[vigsom]

Introduction

This is an account of how I helped a close friend acquire his second Toyota Corolla viz. a 2016 Toyota Corolla Altis (E170).

What's in store?

1. Options evaluated
2. Purchase decision
3. Comparisons with the 9th (E120) and 10th (E140) Corolla
4. Initial ownership experience

What's unique about the purchase experience?

All examples of the Altis that were evaluated were, coincidentally, in the Champagne Mica Metallic shade.

[vigsom]

Quick run up to why a car was needed

Circa Dec-2023: December is a month of cyclones and/or torrential rains almost every year in Chennai. Dec-2023 seemed to be a repeat of Dec-2015 when all sluice gates from the reservoir aka heavens had been opened. End result: Vulnerable areas of Chennai were part inundated, and a friend of mine, who wasn't in station then, came back only to find all his vehicles submerged to seat level. Both the cars were operational, with the fluids in order, but

1. one of them had a busted Airbag module and a busted EPS module
2. the other one had a non-functional Climate Control module, non-functional power seats, and an Airbag error

While car no.1 joined a long queue at an already overcrowded workshop, car no.2 was not worth rectifying because of a) age and b) costs. It was decided to process Car No.2 as a loss through insurance. Insurance claim processed - a buyer came, bought the car, and the balance of the IDV (minus deductions) was processed. Friend became car-less!

Car search activated

Friend's intent was to acquire an automatic car but he wasn't clear on which cars to look at. He wanted a 7 seater but wasn't sure if he should go for just a 5 seater as a replacement for car no.2. Here was a wide list

1. Mahindra XUV500 AT
2. Toyota Innova Crysta G/Z AT
3. Maruti Fronx AT
4. Maruti Baleno AGS
5. Kia Carens DCT
6. Honda BRV CVT
7. Toyota Corolla Altis Super CVT-i
8. Maruti Vitara Brezza ZDi/ZDi+ diesel

[vigsom]

Options listed

1. 2016 Innova Crysta Z AT done 53,000km at dealer
2. 2017 Honda BRV CVT done 56,000km direct owner listed
3. 2018 Honda BRV CVT done 29,000km dealer listed
4. 2019 Maruti Vitara Brezza ZDi+ AGS done 92,000km chota dealer listed
5. 2015 Hyundai SantaFe done 90,000km direct owner listed
6. 2013 Toyota Corolla Altis G AT done 75,000km dealer listed
7. 2017 Toyota Corolla Altis GL MT done 80,000km dealer listed
8. 2015 Toyota Corolla Altis VL AT done 35,000km chota dealer listed
9. 2016 Toyota Corolla Altis GL MT done approx. 1,00,000km direct owner listed

Confusion around which car to get

Normally, once we list down a few options, we zero in on what our requirements are and then narrow that down to just one car - and a few examples around that model/variant. In this case, friend could not decide. I was pushing him to just consider an Innova Crysta AT and be happy. He had other ideas. From considering a Vitara Brezza diesel AGS to a Honda BRV CVT to Altis. Finally, here is how it went

Option1 : Corolla Altis Super CVT-i plus Honda BRV CVT
Option2 : Corolla Altis MT plus Honda BRV CVT
Option3 : Toyota Innova Crysta AT
Option4 : Hyundai Santa Fe

Knowing friend not to have great knowhow on upkeep of cars, I asked him to exclude the SantaFe, and suggested option#3, but he was keen on 1 or 2.

Clearing the confusion by looking at one car at a time

He first decided to get one car, and put the 7 seater option on the backburner; and was open to either a manual or an automatic Toyota Corolla Altis. Believe it or not - all four Toyota Corolla Altis listings were in the Champagne Mica shade.

2013 Altis AT




2015 Altis VL AT


2017 Altis G MT


2016 Altis GL MT

[vigsom]

Decision making and how the 2016 Altis was chosen

1. Friend drove the 2013 VL Super CVT-i and the 2017 G MT. Both drove excellent. Service history was checked; both 2013 and 2017 were clear , but 2017 showed that the car was run quite a lot - had done only 20k kms from Dec-2017 till Jun-2022 but run very high post that. Good thing was the service history was available from Day1. Friend was okay to consider either car but preferred the AT even though it was 4 years older. Owner, however, would not budge on price and was firm at INR5.5 lacs, while the 2017 G MT was a little pricey at close to INR7.5 lacs.
2. Friend test drove the 2015 VL Super CVT-i and was just not impressed. It didn't feel like only a 35,000km done car and nowhere as smooth as those in S.No.1. I told him to ignore since it could be a part flood affected car.
3. Enter the 2016 Altis GL MT. It was a direct owner listing, car drove excellent, history was there, and a sevice had just been done. However, the only black marks were a lot of scrapes on the rear left end and on the driver door. Apparently, the owner was in the US and the family would hire call drivers, who had caused all this damage.

Friend had sent me a video and except for the scrapes, it was an excellent car for the price. He eventually sealed the deal for INR5.5 lacs, about the same quote received from one of the big two famous car platforms.

The defects, courtesy call drivers

[vigsom]

My test drive of this car and impressions

I got to see the car in person about 2 months later. Since I have owned/ maintained the 9th and 10th gen Corollas, this was exciting and I was looking forward to the experience.

What I liked over the 9th and 10th gen

1. Exterior design; extremely sporty looking with the sharp front
2. The best alloys I've seen on a Toyota till date
3. View of the road from the driver's seat is way better than the earlier gens
4. Seat comfort was excellent for an almost eight year old car; leather was in excellent shape
5. A more spacious cabin (at least that's what I felt)
6. Fantastic drive; steering feedback was good
7. Super quiet engine
8. six gears (it was only five gears on the 9th gen and on the Altis from 2008 to 2011 with the 1ZZ-FE engines; 2ZR-FE engines came mated to a six speed gear box)
9. Black plastic instead of beige - on the doors, side of the seats and on the dash

Dislikes

1. I personally dislike the dashboard design; makes this look more like a car from the 60s and 70s
2. Couldn't judge clearances easily and so wasn't too confident of taking the car into the compound due to the sharp bumper edges and the V shaped front; had to get out of the car, check, and then take the car in.
3. I once accidentally pressed the push button with the car in gear; car lunged forward. Luckily braked instantly else I'd have hit the wall
4. Reliability of ignition coils on the 2ZR-FE engine is a question mark

Front left view


Front views




Close up of the monogram


Stunning looking alloys plus the bonus on this car - Vredestein Ultrac Vorti tyres


LED Park lights with low projector lights


All lights on

[vigsom]

Impressions (Contd.)

Engine bay with the 2ZR-FE engine inside


The infamous bypass hose and nozzle - fortunately found to be intact (Refer this (Toyota Corolla Altis Ownership Review | My rendezvous with a diesel and two petrols))


The coolant reservoir


Door handle with the nice chrome insert


The driver door




The hot seat - intact after 8 years


Rear seats - retains the 60:40 split from the 9th gen


Cabin view from rear right door


View of the cabin from rear seat


Audio and AC controls


Console views






View from the driver seat

[vigsom]

Jobs undertaken post purchase

1. The one area where one cannot assess the state of a car is aircon; it would work perfect at evaluation, and throw up issues later due to minor leaks. The same thing happened in this car. The last service bill did carry an item on AC gas top up, but friend found the aircon vents on the left side of the car not throwing cold enough air. I advised him to get the system checked from a very reliable place in Usman Road, and they did find a leak in the Evaporator Core. Evap. Core was replaced and no complaints thereafter.

Dash stripped down for Evap. Core replacement


Leak on the Evap. Core


2. Another thing that friend did was to get some panels touched up and make the car look like new.

[vigsom]

Expenses post purchase

1. Panels touch up and wax INR 15,000
2. Evaporator Core (Aftermarket) plus labour charges INR 15,000

Total INR 30,000

Summing it up - by a Toyota Corolla fan

Leading my friend to this car, evaluating the car on line and finally experiencing the Toyota Corolla E170 was like completing a trilogy (as follows)

1a. Blue (2003 Toyota Corolla H4 Automatic Review – The Blue Beauty!)

1b. White (2005 Toyota Corolla Facelift H5 Review – Clean Pure Love!)

1c. RedNSilver (Pre-owned Toyota Corolla | Two more shades, many more smiles)

2. Three Altis (Toyota Corolla Altis Ownership Review | My rendezvous with a diesel and two petrols)

and this one!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[ritedhawan]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Decision making and how the 2016 Altis was chosen

1. Friend drove the 2013 VL Super CVT-i and the 2017 G MT. Both drove excellent. Service history was checked; both 2013 and 2017 were clear , but 2017 showed that the car was run quite a lot - had done only 20k kms from Dec-2017 till Jun-2022 but run very high post that. Good thing was the service history was available from Day1. Friend was okay to consider either car but preferred the AT even though it was 4 years older. Owner, however, would not budge on price and was firm at INR5.5 lacs, while the 2017 G MT was a little pricey at close to INR7.5 lacs.


Friend had sent me a video and except for the scrapes, it was an excellent car for the price. He eventually sealed the deal for INR5.5 lacs, about the same quote received from one of the big two famous car platforms.

Nice. In the month of April 2024 when I was in a hurry to dispose of my beloved Honda Accord as it had reached the 15th year mark and that dreaded NGT rule was bound to come into effect. I did dispose of it. Post which me and my wife were looking for another used car. My wife had compiled a list of Corolla Altis to be checked as that car was her primary choice, however we were definately against any manual ones and on top of that there should not be any CNG fitment in those specimens. The price point was 5.5 L + 2. Yet, every Corolla Altis that I test drove in New Delhi had scars whether inside or outside, I could have ignored it, since, under the hood the Toyota engine is bullet-proof however, once we realised that most of them had CNG fitment during the course of thier ownership, that itself was a red flag and finally we had to drop the Altis off our list.

[sharmanova]

Great thread @vigsom sir! Toyota should've launched the E210 Corolla in India atleast in the hatchback guise. But hey, they're happy with the rebadged Maruti's.

BTW one suggestion, since you have in-depth knowledge about Corolla you can actually start an ALL INDIA COROLLA CLUB

[AKSarkar1]

Seems like we have ourselves a Toyota Corolla Expert on our forum. Thanks for sharing, it was quite insightful!

Shame that Toyota India have stopped producing sedans like the Corolla and Yaris. This car has been on my wish list since 2015, it was and even today is an absolutely gorgeous car to look at!

[SithDefender]

Originally Posted by AKSarkar1

Shame that Toyota India have stopped producing sedans like the Corolla and Yaris.

Yes that is true. It was a great sedan from Toyota and they should never have stopped it here in India.

One can only rue the missed opportunities we have, and it's likely not to go anytime soon as long as the (profitable) association with Maruti-Suzuki continues.

[rajathv8]

Nice thread!
Did all the dust seen in the evep core sneak through the cabin filters?
Also why did it only impact the cooling on the left side?

[DicKy]

Saw the title and knew it would be vigsom even before opening the thread.

@vigsom, how would you rate the interior plastic quality feel of the E170 compared to the previous two generations?

Originally Posted by AKSarkar1

Shame that Toyota India have stopped producing sedans like the Corolla and Yaris. This car has been on my wish list since 2015, it was and even today is an absolutely gorgeous car to look at!

Originally Posted by SithDefender

Yes that is true. It was a great sedan from Toyota and they should never have stopped it here in India.

And to add insult they justified it as the segment shrinking and becoming irrelevant. But then they didn't launch the Corolla Cross which is like their answer to the segment shrinking in other markets. And they continued to sell the Camry in India.

Originally Posted by SithDefender

One can only rue the missed opportunities we have, and it's likely not to go anytime soon as long as the (profitable) association with Maruti-Suzuki continues.

True. For the foreseeable future, the Innova would be the cheapest proper Toyota for India. The only plausible long shot would be Marauti using a Toyota/Daihatsu model to replace the Ciaz when it becomes too long in the tooth.