Toyots Corolla at Colorado Lagoon, Long Beach

You  don't, ever, design and manufacture  the world's best-selling car with radicalness in mind.  The public just don't buy it, in both senses of the phrase.

And when you have an offshoot to showcase your more radical lines that's massively increasing in popularity, as Toyota has with its Scion lineup, why gamble with a car that's sold over 30 million units worldwide and shows little sign of slowing?

Such is the case for Toyota's ever-selling Corolla that stepping into one can, after all the hype, be a little, and I mean just a little, underwhelming. Not many cars on the road - in fact make that none - have Toyota's reputation for reliability and economy, and that's primarily what sells it.

It gives your friendly local Toyota dealership something of a dilemma  - how can you promote and sell a car on these qualities alone. Don't you need just a hint of muscular styling, a back-end swoop to a tapered nose cone, or 49 cupholders and touch-screen sat-nav to attract a prospective buyer at the time when margins are tighter than ever?

Well, the answer is that word-of-mouth is what shifted all those units in the 80s for the Japanese upstart, and that is what lodges in the mind of practically anyone who goes near a Toyota forecourt with new, shiny keys on their mind. Customers, and few are as loyal as Toyota's, tell each other in revered tones: "My wife bought one of these several decades ago and it's still on the road, with a third of a million miles on the clock."

Everyday looks but a lot going for it

Enough room for golf clubs and luggage

Which my wife did, and her father still drives it when his main car's in the shop. And it still doesn't break  down after all these years.

So that, in a strengthened bodyshell, brings us round to stepping into a 2006 Corolla and thinking, well, hey, at least I'm not going to be stranded anywhere for a while, and with gas spiking, if not peaking, in that very week, I should be able to get around LA a  bit more cheaply.

I jest, because alongside its myriad other qualities the Corolla's seats are massively comfortable, a great departure from tight-hugging and hard bucket seats so popular today  and which bring to mind a big bean bag you can sink into and enjoy after a hard day sitting  straight-backed in an office chair,  or a baseball bleacher, I guess.

For a compact sedan, the Corolla's cabin seems surprisingly big, which may be an effect of the seats, and as ever with Toyota, just about everything is ergonomically where it should be.  It's free from swathes of vinyl and has few quirks to speak of. 

Turn the key - and in the case of the manual-box variant which I drove, depress the clutch - and the engine perks into life quietly and efficiently. You'll notice that the pedals feel pretty close together, reminding me of the little Civic I used to scoot about in way back when. 

Sporty looks

Pull away and you'll notice that the high-revving engine packs as much of a punch as it should, though you may be surprised at how quickly you have to rifle through the six gears.   Fifth gear really has to bit just after the 35mph mark, which is a bit weird but quickly you get used to it.

Cornering in third, meanwhile, doesn't really happen, because you ain't gonna get enough low-down torque in an engine of this size, 1.8 liter injection,    to take you round without engine chug. Automatic box is four-speed so that shouldn't happen anyway.

Take it up to speed on the highway, and its ride is as it should be, firm enough to feel like a real car, but still with a bit of fun about it, with power delivered through the front wheels. Cabin noise is impressive, and that high-revver doesn't, thankfully, whine as is common in its class. It also gives a good bit of acceleration to overtake or change lanes safely, without having to shift down.

And with its fuel economy of 32mph and 41 city and highway, there's a good bit of mileage for your credit card at the pump too.  Snap for its entry-level MSRP of under $15,000 and $17,880 for the XRS performance model.  Safety is excellent at four and five stars across the board.

Only problem to foresee is that with Toyota Corp. flying high right now, selling a shade under 8 million units total for the year and with a 39 percent profit lift in the last quarter alone, and with a clutch of new factories opening nationally and internationally in the next 12 months,  it's set to undergo a massive facelift of the Corolla in the wake of Honda's radical new Civic. 

But hey, don't expect anything too out there; if it ain't broke, don't break it - for a Corolla will never break on its own.

30-million seller

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