The classy 2017 Corolla ZR sedan

Toyota has come of age and it is known for its continuous improvement of car brands. According to www.toyota.com, an online portal, to celebrate its 50th anniversary Corolla sedan was given a major upgrade in January 2017 with a minor styling makeover, extra standard equipment and new active safety and technology features. This gave birth to the Toyota corolla ZR Sedan 2017.

Styling on exterior
Toyota has avoided the fashion towards tall fronts and has continued to produce the wide, slim look carried over from the previous Corolla sedan with a larger lower air intake. The headlight cluster is slimmer with LED daylight lamps, the rear lights also get LED, together with new plate as a decorative or fitting on the surroundings. In line with its more conservative buyer profile, the new Corolla sedan cannot match its hatchback sibling for looks. It is neat and attractive enough but without anything to make it stand out from its many competitors.

Interior
Corolla sedan is noticeably longer than the hatch model and so provides extra space for rear-seat occupants although the shallow or short roof may annoy taller occupants. The more we drive SUVs the more we appreciate being able to enter cars without scraping our heads on the top of the door opening so we found the low angle of the door opening of Corolla sedan a bit annoying. Once settled in though the seats are very comfortable and supportive.

It has a beautiful and nice wavelike dashboard styling not only for its appearance but also for the placement of its various components and their ease of use. Like a 7.0-inch colour touchscreen that centers around the Toyota Link multimedia system and this is found in all 2017 Corolla variants. It also has a Satellite navigation with the Suna traffic channel.

There is a good-sized alcove at the bottom of the dashboard that will fit most smartphones with USB and sockets at the back for convenient music connection or recharging. The boot is just over a meter long with a wide opening for ease of loading although it is not especially deep.

Engine
The Engine and transmission are unchanged with all the recent Corolla models. It is powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine putting out 103 kW of power at 6400 rpm and 173 Nm of torque at 4000 revs. Toyota’s official fuel consumption numbers are 7.0 litres per 100 km from the manual and 6.6 L/100 km for the automatic transmission.

Safety features
These are all Standard equipment across the Corolla range. They include seven airbags from the side doors for all occupants, ABS brakes with electronic brake force distribution, it has got an emergency brake signal, it has a high level of stability and traction control, a reversing camera that shows all features at the back of the car, rear parking sensors and hill-start assist.

Driving
The outgoing Corolla sedan is impressively quiet and this has been further improved in the 2017 model with a number of changes including a thicker inner silencer for the dash panel and a denser material for the floor insulation. It has an excellent vision all round and sharp acceleration for safe maneuvering. Although the Toyota corolla generally is far from being a performance car, there is a sportier feel to the latest Corolla sedan ZR than in previous models.

According to a one Mukasa, a driver, the Corolla Sedan ZR can be cruised through the hilly roads without any stress. “Steering is easy and responsive with safe and dependable cornering,” he says.

Consumption
According to www.toyota.com, an online portal, Toyota’s official fuel consumption numbers are 7.0 litres per 100 km for the manual and 6.6 L/100 km for the automatic transmission.

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