What is the downside of owning a Toyota Corolla AE110?

Toyota Corolla AE110

What you need to know:

Hi Paul, I keenly follow your articles and appreciate your advice. I have never owned a car but I have picked interest in a Corolla E110 lately. I would like to know the downside to owning one and whether they have ABS. Plus, how much does a good second hand cost and how much do you charge for helping me find an ideal one? Rockie.

Hi Paul, I keenly follow your articles and appreciate your advice. I have never owned a car but I have picked interest in a Corolla E110 lately. I would like to know the downside to owning one and whether they have ABS. Plus, how much does a good second hand cost and how much do you charge for helping me find an ideal one? Rockie.

Hello Rockie, the Toyota Corolla AE110 launched in 1997 was Toyota’s continued effort to fuse practicality, economy and some comfort in the sub compact car. Compared with other rival subcompact cars of the time such as Mercedes C class W202 or BMW 3 series E36, the AE110 Corolla lacks charisma but is not short of ability. It has three popular engines the 1.3L, 1.5L and 1.6L. The 1.5L is a good choice for excellent fuel economy but like the 1.3L, is quite sluggish on throttle.
The 1.6L engine offers a good balance between fuel economy and reasonable power. In city traffic you will get about 10km/ litre of fuel while on the highway you can get 15-18 km per litre depending on the engine service condition, driving style (aggressiveness) and use of efficiency enhancing Shell fuel Save. The AE110 has modest engine performance but is good enough to get around. Its safety features include driver airbag, seatbelt pretensions and ABS brakes. Toyota AE110 provides basic comfort and entertainment in the form of a CD player, A.C, and power windows, no frills and thrills.
There are no strong downsides to this car, especially if you need low budget transportation. Your biggest challenge will be finding an AE110 because every fuel cost conscious UBER driver wants one. The car age limit importation ban is on, so no new imports of the E110 Toyota car model will happen in Uganda. Your only option is buying a 3rd or 4th hand car with its user history and problems.
A locally pre-used 3rd or 4th hand AE110 with UA series registration will cost you between Shs6.5m and Shs10m depending on the condition.