The 2015 Toyota Corolla will dazzle absolutely no one. It is not a mind-blowing automotive experience. In fact, it’s just a tad bland. There are cars that are more fuel-efficient. There are cars that are more fun to drive. There are compact sedans with more room.
And yet the Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car in this history of car-making, and it’s because the Corolla does many things well and it offers all those things in a complete package for a great price. In other words, it appeals to practically all drivers in the United States. Chief competition comes from the Mazda 3, the Ford Focus, the Hyundai Elantra, the always popular Honda Civic and the VW Jetta. They are all heavyweights in this business, they all have exceptional features and yet, the Corolla, year in and year out, outsells them all.
The 2015 Toyota Corolla comes in four trim levels, the L, the LE, the LE Eco, and the S. It comes with a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine good for 132 horsepower for all trims except the Eco, which has a more fuel-efficient version good for 140 horsepower. The base L has a six-speed manual transmission as standard with a four-speed automatic as optional. The other trims have a continuously variable transmission as standard. In testing, the Eco went from 0-60 in 9.2 seconds, a full second slower than the Ford Focus and the Mazda 3. EPA estimates have it t 31 mpg on average of all the trims.
Safety features include stability control, traction control, antilock brakes, front side airbags, side curtain airbags, a driver knee bag and rearview camera. It earned the top overall rating in government crash testing. In the braking test, the Corolla went from 60 to 0 in 130 feet, a longer than average result.
Features include 15-inch steel wheels, LED headlights and running lights, air conditioning, a tilt and telescoping steering wheel, height adjustable driver’s seat, a 60/40 folding rear seat, and four-speaker stereo system. A full range of options are available as you go up in trim packages.
All in all, this is a rather ho-hum report about a car. It’s not meant to be, but that is the impression one gets when driving a Corolla. It does many things above average. It does very few things exceptionally well. It is the all-everything car for all drivers and it comes at a price most drivers can afford.  And one last point: it seemingly drives forever without needing major maintenance.