The 2016 Toyota Corolla S, A car I never thought I'd have that much fun in.

So, a good friend of mine has a 2016 Toyota Corolla. When he first got it and I saw the automatic transmission, I'm not going to lie, I thought it was pretty boring. It also does not have a lot of power, 132bhp. The power figure could of been irreverent when it comes to fun factor, look at the MX5. But Toyota didn't give this car the right tools for the Corolla to be as fun as it could of been. The Variable Valve Timing for example, I can't tell you when it engages. It's obviously deigned to improve fuel consumption and so is the throttle body, which is electronically programmed to open gradually, even when you floor it... Why ? I'm flooring it, my pedal is smashed to the ground, so give me the power Toyota ! 

It's understandable in a way, considering that we are talking about an economy car. But Toyota called it the "S" trim. And to be fair when you get the RPM up, it does pick up a bit for a Corolla. I guess I'm a little disappointed because it has a lot of potential. If Toyota engineers would allow Corolla owners to forget about mpg once in a while, and allow them to floor it "correctly", they would be able to have a good commuter/daily that would also be fun and zippy. Honda did it, you can do it too Toyota, I believe in you.

The handling of the Corolla was outstanding for a car of this caliber. It's an economy car remember, retailing around $18,000 brand new, so you can't possibly compare it to a Porsche GT3 RS which is basically the Holy Grail of Handling. So if you compare it within it's own weight division, the Toyota Corolla is a good contender for first place. 

I had a lot of fun, especially in "shift" mode. "Shift" mode stiffens the steering, upshifts closer to redline, downshifts earlier to keep you in the power band. What I really liked was the flappy pedals in manual, the upshifts were really fast, the downshifts we're precise, and fast enough to not destabilize the car in corners.

I'd personally want this driving mode to be called "sport mode" and I'd like it to do more than it currently does. Let's keep the great work done with gearbox but in addition fix the throttle body to give us all the power when we floor it, and maybe give us a variable valve timing that gives a little more juice, for example, VTEC.

My friend and I saw the potential this car has. So we cracked open a few beers and after a few nights of work, the 'Rolla was on fully adjustable coilovers, a good set of wheels and tire, a little exhaust, and ceramic brake pads and new rotors. 

The result was better than I expected. This is a blast to drive ! the center of gravity is lower, it handles like a go-cart, sounds surprisingly good, and even backfires on downshifts. 

When I look back, I really appreciated the time I spent behind the wheel of that car. I had a lot of great driving experiences in the 'Rolla, but more importantly, me and my friend ended up building more than just a cool, out of ordinary, Corolla. We built a totem, a symbol, representing the fun we had.

Max.