Depending on who you talk to, the Toyota Corolla embodies different things to different people. To some, the Corolla is preferred for its safety, reliability and low cost – a solid educated car decision that one could stand by. To others, the Corolla is the epitome of boring – a car that people wouldn’t be caught dead in. 

Toyota has stood by its reliability and resale value without changing much over the years, which can happen when it’s the best-selling sedan in the world. Now in its 11th generation, Toyota has made a concerted effort to give it some emotional appeal to lessen all the negative talk and expand its customer base. 

In Canada, the Corolla battles the likes of the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda3, Nissan Sentra, Ford Focus, Volkswagen Jetta, Kia Forte and a host of other small bangers. The Civic has owned the top spot in the compact segment for 16 years running and the Corolla now sits in third in sales to the rising Elantra. 

To combat this stiff competition – the Corolla completely transformed its look inside and out. And if you look at the Corolla S model I got to test – you wouldn’t even think it was a Corolla. 

Let’s start on the exterior and its upgraded front fascia centred around its new trapezoidal wide mouth grille that grabs your attention and goes well with the sleek restyled front LED headlights. If that’s not enough, the 17-inch alloy wheels and rear lip spoiler give it that sporty edge it deserves under an “S” label.

Its aggressive stance startles you at first, because you just can’t believe it’s a Corolla. The problem is the style changes are night-and-day for the Corolla from its outgoing model, but it still doesn’t better the AJAC winning 2014 Mazda3. That just paints a picture of how far back the Corolla was in the style department. 

If you thought the exterior was revolutionary – the interior continues that transformation trend. The bland and boring insides are no longer, as Toyota has introduced a new-generation dash and a 6.1-inch touchscreen creating a modernized look. The ergonomics of the interior are perfectly placed and everything seems easy to find, grasp and execute.

The seats are comfortable and you’re surrounded by SofTex, an artificial leather that wraps around the dash and gear shift. All of these treatments are well thought out – providing the Corolla, a more Lexus luxurious touch.

The S model comes with a 1.8-litre four-cylinder under the hood that produces 132 horsepower and 128 lb-ft of torque. Surprisingly, the S version has the same engine as the base Corolla, leaving room for Toyota to improve on it in the years to come. Mine was mated to a CVTi-S, but could come with the standard six-speed manual transmission or the four-speed automatic, which I have to say, is slightly embarrassing. 

The amazement that comes with seeing the new exterior and interior of the Corolla will be slightly tempered when you actually drive the vehicle. The Corolla S drives pretty much what we’re accustomed to in a Corolla. It looks like we have to take one-step at a time here – remember the negative feedback was style, not performance. 

I couldn’t tell much difference between standard and sport driving mode. I received louder grunts in sport mode when accelerating, but I wasn’t sure it was actually doing anything different. For whatever noise cancellation and quietness the Corolla has been awarded – it’s all lost with the heavy breathing that results from trying to push this S model. 

Outside of performance, the Corolla seems to handle the roads in a calm manner and efficient manner. It absorbs most of the bumps on the road and handles like a champ, especially for its segment. The leather steering wheel allows you to have a nice firm grip on the wheel and a good steering response. 

The Corolla has always been a leader in the fuel economy department and it’s rated at 6.8L/100 km in the city and 4.9L/100 km on the highway. After driving my tester for 180 kms – I combined for 7.4L/100 km while driving 75 per cent of the time in the city. Those rated numbers are lower than their competitors, except for the new Mazda3 that shares those same numbers, but given the amount of city driving during my week, the observed fuel economy wasn’t too shabby and a large thanks probably goes to its CVT transmission. 

Overall, the Corolla is hands down the best Corolla ever-produced. It has added inside and out style, comfort and technology to the already existing safety, reliability, fuel economy and resale value that has led to the Corolla’s success worldwide. The S model that was tested starts at $19,215 and if it sold well in its boring days, things can only pick up for the Corolla to get it closer to the Elantra, with hopes of eventually topping the leading Civic. Being the leader in Canada would be nice, but for now, Toyota’s very happy with keeping the Corolla the top-selling car in the world.