After a year and a half of halted regular imports due to the economic boycott on Israel imposed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Toyota Corolla sedan is returning to the showrooms of importer Union Motors. Surprisingly, the price is NIS 9,000 lower than the Corolla’s last listed price last year, and will stand at NIS 160,000.
As previously reported by Walla, the solution to the inability to import the vehicle from the production line for the European market in Turkey led to the decision to import it from Japan, where the popular family car is manufactured for the Canadian market.
In this version, the Corolla comes with the familiar hybrid unit, 1,800 cc, 138 hp (140 hp under European regulations). Despite switching to 15-inch alloy wheels instead of 16-inch, the official fuel-consumption figures are worse: 21.3 kilometers per liter compared to 22.7 km/l under European standards. Official performance is also slower: 0 to 100 km/h in 10 seconds compared to 9.3 seconds previously.
The equipment is less generous than before. The multimedia screen has been reduced from 10.5 to 8 inches, and there is no longer a rear-seat air-conditioning vent. In addition, since the vehicle’s radio system is adapted to North American frequencies, radio reception in Israel may be partial due to the lack of even frequencies, and drivers will need to listen through station apps. Among the prominent stations affected: Galei Tzahal. There is a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and a smart key.
Safety: The specification includes autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, blind-spot monitoring, automatic high beams, and more. There are also 10 airbags compared to 7 in the past, with the addition of rear passenger side airbags.
The Corolla will now be one of the cheapest sedan models on the market, with only the Nissan Sentra (NIS 155,000) being cheaper. The Skoda Octavia 1.5-liter starts at NIS 165,000, the Mazda 3 2.5-liter gasoline starts at NIS 170,000, as does the Hyundai Elantra Hybrid.
On the other hand, demand for sedan models is plummeting sharply and remains primarily in leasing. In addition, Toyota has already unveiled a concept for the next generation of the Corolla, expected to be revealed next year.