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FANGING. I haven't heard that word in forever. It flew me back to my misspent youth and the Springwood Hungry Jacks drags on a Friday night. Aaaah good times.

Niggles, or things I wish were different; Toyota Australia's decision to homologate cars with hybrid and CVT drivetrains over manual transmissions sucks. I would've liked to buy a manual SX or ZR, but it was put to me that I'm in the 1% who do. Oh well, at least the cheapest Corolla is the fastest amiright? But buying the cheapest model (though speccing it up with Satnav/privacy) means no smart key, and there is no illumination on the key hole at night. Meaning I'll fumble with that until I get used to it. And I should've been able to specify the 18" wheels. And the boot is a little small. But that's it!

It is very.. blue. It feels fabulous to drive. Obviously I'm coming off a low base with the KE55 and the Echo, though I've driven enough newer cars to know that an Echo feels better to drive than say, a Ford Ranger. Nontheless corners and bumps that I know would unsettle both those cars are soaked up in silence. Fanging it around corners and roundabouts feels planted and secure at speeds that would have the Echo's tyres howling. The engine is a ripper. It's torquey right from down low - not turbo torquey - but is punchy and really happy to be revved out, which would please any 4AGE/2TG aficionados. A product of the seemingly incompatible long stroke matched with the outrageous 13:1 compression ratio and electronically variable valve timing sees it swing enthusiastically toward the 6800rpm limit with a sporty sounding growl toward the top end iMT 6 speed is a delight. It's light and snickety - you can change with your fingertips while resting your elbow on the centre console. I giggled out loud the first time I downshifted from 4th to 2nd and the revs automatically blipped to ~5000rpm, with an immediacy to the acceleration as I floored it and an accompanying roar . It will be fun on twisty bits. The tech is as excellent as it is extensive. I took a friend for a drive who had just bought a late model 2nd hand C-class Merc and she remarked how it had a lot of the features her car has, and probably others it doesn't. The radar cruise control works even while you change gears and (I believe) can be set to match the speed sign recognition, which already paid for itself by telling me off while I trundled through a patrolled school zone yesterday. The attract sequence on the dash when you fire it up, with swinging needles and colourful lights makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Same with the folding mirrors. Live traffic updates, Digital radio. Heck you can even check out the BOM rain radar on the screen. At night the front and rear LED lights are gorgeous. IMO it's a great time to buy a new car now, with all the tech that's trickled down to even $15k base model cars. I'm delighted with this one.