But people buy Corollas for fuel economy and reliability, right?
There's this myth out there that there are huge differences in fuel economy between cars of the same general size. Really, provided you aren't comparing hybrids, diesels or special extra-cost "high efficiency" models to regular gasoline cars, there just aren't. Rarely, you'll find one car with spectacularly bad fuel economy but, for the most part, they're about the same.
So the Corolla, the Hyundai Elantra, the Honda Civic and the Mazda3 all get about the same fuel mileage except that the Mazda's is 1 mile per gallon better, according the EPA. Oh, and by the way, the Mazda's also a better car to drive (lots better) and has more and better available features and options.
According to Consumer Reports, the Corolla is fairly dependable. Still, the Hyundai, Honda and Mazda are just as dependable.
Since we're getting nitty-gritty here, the new Corolla does have more rear-seat legroom than those other cars. Maybe that's the reason people buy so darned many of them. But I have to say, I'm kind of baffled by the Corolla's continued overwhelming success. It's fine but, really, it's no longer the king of the hill.
