What are the shortcomings of the 2017 Corolla?
2 Answers
Here are the shortcomings of the 2017 Corolla: Poor interior materials: Most of the dashboard area is made of hard plastic, with many instances of cost-cutting. The door handle illumination lights are omitted, and the handles are simplified to just plastic pieces. Thin paint: On China's crowded roads, minor scratches and bumps are inevitable during daily driving. However, the Corolla's paint easily reveals the primer with slight contact, as its scratch resistance mainly depends on the hardness of the surface clear coat. Soft suspension: The Corolla's rear suspension was changed to a shock-spring separate design, without using double-wishbone or multi-link suspensions. This significantly affects handling, as it lacks stability, and you can clearly feel the rear suspension struggling during high-speed cornering. The non-independent rear suspension is also somewhat stiff in suppressing minor vibrations, making the rear end bumpy when going over speed bumps.
I think the 2017 Corolla is decent for daily driving, with reliability and durability being Toyota's strong suits, but it has quite a few drawbacks. What bothers me the most is the lack of power. The 1.8L engine is fuel-efficient but feels sluggish during acceleration, especially when overtaking on highways—it clearly struggles. The takeoff isn't smooth either. In terms of handling, the suspension is tuned on the stiff side, which is fine for city driving, but on bumpy roads, the ride gets too harsh, leading to backaches during long trips. The interior materials are subpar too—the dashboard is all hard plastic, scorching to the touch in summer, and prone to rattles over time. Rear legroom is cramped, and friends often complain about not having enough space to stretch their legs. Noise is another issue, with noticeable wind and tire noise at highway speeds, forcing you to crank up the music to drown it out. Overall, these shortcomings make it less fun than rivals like the Civic. If not for its reliability, I wouldn’t consider it.