Another year, another Corona variant. He he he… That really never gets old, unlike the virus, which has now really overstayed its welcome. Toyota gave up the nameplate ages ago, well before things literally went viral, but not before they had produced 11 generations of that staple of reasonably-sized, conservatively-styled and competently-engineered cars called the Corona.
In the US, the Corona disappeared from view in the early ‘80s, if I’m not mistaken. And in Europe, the name was retired in favour of its Carina twin roundabout the same time. So let’s take a look at one of the later Coronas, as we take a gander at this survivor 10th gen Select Saloon, which is close to 30 years old by now.
The Corona line started way back in 1957. It was the first Toyota to feature unit body construction and, back in those days, featured a wheezy 33hp 1-litre sidevalve 4-cyl. driving the rear wheels via an unsynchronized three-speed manual. By the third generation (T40), the range was centred around a 1.6 litre OHV and introduced an automatic transmission option, conquering American and global markets and asserting its dominance on the domestic front.
In the late ‘60s, the advent of the Corolla pushed the Corona to a higher niche, while the “Corona Mark II,” soon shortened to just plain Mark II, boxed the Corona in from the top and put a ceiling on its ambitions – 2 litres max and no 6-cyl. engine for you, Corona-san! The nameplate kept its popularity both domestically and in certain foreign markets, such as Australia/NZ and Southeast Asia, through to the ‘80s, even as it mutated to FWD with the T150 in 1983. That was the Corona’s eighth incarnation, and save for the creation of the ExIV strain (which we will get to as soon as possible – a good specimen has been located and documented already), few notable developments would ensue until the Corona name was retired (eradicated?) for good in 2001.
When our feature car was launched, in early 1992, the Corona range had been pared down to its bare essentials, i.e. a saloon, and the name had disappeared from many markets already. The coupé, which had been a staple of the breed since the ‘60s, was now gone for good and the van/wagon, though it still existed in practice, was now named Caldina and branched out on its own. Yes, by generation ten, the Corona was starting to become quite the relic. How apt, therefore, that this particular one was optioned to have those goofy, old-fashioned chromed fender mirrors? They look quite out of place on such a rounded, ‘90s-looking car, but some Japanese folks just couldn’t do without.
It’s just like the doilies. When I spot a four-door domestic car of a certain age, the interior décor is almost guaranteed to include those, both front and back. Oh, and with some horrible seat cushion covers too, please.
And yes, they’re here too. How could they not be? The “Select Saloon” terminology apparently describes a higher trimmed version, though this is not the highest one. Still, this well-weathered vehicle’s interior seems to be ready to finish its third decade of use in remarkable nick.
This Corona certainly lacks the fizz of its brewed namesake and the infectious nature of its viral variant, which is why it has now disappeared from the Toyota range. The Corolla essentially replaced it, along with the Celica and the Carina, the latter two being hewn from the same platform anyway. The Corona held the same place in Toyota’s range as Oldsmobile did on GM’s, or DeSoto in Mopar’s: the all-important but fickle mid-range bread-and-butter money maker. There is no greater peril than being in the middle, it’s like having a target on your back. When it works, it works, but then other brands / nameplates want a piece of your turf. And then it doesn’t work that well any longer, and pretty soon you’re toast.
It took the car version of the Corona 44 years to run its course. The Mexican cerveza, for its part, has been served ice-cold since 1907 and is still going strong. Let’s see how long the third kind will last – hopefully just a fraction of the previous two. Meantime, allow me to cut a piece of lemon and wish you the best salud imaginable. Cheers!
I had a 1993 Toyota COROLLA with a 1.8 liter engine. It was totally reliable, comfortable for a car its size and price and looked very much like the subject Corona of this article. It would be interesting to see the two side-by-side to compare the subtle differences. I recently saw an American market Corolla from that era (1993-1997 IIRC) parked next to a recent model of the same name. The difference is size was amazing.
Prior to the 1993 Corolla I owned a 1979 Corona five-door liftback and a 1975 Corona 2-door sedan. These were the most trouble-free, easy and cheap to maintain cars I ever owned.
Oddly, the Corona offered both the US-Corolla shared 7AFE 1.8L as well as a smaller bore 4S-FE 1.8L (similar to the 2.2L 2S and 2.0L 3S engines we got in the Camry and Rav4 respectively), I wonder what the story is there.
Corona the car evolved into a Corolla with an extra body crease. The hope is that the other non-beer Corona will evolve into the fifth common-cold virus. But we’re not there yet…
My cousin in Siberia has a VERY well worn JDM import one of these, same engine and trim, a 1992. It’s been a real tank being driven functionally as a rally car from a small rural village on dirt roads, out to paved roads that arguably are even worse than the dirt roads, started in -40C temps years on end. Finally got a new engine put in (the steady supply of used engines from japan makes it easier to swap than rebuild), he upped it to a larger (optional for the car) 2.0L. He’s gotten the rockers rewelded as well, a relatively affordable proposition over there. Really nice typical-Toyota early 90s interior, the size of the car perfectly splits the difference between the Corolla and Camry.
This was good fun to read.
“Corona” is a much nicer name to pronounce. “Corolla” sounds like “granola” and I’ve never liked it. But given current events, Toyota picked the right name to retire.
I thought for sure that this was just a Corolla variant with a different name–the body work looks so similar to the 1992-96 North American Corolla. But, there’s a 4 inch difference in wheelbase and 10 inch difference in length according to the Wiki.
Such a nice car in all its plainness it almost stands out. These war sold in Germany as the “Carina E”. While later models of the Carina E were built in the then-new Burnaston plant in the UK, the early sedans, wagons and GTI performance models were all imported from Japan and basically were Coronas with the emblems excanged. One of the most realiable cars ever on Germany’s roads and among the cheapest to run. Considering that, interior room was above average and you could drive it at 100 mph at 35 miles to the gallon.
The one I drove for five years – a wagon with the 1.6 liter 4A-FE that I had snatched up in 2016 for a scant 1.200 euros with a full service history and documented 135k miles – essentiallz gave me head gasket worries. I was willing to lay down 1 grand for an engine rebuilt which my otherwise trusty mechanic messed up. I took it as a sign from above that I should either by a car with better side impact protection or quite contributing to congest Berlin’s crowded streets.
It’s been the right and responsible decision to let go of my ‘hoda as I called her, but whenever I see one I think about what might have been, had I just sourced a used engine and given her the second life. But that’s the thing with cars right, when we see them our memories of all the places we went seem inseparable from them.
Thanks Hannes – yes, this the car we know as the Carina E. For a while a few parked near me and they are not very rare in Denmark where I am. The interesting thing from a design point of view is how very watered down the car looks. By dint of not being particularly anything it gains its (negative) identity as a Carina E. The grille is too finely detailed; the rest is the highest level of bland. I would be very interested to hear the aesthetic argument advanced for this car. Di the designer merely feed in ten styling tricks and dilute them to near subliminal? Or is this their idea of strking good looks?
And the Carina E was reskinned/restyled to create the first Avensis.
“One of the most realiable cars ever on Germany’s roads”:
Those fender mounted mirrors are quite the appendages. They look like antennae on an insect.
Sure looks like a twin to the 93 Corolla LE I had, 1.8L (the Big Block!) and a stick. Absolute gem of a car, a mini Lexus if there ever was one. It is well known that the generations that followed were less well built and using inferior materials.
I’d love one today, make it a wagon.
The coupé, which had been a staple of the breed since the ‘60s, was now gone for good and the van/wagon, though it still existed in practice, was now named Caldina and branched out on its own.
Toyota must have had an entire department that just coined model names starting with “C”.
I had no idea that Toyota continued to make Coronas. I assumed that it had been replaced by the Camry. In the mid 60s my best friend’s father bought a T40 Corona. It was the first time anyone I knew bought a Japanese car. Previously he had a series of Impalas, but his wife had a Morris Minor which was a little unusual. A couple of years later at university 2 of my friends bought Corollas, and the flood started.
The Corona and Carina are still very common sights on the roads here in Sri Lanka. Every generation from the last RWD A60/T140 all the way to the final T210 can regularly be seen going about their business. They were the default choice for folk upgrading from a Corolla and wanting more space and comfort without much of an economy penalty. The most common was the smallest available engine, but ironically the bigger options actually did better on fuel! They still have crazy resale value, a 210 Carina easily sells for $15,000. An interesting variant of the 210 was the sporty GT (only offered on the Carina), which put the 160BHP 4AGE 20 Valve engine in the unassuming Carina body. It makes for a fun sleeper.
T87, I have to disagree that the Corolla replaced these. The true replacements for the Corona/Carina were the Allion/Premio twins, basically the same concept, updated a bit.
I’d say the Corolla originally displaced (as opposed to replaced) the Corona, but now it has fully replaced it. The Allion/Premio may be occupying the final Corona’s exact segment, but the Corolla is Toyota’s main lower-end saloon line now and has been for a long while. That was the Corona’s job, historically.
That TOKYO TOYOPET decal on the rear bumper is kind of interesting. A very old dealership?
Toyopet is one of Toyota’s several retail channels. I know it sounds odd, but there are several different brand families of Toyota products in Japan.
Here’s a picture of Tokyo Toyopet:
Here’s a good current article on the subject. There have been five different sales channels; Netz, Toyopet, Corolla, Toyota Store and Lexus, but they’re now in the process of being consolidated, down to just Toyota and Lexus, like the rest of the world.
https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/toyota-consolidates-all-dealerships-into-one/
Two years ago when I was last in Tokyo I was walking through a neighborhood and saw a Toyopet sign hanging on a storefront with a large rollup door. On a whim I walked in and found myself inside a two-room dealership. One decent sized room had a car in it, a normal Toyota sedan, I don’t even recall the model, nothing special. But one of the two employees visibly there at the time came over and actually spoke a little english (a rarity). Somehow we started talking about the Toyota Century (the current one had been released about a year earlier) and he broke out a hardbound brochure with all of the details and let me look through it, I don’t even recall the impetus behind it except that I remember discussing with him that it too was now a Hybrid like most of their other models as well as discussing and looking at pictures of the various fabric upholstery options…
Anyway, yeah the Toyopet stores were still a thing at last two years ago. I saw a few more tiny ones like that one during my week, and while they may have been sort of a leftover of the past, they were interesting to see as kind of a way of seeing how they were sort of ultra-local dealerships with virtually no inventory on site, but there to provide a sales channel/outlet. Nowhere in Tokyo did I see a large Toyota dealership such as we might see here (of course they exist, just not right in the city, like the one Paul pictured). Yet pretty much every other car on the road was a Toyota.
PLenty of later model Toyotas that wash up here wear Toyopet dealer stickers
Iowned a 93 Corona but the NZ assembled GX trim with 2.0 engine and 4 speed auto mine had the Amon suspension package tuned for NZ road conditions 4 wheel disc brakes stiffer spring/shox wider rims and galvanised body shell, good car too I bought it from my father’s estate with 70 +kms drove it to 140kms or so and sold it, replacing proved difficult.
For those not in New Zealand – there ARE some folk who aren’t, y’know, Bryce – Chris Amon was a highly successful ’60’s and ’70’s international NZ race driver, who later put together decent suspension packs on some Toyotas for NZ.
The other big NZ racers were Denny Hulme (world F1 champ), and Bruce McLaren, who founded the eponymous company that still builds high exotic cars.
Say, you do know that clause 6 of the Australian Constitution names NZ as a State of Australia, don’t you? Option’s still there for you lot to join, which is why I’m helping you out here. (Personally, I’d advise against it, but you never know).
If I had to have a Corona, I’d take it in the fermented form.
Every one of the RWD ones – they never sold here after early ’87 when the Camry came – was a miserably dreary device, and so boring that I don’t even have an end to this sentence.
Yes, yes, I know they couldn’t be killed (which only adds to their vices in my mind).
I am disturbed to see the nameplate took another many years later to finally fall off entirely. I feel a dread sense of universal dullness suffocating all.
If I were forced to take my Corona as a thing to drive, I’d be driven straight to the liquid version anyway.
mu mu mu my Corona
Both 10th and 11th generations were available in Brazil, the latest was soon renamed as Toyota Avensis and its design was a strange attempt by Toyota to make its own BMW 3, in black it could be easily mistaken for a 3 series. I think the more Corolla grew up in size and sophistication from the 9th gen onwards the Corona lost its reazon to exist, it became a Corolla sized and Camry priced option.
What are those strange add-ons at the corners of the rear screen ?
I think those are TV antennas. Here’s another one (of a pair) I photographed in greater detail on a X90 Cresta of a very similar vintage. Not sure how these worked or where the TV screen would have been originally. Maybe handheld?
Yes, TV aerials; might also double as satnav receivers too. Looks like your feature car has a TV in it – above the cassette (!!) player. The screen slides out and then flips up in front of the air vents (and the hazard light switch…)
This generation was highly popular in New Zealand and was available in sedan and wagon form (the wagon being a rebadged Caldina). I still remember the Frank Sinatra-esque song used in the TV ads – “Coronaaa, Coronaaaa, Corona!”.
My late great Uncle bought a 2.0 GLXi sedan in 1992, and in 1994 my boss bought a 2.0 GX sedan, which I often drove around town. They were nice cars at the time, high quality materials, very well built and everything felt really solid. Big boot too. My boss’s was 5-speed manual, drove really nicely, but I remember the clutch being surprisingly heavy and sudden for a new car. That big boot made for tricky reversing too.
Still plenty of these around too – probably a dozen or so in my small rural town. A lad in the local hardware store has a liftback T190; I asked him if he’d like a nice chrome ‘Virus” badge to append to the “Corona” on the tailgate, he declined as his mates already thought of that one…
Volkswagen likes to call its wagon models “Variant” Wonder if that will change going forward …