Looking at the outside, you’d be forgiven for dismissing the XRS as a body-kitted run-of-the-mill plain vanilla Corolla. But like a Transformer, there’s more than meets the eye. As mentioned, the top level Celica motor is included in the XRS. In this application, power output is 170hp, and the engine has been slightly retuned for a
Sit in the XRS and all the usual Toyota virtues are there – comfortable seats, impeccable ergonomics, and a faultless feel to the controls. This is as it should be; this generation of Corolla was the first to be built to Lexus tolerances. Light up the engine and it sounds ‘busier’ than stock, which it should. Clutch take-up is smooth and predictable. The transmission, though, is slightly vague – not a good trait for a closely spaced box with 6 forward speeds to choose from.
Test the limits of the tach and you’ll find a couple of distinctive zones that the engine operates in. Somewhere around 4000 RPM, the engine starts building more urgency. But once you hit 6000 RPM, the variable valve timing is in full swing and the trip to 8000 RPM is quite short indeed. The one fault in the powertrain is, unfortunately, in the bottom three gears. As in the Celica, the gear ratios are spaced just far enough apart so that even a redline shift into the next gear takes the engine below 6000 RPM. Consequently, there is a lag before the engine gets into its happy zone again, and this slows down maximum acceleration. It also kills part of the enthusiast feel of this machine. It’s quite an odd oversight, especially given that Honda and Acura, who also sell rev-forever four bangers, don’t share this problem.

They’ll run to redline and keep you in the meaty part of the powerband through all gears. Still, the engine is fun to wind all the way through, and you’ll find yourself in disbelief that you’re piloting a Corolla.
Pitch the chassis into some curves, and it doesn’t respond like its mainstream cousins. Turn in is sharper and more defined, and road feel in improved thanks to the suspension enhancements and stiffened front end. While it won’t rival a 3-series for feel, it’s tossable and responds well to enthusiastic moves. There is certainly enough here to make the most mundane commute enjoyable.

Photos property of Toyota
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