New Toyota Corolla sedan on sale now from $20,740

The new Toyota Corolla sedan has arrived in Australia to join its hatch sibling, priced from $20,740 RRP for the Corolla Ascent – $250 more than its archrival, the new Mazda3 Neo.

Sporting a crisper styling than the outgoing model, the Corolla sedan has grown in most dimensions. It measures 4,650mm long, 1,776mm wide, 1,455mm tall and sits on a 2,700mm wheelbase – making it 99mm longer, 16mm wider and 10mm lower than the outgoing model. Its wheelbase is also a significant 100mm more than before.

Despite the growth in proportions, lightweight construction and the use of high-strength steel combined to keep the car’s weight below 1,315kg. The new car also has a lower centre of gravity and a more rigid body structure.

The Corolla has undergone local chassis tuning where the company’s Melbourne-based technical centre re-calibrated the car’s electric power steering and suspension set up.

Toyota’s Executive Director of Sales and Marketing, Tony Cramb said the new sedan is destined to build on the success of Corolla as Australia’s best-selling car in 2013.

“New Corolla – with its more stylish exterior, premium interior and fun-to-drive dynamics for both the sedan and hatch – demonstrates that Toyota is capturing greater energy and emotion in its cars,” Mr Cramb said.

“At the same time, Corolla is expanding its legendary reputation for reliability with enhanced quality, expanded safety features and impressive value for money.

“This combination of emotional and rational factors for purchasing Corolla are set to extend its position as the world’s best-selling car with more than 40 million sales over 47 years, and Toyota’s best-selling model in Australia with 1.25 million customers.”

The new sedan range starts from $20,740 for the Ascent – a reduction of $250 compared to the outgoing model. Corolla hatch remains priced from $19,990.

For the first time, Ascent sedan has cruise control, a reversing camera and sonars, multi-information display in the speedometer, and microphone and amplifier for hands-free mobile telephone connection. It can be distinguished from the outside by 15-inch steel wheels and halogen headlamps.

The mid-range SX replaces the previous Ascent Sport starts from $22,990, $1,500 below the discontinued Conquest model.

New SX features include 16-inch alloy wheels including the spare, front foglamps, Optitron instruments, keyless smart entry and start, front sonars and interior chrome detailing.

At the top of the range, the auto-only ZR sedan is $1,000 less than the previous Ultima at $30,990. It brings automatic air-conditioning, rain-sensing wipers, auto-levelling LED headlamps, LED daytime running lamps, satellite navigation, leather-accented seats with eight-way power operation for the driver’s seat, paddle shifters and acoustic windscreen.

Every Corolla is fitted with a 6.1-inch LCD touch-screen display with Bluetooth^®# connectivity, an AM/FM tuner, single CD player, USB and iPod inputs as well as an auxiliary jack.

SX and ZR sedan debut the Toyota Link multimedia system that utilises compatible iPhone and Android smartphones to access a suite of onboard apps and services that enable the driver to find fuel, the latest weather updates and local businesses, all through the car’s audio unit.

The new Corolla is expected to achieve the maximum five-star safety rating with seven airbags, whiplash injury-lessening front seats, stability and traction control and anti-skid brakes.

The carried over 1.8-litre dual VVT-I petrol engine with Toyota’s acoustic controlled variable induction system has been refined to deliver 103kW of power and 173Nm of torque on regular unleaded petrol.

A six-speed manual transmission is standard with the previous model’s four-speed automatic transmission replaced by Toyota’s Multi-drive CVT transmission, which offers a sequential seven-step mode and manual override.

Combined Fuel economy is rated at 6.6L/100km for the CVT transmission and 7.0L/100km for the manual, an improvement of 10.8 and 4.1 per cent respectively compared to its predecessor.