CC Outtake: 1998 Toyota Corolla (E110) 1.6 Linea Terra – Down To Earth

1998 Corolla hatchback 1.6 - 1

Recently, my neighbor’s son got himself his first, own car. Bought directly from a guy he knows. A practical and cheap runabout, now with 281,000 km (175,625 miles) on the clock. And with decent power and a five-speed manual transmission.

1998 Corolla hatchback 1.6 - 2

The Corolla E110 hatchback was only available as a three-door. If you wanted five doors, you had to opt for the liftback or wagon. A sedan was also offered, so in the end there was a gasoline or diesel powered, frog-eyed (pre-1999 facelift) Corolla E110 for everyone in Europe.

Corolla E110 interior

The interior of the Linea Terra trim level. Other options back then were the Linea Sol and Linea Luna. If you needed an utterly basic Corolla for just driving the shortest route from A to B, there was the special order Linea Recta. A highly sought after classic, these days.

Toyota E110 1,587 cc

The Corolla is powered by Toyota’s 4A-FE engine (not this one). An inline-four, DOHC 16v gasoline engine with a displacement of 1,587 cc, rated at a maximum power output of 81 kW~110 DIN-hp. Nothing to worry about, given the car’s curb weight of 1,050 kg (2,315 lbs). And according to the guy who owns it, the car is perfectly capable of pulling two frikandellen off the plate. Unlike the Toyota Auris Touring Sports 1.8 Hybrid he was familiar with, which could barely pull one.

E110 hatchbacks with a twist were the G6 and later G6R. Besides some bonus interior and exterior detailing, these had a close-ratio six-speed transmission and disc brakes all around. No extra horses in the stable though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asiXc4UyZJ0

Sporty intermezzo: the Toyota Corolla WRC (FIA World Rally Championship) was based on the E110 hatchback. Enjoy the hairpin drifts and some jumps.

1998 Corolla hatchback 1.6 - 3

The new exhaust has doubled the car’s value, so claims the owner. The trailer hitch came with the package. According to the Corolla’s registration, its towing capacity is 1,200 kg (2,645 lbs). If this isn’t a sublime, studying young guy’s first set of wheels, then I don’t know what is.