2009 Toyota Corolla Will Get More Power and an Edgier Design…Lets Hope!

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The current Toyota Corolla has been on the market since 2002, which makes it one of the oldest vehicles in its class. Although the current Corolla is old, it is still selling well. Last month it was the number 4 best selling vehicle in the U.S. Better than the Honda Accord and Honda Civic. This fall Toyota is going to take the wraps off the all new version.

This November at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Toyota is going to finally unveil the all-new 2009 Corolla. The car is expected to have a lot of changes compared to the current generation. First off the styling is going to be a lot “edgier” compared to the current Corolla. It was rumored that Toyota originally delayed the introduction of the new Corolla when the current Honda Civic was unveiled. The futuristic styling of the current generation Civic sent Toyota’s designers back to the drawing board. The current Corolla is often criticized for being overly bland, so lets hope it does indeed get “edgier” styling. It is rumored that the US version of the Corolla will look similar to the Toyota Auris that is sold in Europe (see above pic).

Next, the new Corolla will feature Toyota’s new family of 1.8L engines, that is going to show up first in the 2008 Scion xD. The engine will put out 128hp and 125 lb-ft of torque, which is up from 126hp and 122 lb-ft of torque (those numbers still seem low compared to the Corolla’s competition). Uplevel Corolla’s will have a new optional engine that is going to be borrowed from the larger Camry that produces 158hp. It doesn’t sound like they are going to make a new XRS version, probably due to poor sales of the last one.

The new 2009 Corolla should go on sale sometime in early 2008. The current 2008 Corolla could be sold alongside the new model for a few months.

Full Story: Autoblog

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