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Toyota Corolla

Hacker Approved

The most recommended of 9 compact cars

People recommend the Corolla as a cheap, reliable, fuel-efficient car that lasts for years with basic maintenance. Critics find its tech and driving dull.

People recommend the Corolla as a cheap, reliable, fuel-efficient car that lasts for years with basic maintenance. Critics find its tech and driving dull.

86 people gave an opinion

recommend it
63
criticize it
23
approval share
73%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 12 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: recommended
  2. December 2025: recommended
  3. January 2026: recommended
  4. February 2026: recommended
  5. March 2026: recommended
  6. April 2026: recommended
  7. May 2026: recommended
  8. June 2026: recommended
  9. July 2026: recommended
  10. August 2026: recommended
  11. September 2026: recommended
  12. October 2026: recommended
  13. November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)

Owned for 11 years

Median of the 5 owners who said how long they have had it.

Each square is one year.

Why it carries the badge

  • 63 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
  • 2.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
  • Recommended in 12 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.

The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works

What people say about it

The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.

Why people recommend it

Each mark is one comment

  • Reliable and long-lasting

    “A 1999 Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, assuming serviced regularly (and competently) could easily be on the road today.”

    Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “If America's So Rich, How'd It Get So Sad?”

    “My ~$700 corolla hardly cost anything to run and lasted about six years before needing scrapping.”

    Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “How to buy a good car for $1000”

    “built like a tank in that it was nearly indestructible in terms of reliability”

    Comment from 25 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”
  • Cheap to run, good mileage

    “great highway mileage! ... it's smaller than most everything else on the road, both in terms of visibility and collisions”

    Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Ford kills the All-Electric F-150”

    “Its actually cheaper (for me in the UK) to run a corolla hybrid than an EV as I don't have the ability to charge at home.”

    Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

    “My ~$700 corolla hardly cost anything to run and lasted about six years before needing scrapping.”

    Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “How to buy a good car for $1000”
  • Simple, practical, easy to live with

    “great basic utility, reasonable comfort, zero sporting pretension and an honest high 50s mpg”

    Comment from 25 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

    “very low-tech, but new enough to have Bluetooth and a backup camera, so everything i want”

    Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “All Cars Sold in the EU Now Require a Camera Aimed at Your Face”

    “classically "boring" but highly-practical, dependable, and efficient vehicles”

    Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Porsche Sold More Electrified Cars in Europe in 2025 Than Pure Gas-Powered Cars”
  • Good value for the money

    “A normal base 23k usd Corolla , not saying anything against the car mechanically it is a great machine for what it is.”

    Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “My Midlife Crisis Corolla Is Fast, Furious, and Modded”

    “They will get you to your destination just as well for cheaper and with more space for your stuff.”

    Comment from 16 Oct 2026 in “Tesla Roadster”

    “Fair price considering how many features you get vs 1974 car.”

    Comment from 20 Sep 2026 in “BYD Slashes Price of Electric Car and Becomes Cheapest in Australia [video]”

What people warn about

Each mark is one comment

  • Boring, bare, lacks character

    “The latter is boring, but it offers a seamless driving experience and okay controls.”

    Comment from 12 Oct 2026 in “Citroen revives the 2CV for an electric age”

    “it just not being all that great compared to its more optimized competition”

    Comment from 25 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

    “barebones even compared to mainstream cars like a Toyota Corolla”

    Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Tesla 'Robotaxi' adds 5 more crashes in Austin in a month – 4x worse than humans”
  • Electrical and software glitches

    “i'm not impressed with a 2019 corolla engineering at all, specifically various parts of the electrical system”

    Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive”

    “I wish it had even 70% reliability of just working when I'm using anything software related.”

    Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

    “has a 1.5 second audio lag and it’s my only issue with the vehicle”

    Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “AirPods 5”
  • Rust and weak collision safety

    “I love it but will crumble like a cracker in a collision because rust”

    Comment from 29 Oct 2026 in “I went to Mexico to test-drive the cars Americans can’t buy”

    “Each one is ratty, beat up and 19+ years old, I wouldn't want to chance taking any of them on the freeway”

    Comment from 20 Sep 2026 in “BYD Slashes Price of Electric Car and Becomes Cheapest in Australia [video]”

Other compact cars people recommend

The four most recommended other compact cars, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.

Toyota Corolla compared with 4 alternatives
ProductRecommendCriticizeApprovalMonthsOwnedBadge
Toyota CorollaThis page632373%1211 yrs5 ownersApproved
Honda Civic32586%1015 yrs4 ownersApproved
Honda Fit14478%59 yrs3 ownersApproved
Toyota Yaris12763%8——
Mazda 3110100%10—Approved
See all 9 compact cars, ranked

What people said

40 of the 96 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“I love it but will crumble like a cracker in a collision because rust”

MixedComment from 29 Oct 2026 in “I went to Mexico to test-drive the cars Americans can’t buy”

“I would just get a hybrid Corolla if you can't stretch that budget”

RecommendsComment from 16 Oct 2026 in “Tesla Roadster”

“They will get you to your destination just as well for cheaper and with more space for your stuff.”

RecommendsComment from 16 Oct 2026 in “Tesla Roadster”

“The latter is boring, but it offers a seamless driving experience and okay controls.”

MixedComment from 12 Oct 2026 in “Citroen revives the 2CV for an electric age”

“a hybrid Corolla simply doesn't offer anything that I'd want”

CriticizesComment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Nissan's third generation e-POWER powertrain”

“built like a tank in that it was nearly indestructible in terms of reliability”

RecommendsComment from 25 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

“A 10 years warranty as long as you do the prescribed maintenance with hassle free ownership”

RecommendsComment from 25 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

“great basic utility, reasonable comfort, zero sporting pretension and an honest high 50s mpg”

MixedComment from 25 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

“it just not being all that great compared to its more optimized competition”

CriticizesComment from 25 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

“hybrids have a huge advantage in the types of driving where weight matters”

RecommendsComment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

“People drive Corollas because they're cheap and reliable.”

RecommendsComment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

“I wish it had even 70% reliability of just working when I'm using anything software related.”

CriticizesComment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

“Its actually cheaper (for me in the UK) to run a corolla hybrid than an EV as I don't have the ability to charge at home.”

RecommendsComment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

“The hybrid already gets 55mpg and the batteries are dirt cheap.”

RecommendsComment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric”

“Fair price considering how many features you get vs 1974 car.”

RecommendsComment from 20 Sep 2026 in “BYD Slashes Price of Electric Car and Becomes Cheapest in Australia [video]”

“Each one is ratty, beat up and 19+ years old, I wouldn't want to chance taking any of them on the freeway”

CriticizesComment from 20 Sep 2026 in “BYD Slashes Price of Electric Car and Becomes Cheapest in Australia [video]”

“The Corolla hasn't had a single repair problem in 23 years!”

RecommendsComment from 13 Sep 2026 in “Data collected by cars and sold to third parties”

“My ~$700 corolla hardly cost anything to run and lasted about six years before needing scrapping.”

RecommendsComment from 12 Sep 2026 in “How to buy a good car for $1000”

“has a 1.5 second audio lag and it’s my only issue with the vehicle”

CriticizesComment from 9 Sep 2026 in “AirPods 5”

“Toyota Corollas have generally proven to be incredibly reliable”

RecommendsComment from 14 Aug 2026 in “Choose Boring Technology (2015)”

“Even niche offerings like the GR Corolla can be challenging to procure from a dealer”

RecommendsComment from 3 Aug 2026 in “German carmakers flood jobs market with managers after wielding axe”

“it's a terrifying car. i can't drive it much at my home track (laguna) because of the sound level”

MixedComment from 18 Jul 2026 in “My Midlife Crisis Corolla Is Fast, Furious, and Modded”

“A normal base 23k usd Corolla , not saying anything against the car mechanically it is a great machine for what it is.”

RecommendsComment from 15 Jul 2026 in “My Midlife Crisis Corolla Is Fast, Furious, and Modded”

“very low-tech, but new enough to have Bluetooth and a backup camera, so everything i want”

RecommendsComment from 8 Jul 2026 in “All Cars Sold in the EU Now Require a Camera Aimed at Your Face”

“They'd be better off just driving a regular hybrid, like a Corolla.”

RecommendsComment from 13 Jun 2026 in “EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war”

“that gets great mileage, low maintenance and can be had new for 30k”

RecommendsComment from 13 Jun 2026 in “EV demand up 50% in France and Germany since Iran war”

“were also already known for being fuel efficient and reliable cars”

RecommendsComment from 20 May 2026 in “Nobody understands the point of hybrid cars [video]”

“A 90s Camry, Corolla, or Civic seems to have become the peak minimalist car”

RecommendsComment from 5 May 2026 in “The Car That Watches You Back: The Advertising Infrastructure of Modern Cars”

“A 1999 Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, assuming serviced regularly (and competently) could easily be on the road today.”

RecommendsComment from 24 Apr 2026 in “If America's So Rich, How'd It Get So Sad?”

“The Camry and Corolla were the best-selling sedan and compact sedan of 2025”

RecommendsComment from 22 Feb 2026 in “The Modern Toyota That Lost 65% of Its Value in One Year”

“barebones even compared to mainstream cars like a Toyota Corolla”

MixedComment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Tesla 'Robotaxi' adds 5 more crashes in Austin in a month – 4x worse than humans”

“What you get for that $23k is now quite substantial though.”

RecommendsComment from 11 Feb 2026 in “Toyota Fluorite: "console-grade" Flutter game engine”

“Yeah even corollas have better sensors than a Tesla for driving in fog.”

RecommendsComment from 31 Jan 2026 in “Lemonade Autonomous Car Insurance (With Tesla FSD Discount)”

“The adaptive cruise is a killer feature. Best car I've ever owned.”

RecommendsComment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Tesla is committing automotive suicide”

“it has all the technology one would expect now, all while having physical buttons where it matters”

RecommendsComment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Tesla is committing automotive suicide”

“this is now a standard (free) feature even in basic vehicles like the Toyota Corolla”

MixedComment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Tesla is committing automotive suicide”

“classically "boring" but highly-practical, dependable, and efficient vehicles”

RecommendsComment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Porsche Sold More Electrified Cars in Europe in 2025 Than Pure Gas-Powered Cars”

“Your Toyota Corolla is more reliable than any supercar ever made.”

RecommendsComment from 1 Jan 2026 in “The rise of industrial software”

“great highway mileage! ... it's smaller than most everything else on the road, both in terms of visibility and collisions”

MixedComment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Ford kills the All-Electric F-150”

“i'm not impressed with a 2019 corolla engineering at all, specifically various parts of the electrical system”

CriticizesComment from 5 Dec 2025 in “BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive”

Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.