Toyota Corolla Touring Sports review

The Corolla is the definition of an everyday mass market car: there’s no sense in which you’ll find the car posh, but it’s well put together. It’ll last well and you shouldn't end up with irritating squeaks and rattles. Toyota has put some admirable effort into making the Corolla’s insides a bit more interesting, but you’ll still be amazed at how many different shades of grey can be accumulated in one small space.

Is there plenty of room?

There’s good passenger space up front in the Corolla Touring Sports, though the storage isn’t as practical as we might like. The cubby in the central part of the dashboard is quite small, and the plate for wireless phone charging could be bigger too, the way phones are going.

Likewise, accommodation for rear passengers isn’t as generous as you might think, especially if you’ve been in rivals like the Skoda Octavia or Volkswagen Golf. It feels airy enough with decent-sized windows, but there’s not masses of legroom and your feet can feel cramped underneath the seat in front.

What’s the boot space like?

You get 596 litres of space in the 1.8-litre version of the Corolla estate, and the 2.0-litre version cuts this to 581 litres thanks to a repositioned 12V battery that doesn’t fit under the bonnet with the bigger engine. Knock the seats down and you get 1,591/1,606 litres of space to play with.

It’s not as big as some estate rivals, but it’s a decent size and a practical shape. One mild irritant for us was the electric tailgate, which comes as standard on all but the entry car – it’s just not necessary. The car isn’t tall, the boot isn’t heavy to open, it just adds unnecessary fuss.