DubiCars Car Spotlight — Toyota Corolla: All You Need To Know About The Toyota Corolla, Its History & Twelve Generations

In 2022, reports of a Toyota Corolla in New Zealand made headlines. The 1993 Toyota Corolla was in the news because it had clocked two million kilometres and was still going strong! This certainly isn’t a one-off. Several Corollas are known to have clocked over a million kilometres and that really says everything there is to say about the little Japanese sedan.

Toyota launched the Corolla way back in 1966 and over the decades it has turned into one of the most successful automobiles of all time. It became the best-selling car in the world in 1974 and in 2021 Toyota announced that the Corolla had passed the 50 million units sales milestone. That puts it within the top four best-selling cars of all time!

In Latin, the name ‘Corolla’ means little crown. Toyota named it so as a homage to the revered Toyota Crown sedan from 1955. The Corolla is a simple, practical, comfortable, utterly reliable, and durable sedan that just refuses to break down, and that is what makes the Toyota Corolla extremely successful across the globe. In this edition of DubiCars Car Spotlight, we take a walk down memory lane and look at the various generations & models of the Toyota Corolla.

In 1955, the Toyota Crown luxury sedan was launched. It was the first Toyota car ever and immediately turned out to be a massive success in Japan and other markets it was exported to. While the Crown was successful, it certainly wasn’t for everyone. There weren’t many who could afford it and hence Toyota set about the development of a more affordable sedan that would imbibe some of the basic traits of the Crown.

In essence, Toyota undertook the development of a ‘little crown’ and hence it was aptly named Corolla as aforementioned. The first generation Corolla was launched in 1966 and as one might imagine, it was quite basic back then. In 1968, Toyota introduced a Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) version called the Corolla Sprinter, which came with a fastback design and was exclusive to what was then known as Toyota Auto Store.

Both the Corolla sedan as well as the Corolla Sprinter were powered by a tiny 1.1-litre inline-four-cylinder petrol engine. In a bid to improve the Corolla, Toyota started the development of a new generation.

Introduced in 1970, the second generation Toyota Corolla came with minor design and styling changes. From a distance, there wasn’t much difference compared to the first-gen. However, a closer look reveals a more rounded profile with more curves. With this generation, more body styles like station wagons and vans were added to the lineup. 

New engines were added to the lineup as well. The Corolla and the Corolla Sprinter were available with either a 1.4-litre inline-four or a 1.6-litre inline-four petrol engine in most markets. Some markets received only a 1.2-litre engine. Production of the second-generation sedan ended in 1974. However, the wagon & van body styles remained in production until 1978.

This is where things might get a little confusing if you read just the headlines. It actually is pretty simple. Until the second generation, Toyota gave the Corolla & Corolla Sprinter the same model code — E10 & E20. With the arrival of the third generation, Toyota decided to split the code names. The Corolla sedan was called the E30 and the Corolla Sprinter was called the E40.

The new generation was bigger in size, weighed more, and featured a subtle redesign. The details became better. For example, the front grille received chrome strips. The ride quality also improved massively. Toyota also introduced a two-door version of the Corolla and this resonated well with younger buyers. In 1976, the third generation received a facelift and mid-life refresh. Toyota changed the model code names with this refresh and the Corolla sedan was called E50 while the Sprinter received the E60 moniker.

With the introduction of the fourth-gen Toyota Corolla things started to change drastically. By now the Corolla was sold across the globe and had gained recognition as the best-selling car in the world. Toyota introduced a drastic design change with this generation. The circular headlamps were replaced by rectangular units and it started to carry a more premium feel.

It was still powered by the same old engines with carburettors, but by this stage, Toyota had developed fuel-injected. The new cleaner, greener, and more efficient technology was sold only in Japan as an optional extra.

If you’re a car enthusiast and especially if you’re a JDM enthusiast, you have surely heard of the Toyota AE86. For decades now, it has been an absolute favourite in the car tuning scene and is perfect in the drift arena. It has now even turned into a collector’s item. Well, its actual name is — Toyota Corolla AE86. Toyota also made a slightly less popular Corolla AE85. 

With the fifth generation, Toyota brought contemporary styling to the Corolla sedan. This contributed massively to its sales success. This generation was also the very first to receive a diesel engine option. All regular models switched to a front-wheel-drive layout while only the AE85 & AE86 remained rear-wheel-driven.

It is from the sixth generation onwards that the Toyota Corolla really started to receive modern designs. The sixth generation is one of those designs that isn’t really attractive but is very pleasing to the eye. It was widely accepted as the ideal family car. And it certainly looked good during its time.

For the first time, Toyota introduced all-wheel-drive on select variants of the Corolla. All the other standard variants featured a front-wheel-drive system. Several engine options were available with this generation of the Corolla. The base engine was a 1.3-litre inline-four-cylinder petrol unit while a more powerful 164hp turbocharged inline-four petrol engine also made its way under the bonnet of the Corolla.

The Toyota Corolla was popular all across the world but it enjoyed immense admiration in the USA and the seventh generation carried a design that suited the tastes of American buyers. Despite being a compact sedan, it was quite premium for the day and offered a comfortable ride. Until the previous generation, Fuel-Injection was an optional extra for which buyers had to pay more. With this generation, it became standard equipment.

Starting from the eighth generation, Toyota started to cater to different markets in a unique manner. Toyota had noticed that some markets preferred basic and yet more affordable cars while others wanted more premium features. Hence, the Corolla was customised for the different markets it was targeted at.

Some parts of Europe and Australasia received a circular headlamp setup while many other markets received a design very similar to the seventh generation. Some markets also received the legendary 1ZZ-FE engine. This is an engine that goes on forever. The aforementioned 2 million kilometer Corolla was powered by this very engine. This was also the last generation of the Corolla Sprinter existing alongside the Corolla.

The Sprinter name was gone, however, Toyota brought in two model codes for the ninth generation. The E120 was launched in 2000 with more curves. All the edges and sharp lines were gone. Once again Toyota customised the design of the car according to the market it was sold in. 

In 2001, the Corolla Altis was launched. It was slightly wider and longer than the standard model and therefore was sold as a more premium offering. In 2003, the ninth generation Corolla was launched in the American market and Toyota decided to give it a new model code — E130. Production of the ninth-gen Corolla actually ended in 2007. However, it remained in production and on sale in China until 2017 as the Corolla EX.

The tenth generation of the Toyota Corolla features a familiar and refreshing design. It was launched in 2006 and was available in two main types — narrow body & wide body. The narrow body codenamed E140 Narrow, was only sold in Japan. All other markets received the E140 Wide. At a later stage, a facelift was launched and it was codenamed the E150 wide.

In India, Pakistan, Taiwan, and a few other South-East Asian markets, the Corolla Altis brand name was used. Production of this generation ended in 2014. However, a more basic version was launched in South Africa and named the Corolla Quest. Production of this model continued in South Africa till 2020.

The 11th generation of the Toyota Corolla was first launched in 2012. The E160 model was only available in Japan. It is a shorter and narrower version of the Corolla designed so that it could be used on some of Japan’s narrow streets. 

In international markets, the E170 & E180 were launched in 2013 as a replacement for the E140 & E150. Toyota decided on the engine options depending on the country it is sold in. All engines are inline-four-cylinder petrol units and sizes include 1.3-litre, 1.5-litre, and 1.8-litre. It was also the first generation of the Corolla to feature a hybrid powertrain option in some markets. It is the same 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor that’s also found in the Toyota Prius.

At the 2018 New York International Auto Show, Toyota revealed the production version of the 12th generation Corolla. With a thoroughly modern chic design, the new Corolla is nothing like its predecessors. The new Toyota Corolla is available in sedan, hatchback, and estate wagon body styles.

It comes with an exhaustive list of engine options for different markets across the world. A 1.2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, 1.5-litre three-cylinder, 1.6-litre four-cylinder, 1.8-litre four-cylinder, and 2.0-litre four-cylinder are all available with the 12th gen Corolla. Some markets also get flex-fuel and hybrid powertrain options.

The Corolla was one of the best-selling cars in the UAE until a few years ago. While the current-gen Corolla isn’t very popular, its predecessors were immensely popular. Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth & Tenth generations of the Toyota Corolla are all very popular in the UAE and also in other GCC and Middle-Eastern nations. The Toyota Corolla competes with the likes of the Nissan Sunny, Mitsubishi Lancer & Honda Civic.

Browse Through hundreds of used Toyota Corolla sedans for sale in the UAE and new Toyota Corolla sedans for sale in the UAE.

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