The Toyota Corolla Altis gets a mid-life update, including a new transmission, some new gizmos and a bolder styling.
We bring you a complete road test
Story: Adhish Alawani
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
After laying our hands on the new toyota Corolla altis last month for a brief first drive, here we are with a complete road test of the top-of-the-line altis. the variant being considered here is the 1.8V with a seven-speed CVt-i transmission. Before moving on to the engine, transmission and their performance, however, let us take a look at the cosmetic updates that this altis with a facelift brings along.
The most striking update is visible at the front end of this car, which now includes a new headlamp. the more edgy and sharper headlamp now makes the front look a little wider. the front grille with two chrome-lined fins is derived from the Camry’s styling and adds a bolder feel to the front end. at the rear, the altis gets a new cluster of tail-lights, which is sleeker and loaded with leDs. inside the car are seats with perforated leather upholstery, a new Start/Stop button for keyless ignition and a new touchscreen multimedia interface. the car comes equipped with cruise control for a hassle-free drive on highways and steering-mounted audio system controls for the convenience of the driver. another significant driver’s aid are parking sensors.
The most important upgrade in the altis comes in the form of the new transmission mated to the 1.8-litre petrol engine. it’s a seven-speed CVt transmission that replaces the four-speed one on the earlier version. Though this one feels like a big improvement over the earlier one, we still cannotdeny the fact that it has the same elastic feeling that every otherCVT box has. The sluggish shift between cogs becomes irritating when you need a quick response from the engine, especially while making those swift overtakes.This also reflects in the kick-down times that we got during the performance test and they are nothing but slow. The outright acceleration also gets affected by the CVT and naught-to-hundred is attained in just over 12 seconds.
Talking of performance, Toyota have boosted the power output from 132 PS to 140 PS in the new Altis and the torque has gone up from 170 Nm to 173 Nm. The Altis delivered 9 km to a litre in city driving while a decent 14 kmpl on the highway.
Apart from the transmission, there is no other technical update that you will come across in the Altis. On the drive front, the car continues to have the softly sprung suspension that delivers a comfortable drive, but doesn’t instil enough confidence round fast corners. The steering has a funny feel to it. It is lightly weighted, but still responds with resistance while centring itself at low speeds. We reckon, this is due to the steering rack’s damper being overtight. Also, it needs a lot of steering input to turn the car, with the lock-to-lock being 3.5 turns. Since the car’s dimensions remain unaltered, the spacious interior continues to impress us.
Thus the new Corolla Altis has grown up. It features a better transmission than before, but still not a great one. It has new and bolder styling, is better than before too, but we still feel that the competition looks more elegant.
Coming to the final aspect of the car, its price, the new top-of-the-line Altis is pegged at Rs 17.23 lakh (OTR, Pune). And that surely is on the expensive side. We do not deny that it is a better package overall and an up-to-date one too, but at a heavy price none the less.
