Toyota has some excellent laurels on which to rest: a history of outstanding reliability and affordability are nothing to sneeze at, as are many of its past and current vehicles of high status. But that doesn't change the fact that it feels like Toyota is resting on its laurels with the 2019 Corolla. The Corolla does a few things well -- offering ample passenger space, comfortable seats, and a suite of standard accident avoidance tech -- but beyond that, the Corolla is a conveyance, and little more.
That's a problem when the rest of the compact car class has been making such strides in quality, drivability, and technology. Compared to its rivals, the Corolla is slow and dreary to drive, with fuel economy that lags behind class leaders. The interior feels a bit hollow and low buck, and it lacks the easy smartphone integration that's become available in most other compact cars. A smaller-than-average trunk is another issue. Overall, there's not much about the 2019 Toyota Corolla that impresses. Source: edmunds.com.