Why Give Up Reliability to Have Fun

Everyone knows that the Toyota Corolla is a performance car, right? OK, not funny. While the Corolla is legendary for

Toyota's Corolla isn't normally associated with performance cars, but the new GT-S version is ready to change that image. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

quality and reliability, only a two-door version of distant memory could have been called sport-oriented. Ironically the 1984 through 1987 rear-drive Corolla GT-S, featuring what was then an impressively potent 112 horsepower twin-cam 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine, would be left in the dust by even today's base 2004 Corolla. The GT-S was updated in 1988 to front-drive and carried on until '91 when it became extinct. Now the earlier rear-drive model is popular for drifting, the newest form of motorsport.

I worked for Toyota back in 1987 and had a Corolla GT-S for a company car,

This is the car that will put Toyota head to head with the likes of Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi in the import tuner market. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

but as fun as it was it would be no match if put up against the new Corolla XRS. Yeah, this is the car that will redefine the Corolla nameplate in import-tuner circles as a serious threat to hopped up Hondas, Nissans and Mitsubishis, etal. What makes it so good? Just about everything that could get in the way of going fast in complete control has been either modified or completely tossed out to make way for an upgraded, high-performance part. The XRS boasts a recalibrated performance suspension, 16-inch alloy wheels, and 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS.