~~~2006 TOYOTA COROLLA 4-DOOR CE SEDAN: FROM THE EYES OF A WOMAN~~~

Writing about cars is, admittedly, something I’m not familiar with so guys, I’m sure this will not meet your criteria for a helpful review. I am walking down an unfamiliar road and I do believe I see a sign ahead that says CURVES FOR DUMMIES. Think kindly of me when you go around this curve.

A car is a car, is a car, is a car and as long it has it gas in it, doesn’t ping and pong, ding or dong, and moves when in drive, I’m happy with it. When I was a child, my father loved to tinker with his car(s) and he was always talking about the motor or the engine. One hot summer day, I sat and watched as he did his tinkering and thought I would join in on the conversation he seemed to be having with his car. For some reason, men talk to their cars and so far, I’ve not heard them respond. Maybe only men can hear a cars mutter.

I walked over to my Dad’s car, looked under the hood at all the many bits and pieces that seemed clumped together and asked my Dad where the motor was? It seemed a perfectly innocent question to me and conveyed the impression I was taking an interest in what he was doing. My Mother had, for the most part, broken my father from swearing, but hidden in the deep recesses of his nature still lurked a fistful of mild profanities that spewed forth upon my innocent head.

I found the motor and engine that day.

Two years ago, my husband bought me a loaded 2004 Toyota Highlander, which I love and a friend of mine named her Effie. He was still driving his Honda Civic putting around fifteen hundred miles a week on it. He’s a teacher in the Department of Corrections and, at the time, was having to travel 6 hours a day, to and from, work. In January of this year, he transferred to a prison closer to home so his driving time was more than halved. He puts around eighty miles a day on it (round trip) so he feels as if he’s on a driving vacation.

He bought this car around three or four months ago and he’s very pleased with it and so am I. Due to the mileage he put on his cars, we bought Nissan’s, Honda’s and now he decided to try the Toyota since my car is so nice. OK, so his is much cheaper than mine, but then his car is his work car while mine is my nice car.


~~IMPORTANT MEN STUFF~~
Taken from sticker off the car.

Mechanical and Performance
~~1.8 4CYL DOHC 16V VVT-I SFI Engine
~~4 Speed ECT Automatic Transmission
~~Engine Immobilizer
~~Power Assisted Rack & Pinion Steering
~~MacPherson Strut Front Suspension
~~Semi-Independent Rear Suspension
~~Front and Rear Stabilizer Bars
~~Power Front Disc and Rear Drum Brakes
~~P185/65R15 All-Season Tires

Safety
~~Dr and Fr Pass Dual Stage Airbags (SRS)
~~Rear Center Shoulder Belt
~~Child Protected Rear Door Locks
~~Internal Trunk Safety Handle
~~Side-Impact Door Beams

Exterior
~~Multi-Reflector Halogen Headlamps
~~Daytime running lights w/twilight sensor
~~Black Side Moulding
~~Dual Power Outside Mirrors
~~Color-keyed outside door handles
~~Full Wheel Covers

Comfort and Convenience
~~Air conditioning
~~AM/FM/CD with 4 speakers
~~Tilt Steering Wheel
~~60/40 Split Rear Seat
~~Intermittent Front Windshield Wipers
~~Heavy Duty Rear Defogger with Timer
~~Front and Rear Cup holders, Console Box
~~Trunk Release, Fully lined trunk w/lamp
~~Remote Hood & Fuel Release

Warranty
Thirty-six month/36,000 mile comprehensive coverage, 5-year/60.000 mile power train coverage, plus 5-year body panel corrosion perforation. We didn’t take out the extended service contract.

The car also came with floor mats, a cargo net, and the automatic dimming mirror (this was an upgrade).

~~MY EXPERIENCE~~

We recently drove my husband’s 2006 Toyota Corolla to Gatlinburg and since I do all the driving no matter where we go, I had the questionable honor of driving his car for hours. We had decided to take it since it was new and cheaper on gas.

According to my last physical (and the one before that and the one before that, etc.), my height is five feet and three inches. There are a few of us here at Epinions who fall into the short category. We call ourselves SHLEP’s, meaning Short Ladies at Epinions, or Short Ladies of Epinions. Its been a while and I’ve forgotten the exact title. Diana and Mona, help me out here! For our needs, we had plenty of leg room and for me, some left over. OK, so I’m short and stubby!

I think my husband is five feet seven or five feet nine, but he’s not tall either so we have no difficulty getting in and out of the car. This could be a problem if you were closing in on six feet tall or if your body frame was heavy-set. The seats were comfortable for our body frames and during the long hours of sitting, I do have to say I was never uncomfortable. I have a couple of pinched nerves in my back. Depending on the seats, a long drive can irritate these nerves. There were no back problems riding in this car.

We drove from middle Tennessee to east Tennessee, which is where we’re from so we are quite familiar with the hills and valleys of the eastern region of our great state. We did a lot of driving in the seven days we were gone using a tank and a half of gas. According to the sticker Highway MPG was 38 while City MPG was 30. With all our driving, we put nearly a thousand miles on the car so I honestly can’t answer how much gas mileage we got per gallon.

I would ask my husband how much it totaled out to be but that would involve a long and drawn out process where he would find it necessary to lecture. Teachers tend to do that (and I’ll admit it, I have been told I do the same but I think, in my case, it’s a different matter).

My husband has a radar detector in his car as he was prone to getting a lot of speeding tickets so something had to be done (these detectors are not illegal in our state). They work great as I found out on the Interstate. The detector would suddenly go berserk (it’s a good thing we know the best pit stops to keep the bladders empty), and automatically, I’d check the speed. YIKES! I was way over the speed limit when I felt as if I was trotting along hokey pokey style. All this power wasn’t something I was used to in a four-cylinder vehicle.

I did have to get used to the gas pedal on this car. A few times we took off faster than a bat out of h*** causing our necks to jerk backwards and the tires to squeal. Sigh. I still have a black rubber skid mark going out of my driveway. As stated earlier, I didn’t have any back problems riding in this car, but I did have a sore neck a few times (my fault).

While going around the many curves in Cades Cove and Townsend, this baby took the curves easily. Another physical disability of mine is Meniere’s Disease or Minere’s Syndrome (vertigo). During all the travel time over to the mountains and back plus our time riding in other area’s, vertigo wasn’t a problem. The car went with the curves, did not fight them, so all was a smooth ride. It was not necessary for us to pull over and relieve my stomach of its contents.

We had a quiet engine, a smooth ride, a comfortable ride, good gas mileage, and even the radio picked up in places where I thought we’d lose the signal. The sound of the CD player was good, the speakers were clear and crisp so after losing my Nashville country music radio stations, I switched over to 107.7 out of Knoxville and never missed a beat.

We were able to pack half the house (according to my husband) in the trunk. I realize I do pack far more than I’ll probably need when traveling but there are just some must’s that are must’s. I need my box fan for sleeping at night so yes, it goes everywhere I go. We needed one huge suitcase for some clothes, a large tote for my husband’s walking shorts (Levi, or jean, shorts which take up room), an even larger tote for shoes, a huge bag for bathroom needs, a make-up bag with compartments, camcorder and case, plastic tote for cords (cell phone, digital camera, camcorder), cooler for Cokes, bags of snacking food, my pillow, 2 quilts, a bag of coat hangers in case there aren’t enough in the villa, huge beach towels, and well, I’m sure you get the idea. A woman does have a lot of must’s when taking a trip.

I found the glove compartment to be roomy. The middle cup holders were good on medium drinks but not so good on the larger drinks. Only one person could have the large drink while the other person settled for the medium. I wasn’t a passenger in the backseat but it looked roomy. Passenger seating would hold 4 to 5 people with two in front and three in back.

~~IMPORTANT WOMAN STUFF~~

~~Comfortable seats
~~The tilt steering wheel only needed minor adjustment so I could see over it
~~Plenty of room for my must’s
~~The seatbelt wasn’t uncomfortable
~~Great air conditioner
~~Great radio
~~Smooth ride
~~Good gas mileage
~~The defogger worked fast
~~Easy steering
~~I liked the outside temperature gauge
~~Gas cap wasn’t hard to remove
~~Mirrors over the windshields
~~Compact but roomy
~~No cruise control: personally, I like to have control of my car at all times
~~If you’re a passenger, you can tilt your seat back, grab your pillow and blanket for a snooze
~~Knobs and buttons are easy to reach while driving
~~Control panel easy to read

~~Final Thoughts~~

It doesn’t matter where you are; the Interstate, sharp curves, steep mountains, uphill, downhill, it was all the same when it came to our 2006 Toyota Corolla 4-Door CE Sedan. It doesn’t have all the extra’s my Highlander has but it is one fine honey of a car. We have owned the Nissan Sentra and Honda Civic and I have to say all these vehicles have given us good service. We’ve always gotten over 300,000 miles on each car and I think we’ll get the same out of the Toyota Corolla. Give it a test drive. I think you’ll like it.

~~Recommended~~:
Yes

~~Cost~~: Around $16,000

Thanks for reading.

©ddustyrose September 2006