Repair-It

http://autoweek.com/article/new-york-au ... dailydrive

This is still a Corolla, so efficiency is the big selling point. Hence, you’re still looking at a 1.8-liter making about 130 hp and 130 lb-ft of torque, but it also gets about 37 mpg on the highway.

37 is decidedly mid-pack. Or...bottom pack? Ugh. Remember all of the Japanese car buying people in the 80s and 90s that were making fun of the folks still buying American cars just because of sheer familiarity and unwillingness to look at better brands? Well, guess what? What goes around, comes around.

37 is pretty mid-pack for cars in this class. I would be interested in seeing how the real world MPG stacks up. Toyota isn't one to game the test like some of the Korean manufacturers so in the real world, they might actually be on par with a 40 MPG Elantra, for example.

I agree that the Corolla is unappealing, outdated and that people just keep buying them without considering other options. I am happy to see that Honda has gotten it together with the latest Civic and regained their position near the top of the class.

By using turbos?

Well not only that, but by improving the chassis and other aspects of the car to make it more competitive.

So the Civic is the Cadillac of FWD compacts? Of course I mean that in the most modern sense of the term.