Toyota Corolla Saloon Review and Prices

Despite the Toyota Corolla Saloon sharing a lot of parts with the Corolla hatchback, it has a different exterior look. You might even say it looks classier than the hatchback, thanks to different headlights and taillights that are designed in such a way as to make the car appear wider.

Inside, you’ll be pleased by the quality feel of most of the materials and while build quality is short of an Audi A3 Saloon, the difference isn’t huge. The Corolla Saloon misses out on the leather-wrapped dashboard available on the hatchback, but you still get a good amount of soft-touch materials around the cabin.

The bonnet of the Corolla Saloon is positioned quite low which helps visibility, especially if you’re not particularly tall. Using the levers on the side of the seat you can get comfortable in the Corolla Saloon easily and height adjustment allows you to fine-tune your position further.

The Corolla Saloon has a longer distance between the front and rear wheels than the hatchback which means it has more rear-seat space. Two adults fit there just fine but headroom is the limiting factor so anyone tall will be brushing their head on the ceiling.

You also get a bigger boot in the Corolla Saloon compared with the hatchback. However, it’s not all good news since the actual boot opening is a tad narrow and you can’t fold the seats down to increase capacity. A Skoda Octavia is a much more practical car.

With striking looks, good safety kit and low running costs, the Corolla Saloon makes a lot of sense as a company car.

The Octavia beats the Corolla for engine choice as well. You can have the Corolla Saloon with a 1.8-litre petrol hybrid that’s economical and cheap for company car tax thanks to its low emissions. However, if you want something with more power or something with a manual gearbox, you’re out of luck.

For comparison, the Octavia has a range of five engines and a choice of either manual or DSG automatic for most of them giving you more options.

The Corolla Saloon claws back some points with its generous standard equipment – all cars get an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system and Toyota’s Safety Sense which includes auto emergency braking, auto high beam, lane departure alert, lane-keep assist and traffic sign recognition.

So, it’s fair to say that this latest version of the Toyota Corolla Saloon is the best one yet – it doesn’t look boring anymore and with the promise of legendary reliability it may prove a smart buy. However, if you want more engine choices or a bigger boot there are a fair few alternatives that are just as good.