Why does the world’s best-selling car need any changing? After all, they have been able to sell over 40 million of these to date (including five million in Canada). If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Well, let’s just say the market for B-segment cars post-2010 went in a different direction from where Toyota was heading.

Let’s take the 2013 Toyota Corolla for example. Practical. Reliable. Conservatively Stylish. Meanwhile, the rest of the competitive market were releasing eye-catching designs that every college graduate wanted as their first car. Forget reliability – many new car buyers don’t worry about longevity anymore. Many people prefer leasing nowadays. So what you might find on a young adult’s shopping list post-2014 might have been in this order:

1. Hyundai Elantra
2. Mazda3
3. Honda Civic
4. Ford Focus
5. KIA Forte
6. Bicycle?
7. Should I just take public transit?
8. Toyota Corolla

So what we have now is an all-new redesigned Corolla, originally launched in 2014. Banking on its success are thousands of Toyota workers who are most likely optimistic about its future. For this isn’t the same conservative Corolla the brand was seriously trying to liquidate two years back (an acquaintance of mine was offered a brand new Corolla for just under $10,000 in 2012) This Corolla is sporty and stylish, and has design elements that finally bring this compact sedan into the moden era. Enough blabber. Let’s tell you what we liked and didn’t like about it.

LIKES

Fuel Efficiency

Sporting the same engine from its previous generation, the Corolla maintains its fuel efficiency ratings. The Corolla offers two modes – ECO and Sport. In ECO mode, we were able to achieve around 6.2L/100km combined. In Sport mode, we achieved around 6.7L/100km combined. The official rating for the regular Corolla is 8.2L/100 km in the city and 6.2L/100 km on the highway with a combined 7.3L/100 km.

Styling

The Corolla has been radically redesigned for 2014. With aggressive styling and a taller stance, this Corolla wants nothing to do with its ancestors. The wheelbase is 3.9-inches longer, providing more legroom for rear seat passengers. There's also more room in the trunk. Toyota has introduced words like “projection beam headlights” and “LEDs” into the Corolla’s dictionary, which is why the headlights look outstanding – especially on the higher trim levels.

DISLIKES

Pricing

So the Corolla is competitively stylish, but it wants a larger share of your wallet. You could get the manual for the fair price of $15,995. Most of the market however prefers an automatic – which comes with a jaw-dropping $2,600 premium. The automatic model starts at $18,635. Include the freight, PDI, and taxes and the road price totals $22,925. That’s almost Camry territory! An automatic Elantra on the other hand will cost you a bit over $20,000 with everything included. On the other hand, an automatic Civic would cost you $23,850 anyway. Also, you may be able to get better resale value selling a Corolla than an Elantra a few years down the road.

Dashboard

The dashboard has been redesigned for 2014, but I feel it’s a bit too flat for my liking. It doesn’t slope or curve downward like most dashboards. It’s pretty much a 90-degree vertical drop. The vehicle we drove was equipped with a 6.1-inch touchscreen which was pretty easy to use. Unfortunately, the angle of the dashboard may make it a bit hard to use the touchscreen screen while driving. Most touchscreens on other cars are sloped like the dashboard, providing your finger with some horizontal grip on the screen.  However on the Corolla, even the slightest bumps on the road would cause your finger to slip and select an adjacent button on the screen. Luckily, the steering wheel features enough buttons to allow you to perform most functions easily.