Tech is £292.53 for 41 months with zero deposit then final payment just under £13k, so total price under £25k.
Kinda wish I'd just ploughed ahead with this now, price has gone up over past 5 weeks and is now over £330/month i.e. over £26.5k in total. Thought it seemed a good deal at the time considering the market...
 
Soldato
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the (20 year record is it) 7% inflation has got to be causing changes on pcp projections/residuals which should be mean cars are worth more in pound notes in the future, so the 'lenders'don't want to give away an asset in the future ... unless the economy goes wrong
I haven't seen an analyis of what behaviour is expected ?

e: probably right because it makes no sense for a higher GFV, especially when its likely the market will correct down in the next 3 years.
 
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Soldato
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I have a slightly odd fascination with the Corolla estate. I think partially because my mum is on her 4th Corolla/Auris and they have always been extremely reliable and the build quality is excellent. As soon as (if ever) my wife passes her driving test I am buying one as a family car.
 
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Rather than start a new thread, I'm bumping this one as I've been thinking about getting a hybrid Corrola Touring for a while.

I've had a BMW F31 Touring 330D for 4 years now. It's a lovely car, M Sport Plus so looks like a performance estate etc.

However, I'm thinking of changing it to a hybrid or full on plug in with something else.

One issue I have with BMW is that since they closed the local dealership I lose a day everytime the car has to go in for servicing etc. Toyota are a few minutes at most.

I'm conscious that as the BM gets older, it may require money spent. It's on 55K MY17 so hardly done stella miles.

I also do lots of short journeys about 80% of the time. I'll have usually two 4 hour round trips a month to go toy car racing but other than, my commute and school run is only a few miles a day.

Might seem like a boring car to change to but I don't need my daily to be exciting. On a long journey I'll be listening to Audible so I dawdle at the best of times. I have an Impreza and Evo for the fun stuff. :)

Be interested to read real world experience with these cars. I'm looking at a 1.8 GR touring a little later today.
 
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I've got no experience so can't pitch in on the Corolla front, but only doing a few miles a day in a diesel is just asking for trouble - switching to a petrol PHEV would be much better.
 
Soldato
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Why the GR? It costs a premium for some plastic trim and different wheels. Excel still gets the same seats and if you can live without the seats Design spec is decent

The 2023 corolla is out now with the 5th gen hybrid system, improved performance for both the 1.8 and 2.0 and even better fuel economy

I would love a 2.0 tourer but stuck with my civic for a while yet :(
 
Soldato
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Rather than start a new thread, I'm bumping this one as I've been thinking about getting a hybrid Corrola Touring for a while.

I've had a BMW F31 Touring 330D for 4 years now. It's a lovely car, M Sport Plus so looks like a performance estate etc.

However, I'm thinking of changing it to a hybrid or full on plug in with something else.

One issue I have with BMW is that since they closed the local dealership I lose a day everytime the car has to go in for servicing etc. Toyota are a few minutes at most.

I'm conscious that as the BM gets older, it may require money spent. It's on 55K MY17 so hardly done stella miles.

I also do lots of short journeys about 80% of the time. I'll have usually two 4 hour round trips a month to go toy car racing but other than, my commute and school run is only a few miles a day.

Might seem like a boring car to change to but I don't need my daily to be exciting. On a long journey I'll be listening to Audible so I dawdle at the best of times. I have an Impreza and Evo for the fun stuff. :)

Be interested to read real world experience with these cars. I'm looking at a 1.8 GR touring a little later today.

They're good cars. Compared to the BMW you will feel the build isn't that great. Thin Paint work that chips easily. Long journeys can be tire-some as the seats aren't that comfortable.

Still they're reliable, and they're common as anything in the PH world now. I'd recommend one, but only if you can get a weekend 'trial' car before hand to see if it's something you could live with.
 
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