Toyota Corolla XRS

Another fall from grace here.  The previous Corolla XRS may not have been a looker, but it did have the same engine as the Lotus Elise under it’s hood.  The Yamaha-designed 2ZZ-GE is one of my favorite engines, and even in detuned Corolla form it was a hoot.  Astronomical redlinei cam lift changeover, tight six-speed manual, four-wheel discs…  It wasn’t a land-based rocket, but it was real, genuine fun to drive.But like most other things Toyota, it’s gone from boring to “please shoot me.”  The high-winding 2ZZ was replaced with the 2.4L 16v motor out of the Camry. Because nothing says exciting like a Camry motor!  Now, it’s got enough torque the tires through first gear with the five-speed, but with 158bhp, that’s about all it can do.  There’s the possibility of adapting theblower from the Scion tC, but would you even want to bother?  If anything, the Corolla’s gotten less interesting and more plastic-feeling than theprevious generation, and that’squite a lot.Big thumbs down to this regression step.