1984 Toyota Corolla LE | Retro Review
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2021
- The '84 Toyota Corolla may have been considered basic transportation when new, but I think we can all agree it was a game changer in the subcompact segment.
Show 324 | Originally recorded 5.1.1984
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This generation of Corolla is my favorite. Simple design, reliable transportation with some get up and go.
My fav is the Brad Pitt gen
If this is the 4th gen, I like the 3rd and 5th gen the most. 3rd gen was the last rwd and the 5th was a refined version of the 1st fwd version.
Other than the get up and go part, I agree.
admit it, you love teh Chevy Nova version of it
You obviously didn’t have it with the 4ac…
I had an 86 when I was in college from 1994 to 1997 best car ever. It had 240000 miles still going strong. I was lucky enough to find another one also a 86 from an older couple that was low mileage. I drove the second one from 1997 to 2002. This car alowed me to focus on getting the studen loans paid off early. True story. I drive currently a 2018 corolla.
A Corolla owner in Toronto got 1 million km with no problems. The dealer kept it for show, when he bought a new one bout 2 years ago.
👌
My mom had one of these from 1985 until 2000. She said all she did was oil changes 1 clutch and tires. This car went around the entire US and Germany. Literally the most reliable car she’s owned.
She had it shipped? Wow
@@zzoinks yup military family
Still a cute little car today!! I miss simple inexpensive cars where you had a great view of the road and great gas mileage!!
Look RCR it's a brown Corolla. Your prayers have been answered.
b r o w n
B R O W N N N!
*_BROWN BROWN BROWN BROWN EZRA POUND!!_*
50 shades of B R O W N.
It's so BROWN! BROWN TOWN!
I had a brand new white 87 Corolla FX16 GTS, the 2 door hatch 4AGE(MR2) powered version.
my sister had the same '84 model new when she started college as a freshman. Simple and fun to drive are what I remember. No A/C, rollup windows, and FM stereo. I remember first turning on the radio and Billy Idol's Eyes without a Face came on the radio. Such strong and lasting memories as a teenager.
1:27 Motor Week’s ubiquitous lead-filled suitcases.
My uncle still has the very same 1984 one . Still running beautifully
2:05 - obligatory John Davis gauges complaint.
To be fair, those gauges are very spartan although totally in keeping with an '80s econobox. Not having a tachometer on a manual shift car is pretty sad but was quite common back then.
It's clear that Toyota doesn't care about an Oil Gauge! The most important of all gauges.
@@Hotlog69 Bull crap! The voltmeter is the most important. Lol.
@@jeffe4297 You can run off little to no volts. The battery will keep up for a little while. You lose oil pressure? Game over.
And the obligatory praise about the lift over height. For a 1984 car he was impressed!
I had one of those! I bought an 84 used in 87, and I drove it until 1995. It was RUST that totally ate the car up. Living in the North-East, salt on the roads ate up the car very quickly. When you woke up in the morning you could see new rust spots that did not exist the night before!
I just bought a 2010 Corolla with extremely low miles and I absolutely love her.
That's 2010, we're talking about 84, cars from 80s don't die unlike the ones from 2010s not made like they use too!!
Best cars ever made toyota Corolla and camry
3:15 medium link throws
- shifts the lever 1ft
“….almost feels fast…”
0-60 in 14.5 seconds. My how far we’ve come!
And it was totally fine.
How often You accelerate 0-60 in the city?
Is this a track car?
Ironically the current electric economy cars in Europe are about this fast or slower.
@@jareknowak8712 Oddly enough, not everyone lives in the city. We have these things called highways where I live. Where everyone is going 80 at a minimum.
@@stevend3753
In Europe, where i live, we also have highways, some of them with no speed limit, all at least 80mph, but often higher 😛
I bet this car is capable of 100mph+
Got a tan 1984 and blue 1985 corolla dx with the 1.8l 1c diesel engine theyre rare here in u.s. gets great mpg and sounds like an old diesel
It must be fantastically slow.
@@FoDaddy its also fantastically light!
@@jareknowak8712 84 diesel sedan weighs 2081lbs, 85 diesel sedan is 2110lbs, le weighs more, diesel has cool sound and kinda fun, factory has 58hp
It also comes stock with a turbo capable of handling 500hp and 20psi, with some bolt-ons of course. Don’t be ridiculous.
@@FoDaddy it's not slow, just not in a hurry.
I was a late convert to Toyota. Got burnt by GM once too many times, bought my daughter a 2018 Corolla, plain and underpowered but absolutely no problems, I'm a believer.
u didnt buy the nova? 😉
My first car back in 1999 was an '85 Corolla LE. Loved that car! I am a big fan of that generation's styling.
Probably still running, if it were maintained correctly.
Even BMWs and MBs were reliable back then. MB made the most reliable cars in the world.
Typical comment under every Toyota/Lex video :)
I prefer Ford
Lol it rusted away by the mid 90’s
Most cars will last 200k if maintained properly. Many people do not maintain their cars well, especially Americans where it is seen as an appliance.
47 MPG is insane, even for 1984.
Sad how the non hybrid Corollas do not get as good gas mileage though the Civics still does. Edmunds managed to get 49 MPG on a 1.5T turbo Civic and even my NA 2L Civic got 41 MPG average from 30% city and 70% highway driving.
@@asdfghjqwertyu1858 I'm averaging 36mpg in my civic Si and my wife's corolla is a little over 34mpg. However I have to use premium and no doubt the non turbo corolla engine will probably last longer.
If you took a modern car and stripped off 1000lbs in safety and technology it would probably do the same.
Especially for back then as everything was much more crude.
@@Tool0GT92 What I want is a car designed with todays tech for aerodynamics and crash structure and safety but make it as light as possible and remove almost all the features except for the ones that were available back then. Would be interesting how modern technology competes without the massive baggage.
Never seen anyone have that much difficulty getting into a back seat
He's a,big man. Later years offered much more badly room
Watched much Doug DeMuro?
its exaggerated
I also remember the Chevrolet Nova from 1985 through 1988 was made on the same line as the Toyota Corolla in Fremont, California. If the stereo in the Nova was original, it was made by Delco which used to by GM's official stereo company.
NUMMI- New United Motors Manufacturing Company. Closed in 2010. Now Tesla owns the factory.
Also the Geo & Chev Prizm until about 2002...both 100% Yota
I had an '87 Nova...identical to the Corolla and made in the same factory in Freemont, CA (now Tesla's factory). I always got 43mpg on the open road. I loved that car, wish I had kept it all these years.
@Greg Crabb
It's really true, these older models while with some shortcomings were made really well, and were simple, reliable, and DURABLE too, for very little cost, as long as you maintained these with reasonable care they would last FOREVER. Todays cars might have more styling or trinkets but aren't nearly as good as these older models were, especially for the cost.
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After I totalled my 1991 300zx my sister gave me her 1984 corolla. It was a godsent, so reliable , efficient ,and comfortable. Only knock was it didn't came with a standard driverside mirror .
I love the drunk uncle testing in all of these videos, they are so rough on the car. The going around in circles test is where this car shines!
Great show loved it as a kid and still watching!
A used Corolla was my dream car back in the 80 being a dirt poor student
I can't see this without rust. Even with 500 miles on it my brain refuses to see it correctly.
Especially in the NE ,, my late granny had one it had a hole in the floor underneath at 30,000 miles of ownership had to scap it
@@avonnorris mine rusted out at 95k the hole got so 14” 🤣 I had snow flying in when I hit snow plow banks on turns. Loved that car! I traded it in with a 180k on a 2000 Subaru 2.5rs !
I know right?? I had to have been 10 years old in 1991 and Granny called my Dad and said it's a hole about the size of a Baseball on the front passenger floor, and she only found out about it going to the car wash under the floor mat.. It must have been leaking for a while. Dad told her not to drive it anymore. She went out after and got a 1992 Ford Taurus LX
@@avonnorris Would've been 7 years old if it was a 1984 but I can totally see that happening.
99k Miles on mine. Small rust spot on hood that someone painted over, other than that. No rust
My car in college and beyond for about 8 years. Rode Toyota since then, and now I drive a Lexus and a Tacoma.
The first front-wheel-drive Corolla. I can't help but feel that this is EXACTLY what a sedan version of our old Dodge Colt Vista would have looked like!!!!
My sister (husband and 2 kids) had one for 20 yrs….it was the ultimate econo box. 😁
My 91 Accord LX is still ticking at 61k after 30 years. She's mint.
This was my 1st car, a 1980 2 door coupe, that looked similar. Zero problems!
my mom had the hatcback verison. i use to hate it. but now i wish we still had it around.
Ooooooh those are nice!
Growing up my best friends mom had one too. Even back in the 80s I thought this car felt light and flimsy. Especially compared to his dads big Mercedes s-class. Now thinking back, it probably wasn’t a very safe car in a sea of big American cars, especially not at 2.2k lbs.
@@Wasabi9111 Me gramps has huge Lincoln Town car= 2010. It's amazing carpet ride
Safe too. Weight= 5.000!POUNDS. MILAGE= 600.000!! MILES. IT STILL PURRS LIKE A KITTEN🐯🐯🐯🔱🔱🔱🏆🏆🏆
The Corolla is a nice little car that will last forever. For those of saying the car will rust out, the car is not receiving good care. Those early day toyota has very little rust resist (zinc) added to the steel. Cost is a thing and strength is another. Rust inhibitors is a must for the chassis and any paint chip that thru the metal needs to be repaired immediately. I don't see how a car can rust away when treated nice...
Ahhh toyota has been my car company I love. I had a 2015 and 2018 corolla le. I now own a special edition corolla hatchback. I love the corolla line
Simple, basic, reliable, affordable transportation...kinda wish cars like this still existed
yaris
Mitsubishi Mirage
they do......2012-2014 toyota yaris hatch.....made in japan ...rare these days they are still on the market as used cars.2015 up made in france.
mirage versa yaris
@@trillmixin6999 Those modern day cars are bloated, over equipped, and EXPENSIVE with sub par MPGs on top it all. Not to mention they will never be as reliable and durable as these 80s Corollas.
I got my wife a 2020 Corolla XSE hatch with a 6 speed because of its legendary reliability. I dont have to worry about her breaking down in the next ten years. Its crazy how many 90s corollas are still on the road.
Awesome to hear she can drive with a manual transmission. Not many people can do that today in North America.
That’s exactly the kinda spec I’d get mine in too had I the means too lol. Such reliable cars, and I like how they introduced a practical hatchback to the lineup after a while with the newer ones
My wife would kill me if I bought her a tiny Corolla. Lol. She enjoys her 2018 Toyota Sequoia with the same legendary reliability, but with a bit more comfort and space. Cheers.
@@haroldbeauchamp3770 And a lot more fuel burned lmao.
@@grantmills4184 to be fair the hatch is surprisingly small, my civic feels like a full size car compared the to corolla.
*This is what an honest small car looks like, and as a Toyota these things lasted literally forever.
Not just reliable, but just as importantly DURABLE!*
On top of that this car is very handsome with a nice cockpit too!
A friend of my mom's had one of these. First time i ever drove annual on my own, I was 14 on a quiet back road and it was so forgiving I only stalled once . If that doesn't tell you what a good transmission is i don't know what does. I'd had no lessons but it was the first time I got up to 60kmh . Thank you Toyota and thanks to you to also Sue.
1:49 John: To fold the seat backs fully flat, you have to remove the bottom seat cushion altogether! LOL
I saw one a few weeks ago at my local Walmart. Driven by an elderly couple who had taken excellent care of it. Even had the hood ornament.
До сих пор на дорогах мира. Супер!!!!! Был такой 3А, механика, правый руль, суперсалон. Очень скучаю по ней
Wow i never noticed these back in the days but i do like the look
I have a 1987 Chevy Nova. Which is this car essentially. Mine has the 3 speed auto transmission. I got it from the original owners Son. It has 338,000 miles on it. I have had to replace the ac compressor, Ac/heater fan, oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, some vacuum hoses. I set the valves when I did the valve cover gasket. It runs really well and now it doesn't leak or burn oil. It starts easy. Idles well. The Ac blows cold. It will happily cruise 65-70mph and gets 27mpg on average. My old lady drives it. The only complaint I have is if you get it up to operating temp and turn it off. Wait 15 min. It has some fuel boil over and floods the carb. No big deal because you can floor it and it always starts. I was thinking a spacer on the curb might help. Otherwise it is built like a tank. Zero rust. You would belive the interior condition.
I owned one for 4 years 1.6 gl with a 4A motor very reliable
Had an 88 Chevy nova basically a corolla clone made in California. Had it for 6 months but just wasn’t cool enough for my 17 year old self. Sold it to buy a money pit crx. Kept seeing the dude I sold it to every few years. He still had it 10 years later and said all it ever needed an oil pan gasket. Wish I would have kept it. Bet it would still be running
This was the first gen manufactured at NUMMI I am surprised he didn't mention it in the film. I believe the early ones were imported though. I remember my grandfather being up in arms about the Japanese building their cars here 🙄
Yeah.
Japan making cars, BAD
Cars made in the USA with a Japanese name on them EVEN WORSE
Screw that, the best cars in my family came from the Marysville Ohio assembly line.
My first car was a Corolla. Over the decades ive owned a few BMWs n Mercs but nowadays i always say the Corolla is the best car ive ever owned. Unbelievably dependable comparatively.
The Last time I saw one of these old Corollas was two years ago, it was a grey coloured and it was in great shape, the owner took really good care of it.
Wow! Corolla has been a best seller since day one! I remember this model when I was a kid. They had an awd wagon!
My dad had one in sky blue when I was a kid…..I remember the day he took pictures of it hitting 500,000 miles on a trip from Virginia to South Dakota….ah the good ole days….thing ran strong….was curious it’s numbers and now I see that 0-60 time of 14.5 seconds lol….it just felt strong and sounded fast
Omg I love this car. Might be the first car I ever been in in the US back in 1992
still see these once in a blue moon, never without absurd amounts of rust damage though
In 1985, Toyota introduced the LE Limited which came with color keyed bumpers, power windows and locks and cruise control and of course a tachometer standard.
1st car with stick shift I owned. Gas was $1.00 per gallon best MPG I got was 30mpg Best model car ever made!!! Made 180,000 miles before rust outs and extreme cold weather killed it! Also I never changed anything on it except brakes, plugs & oil. I wish i changed the radiator fluid and transmission at least once 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
My dad had one of these in blue it was amazing but the 1997 civic he had after that was way better. But 84 Toyota last a long time good car for the 80’s
It’s so strange how a car gradually disappears from the road and you don’t realize until one day you’re watching a retro review from nearly forty years ago. I wonder which cars we see everyday that will be future novelties.
My neighbors had one of these in a beautiful deep blue color. The neighbors next to them had an early 80s white 4 door Tercel while their daughter at a faded yellow Starlet.
I learned to drive in one of those. Very easy to drive and park. Comfortable and with decent fuel economy. And they were almost indestructible - plenty still around last time I was in South Africa in 2017 (but none where I currently live).
Still see lots of these on the road on the west coast
I have to confess, I keep looking at other cars in the background and imagine where are those people now? Where were they going? How many lives and stories, 40 + years ago.....
i have1986...GL...in its own engine nd color ..silver ..185k miles driven only ...using since 1999....top class drive nd journey....
My parents bought an 84 lift back. Toyota still didn’t have rustproofing down but other than that it was bulletproof until some lady rear ended us going 55 on the way home from Little League. After checking on me and my friend my father went to check on her and the first thing she said was “are my groceries going to be ok?”.
@mikeb-NH haha, that’s a funny story. They started sealing the Corolla better in 1993 based on my Canadian experience
In Kenya I still drive one at 37 yrs no regrets. The suspension deals with rough terrain nicely
Mines a burgundy 1998 LE. 107k miles.
I enjoy it over my ‘14 Elantra Limited
My brother still has it in bronze as a daily driver and only car. It outlasted 2 wives.
Current wife and kids have Korean and German cars spending time at the shop and recalls.
is he looking to sell
Speeking of classic Toyota's, I would love to see a Retro Review on the 1st generation Toyota Camry(1983.5 to 1986). I would love to see the origins of such a legendary nameplate.
my dad's first Toyota was the lift back 5 door. Been a Toyota fan family ever since....they were the most boring and seemingly uncool cars (the Chevy badged novas had more restricted carbs as well) but these things went forever! Epically reliable.
oh what a feeling!
Toyota! 🎼
I love what you do for me....
I had one of these.LOVED it
What a time to be alive
My first car at 17, bone stock Corolla LE, 98k miles, still have it (less than 100k miles now, after more than 2 years of ownership) and runs like new
I miss the days when it was just normal to send over a manual car to test. When it comes to cars, square is hip.
I remember when the Grand Cherokee was launched in about 1993 I was very surprised MW tested a manual!
Must have been the 4.0L I6 version. Not very many manuals.
Family had a 85 Nova, always was Chevrolet's most dependable car because it was a Toyota
New Corolla - probably the best value/price car in Europe up to this day.
It also keeps value like no other car.
I have no idea why.
Toyota has had tons of quality and rust problems.. and they are filling rental lots and taxi fleets like cheap American cars did in the 90s.
One day something will say the emperor wears no clothes.
@@Bartonovich52
Last 3 or 4 decades show that Corolla was always the right choice.
Ask owners why.
I just wish they had an alternate auto trans to the cvt. A friend of mine bought a new one with a 6 speed, very nice.
My friend and I both got '86 Corollas for our fiancees, now wives--his was a copper color and mine was blue.
Had them for 3 and 4 years, respectively. Both got totaled in accidents. Decent little vehicles.
Had one, this same color and year. Was one of the best cars if not the best that I ever had.
My first car was an 85 Chevy Nova CL. Loved that car.
Best selling car of all time.
No.
@@Iamrightyouarewrong Well...with rebuttals like that, there's no need to further discuss. The issue is settled.
My mom had this generation Corrola when I was a kid and then got a 1990 Camry when our family grew.
Fun-fact: This engine (family) powered the Corolla through '97!
I remember a coworker had one of these .
As a joke me and the other guys moved his rear end across the parking lines
while we were on break 😂
Can you imagine a car today looking at a 14+ second 0-60 time? I'm not sure when they increased the displacement on these cars, but the 1.8 sure seemed to have a good increase in power. Just amazing.
The luggage is always the heaviest-possible luggage, judging by the dramatic portrayal of loading/unloading trunks in Motorweek videos. Same for gear changes. The manufacturers must have told Motorweek they need to JAM the vehicles in and out of gears, no simple movements will work.
For those interested $9,547 in 1984 would be worth $24,735 today. Considering how much more powerful, comfortable, and safe modern cars are for roughly the same amount, nobody would be willing to pay that much for that car now.
This^. You get comfort and safety in modern cars that are priceless. Also, I know it's retro but dang 80s box styling look pretty bad. Almost like the designers let their kids do their work.
And a Sedan DeVille was roughly double the price for 4 times the car. You really had to want the up-level Corolla to justify the price. Of course there's a slight difference of longevity and maintenance cost. ;)
@@dragon9786
I'll take the boxed arrow shape over modern blobmobiles any day. Even the 90's jellybean cars look better than the modern minivans masquerading as utility vehicles.
Great video! Thanks!
Nearly bought one of these a few years ago. Now I wish I could have!
I had no idea these came with a Sunroof Option!🥰
Alot of the cars that bear the Toyota Nameplate are made in Georgetown, Kentucky, the pick-up trucks and Sports Utility Vehicles are being made in Princeton, Indiana.
A few of those cars 🚗 are still on the roads !!
Mine is💪
“Harsh Corning is not this car's strong suit” Runs the slalom course like a modern day champ 🧐😏😝🤣
100% truth. Can perform a U-turn at 50mph with no issue. I’ve done it.
Get one while you can. Prices of clean ones are climbing, especially FX-16. 👀
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Toyota this old
@@Riptor1998 Most of them rot away about ten years after they're purchased. Just like honda, their bodies rot away before their engines give up. Besides, these aren't really collectable cars.
And most remaining examples are 90% iron oxide. They were for the most part beaten and thrown away. I enjoy the chance to see anything from the 80s still on the road. Supply and demand though both on the small side will keep those prices going up.
I live in Florida, and some 1980s Japanese cars are still on the road if the had EFI. When those weird smog carbs failed, or the devices attached to them failed, it was often the end. Good thing the FX-16 had EFI in the 4AGE engine.
@@Riptor1998 I daily drive an 1986 Toyota Corolla 5door Liftback with only 99k miles. You can barely see it in the photo I took today. (Profile Picture)
My Dad wouldn't be caught dead in that brown/orange color. As a kid, I liked the color. He got his in the dark blue. It lasted to 234,000 miles with the 3 speed automatic. Loved that car. Same engine as in the AE86.
He sold it for a 96 Corolla
This was my first car I had in high school and I drove that car all over the eastern half of the U.S. from florida to minnesota and from florida to pennsylvania and all over florida I still wish I had it. It was probably the best car I owned back then I had it from 90 or 91 to about 94 and I had about 140,000 miles on it and it was the same color as in the video at 0:30
Being an east coast car, did it develop rust in all the usual places these car of the 80's did? I was amazed the fist time I visited my brother in 91' who was going to college on the west coast, how good the 80' cars of that time looked. No rust whatsoever, some still had decent paint job, not sun faded. In a few years I'm sure they were sun faded, but still rust free for the most part.
@@marcusdamberger um not really it had one spot on the roof the size of a quarter and one by the corner of the hood but that's it otherwise it held up and it was one hell of a tough car I hit a deer going almost 55mph I slammed on my brakes but all i did was slide right into the deer and all it did was dented the corner of the hood slightly and broke the turn signal lens and I didn't t bone the deer i hit the back legs but it got up and ran off. I also have to add I drove it in 2 winters here in minnesota and it held up pretty good
One thing I noticed with the older reviews, is how they always talk about whether it's easy to do basic maintenance. Almost like back then it was just how things were, and how these days we don't think about whether the spark plugs and other things are easy to reach.
As an owner of a '14 Corolla S, they've come a LONG way
@AdamG1983
Yes, more stuff to break, and the new ones aren't nearly are durable or reliable, and the cost is
much higher. I'd gladly buy a 1984 Corolla new if they sold them today.
Oldest sister had like a 72 or 73 corrola hunter green. Basic but great mileage and never broke down. Not fast but could cruise at 70 all day, took first half of day to get to 70 but oh well lol. Oh and cheap enough for regular minimum wage teens could afford it
I’m watching this in an “86 DX!
@That Dude
I wish I had your Time Machine! The 80s were a great time to be living in the USA too.
I’m reading you’re comment while I stare at my 86’ DX sitting on the street.(through my bedroom window.
My aunt had one of these for YEARS. It was burgundy with rust around the wheel wells, and tape around the windshield because it would leak in steady rain. It was good to her though, she owned it though the 90s into the 00s lol.
I still see these around town, some in very nice shape.
I've never seen one of these.