Thoughts on the 2020 Corolla sedan with the new 2.0 and geared CVT

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I was looking at the new 2020 Corollas and noticed the new 2.0L engine has more power and gets better fuel economy than the 1.8L still offered on some trims.
The CVT used with the 2.0L cars differs as it has an actual first gear.
The first gear is used when accelerating from a stop and supposedly hides the rubber band effect and makes the transmission more reliable as CVT's are under the most stress when accelerating from a stop.
It also uses an independent rear suspension and has 4 wheel disc brakes.
You can still get a manual transmission on the SE trim.

I'll admit I've pointed out the Corolla in a negative manner a time or 20. I have nothing against improvements though.
 
On one of Scotty Kilmer's Youtube videos he said several bad things about CVT transmissions by several brands other than Toyota, and he also went on to say that Toyota CVT transmissions in the Corolla are very good and in all of his years he has worked on cars he has never seen a CVT on a Toyota Corolla go bad.

I think Toyota's first gear setup along with their background and good history with previous CVT transmissions is just taking a very good transmission and making it even better.

Many other brands that have been using their own version of CVT transmissions fall way short of the reliability of Toyota's past CVT transmissions, and now Toyota has made their CVT transmission even better than it was.

Years ago one of my brothers and his wife leased a Nissan Murano with a CVT. When it was only a couple of years old the CVT transmission failed. One thing I read on the internet said that in order to replace the transmission everything on the front of the vehicle had to be taken off and after the replacement of the transmission, put back on. So along with the cost of the new transmission, there is a lot of man hours involved in the replacement. My brother asked how much would it have cost to replace the transmission if it had not still been in warranty? The answer was "You do not want to know".
 
Not sure what we rented, but it was a 2020 Corolla a few months ago in CO. The car was great (we had a 2007-don't ask....) but the transmission would zoom unexpectedly -like going down a hill it would hit 3000-4000 (on cruise). I never understood what it was trying to do. We rented a Sentra last year and it was great-whatever it had. Utah is 80 mph and it was cool to see 1900 rpm at 82 or so, and it did much less shifting. Almost seamless.
 
Originally Posted by rekit
Not sure what we rented, but it was a 2020 Corolla a few months ago in CO. The car was great (we had a 2007-don't ask....) but the transmission would zoom unexpectedly -like going down a hill it would hit 3000-4000 (on cruise). I never understood what it was trying to do. We rented a Sentra last year and it was great-whatever it had. Utah is 80 mph and it was cool to see 1900 rpm at 82 or so, and it did much less shifting. Almost seamless.


That's called engine-braking. Not many hills in TX, huh?
 
After breaking down on vacation, we purchased a new 2020 Corolla SE, with the 2.0 and CVT transmission, in Pierre, SD (DO NOT BREAK DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF SD). We have put just over 4,000 miles on the car and its been excellent so far. I will say it seems like the paint is a little thin. The leading edge of the hood already has several stone chips and with the steep slope of the hoodline you wouldn't think it wouldn't be so vulnerable. It has significantly more power than the Toyota Matrix, 1.8L motor, it replaced and handles well for a Corolla. We have averaged 41.18 mpg (hand calculated) over the 4,000 plus miles and that includes touring both Yellowstone and Glaicer National Parks (basically like in town stop and go traffic after 10:00 a.m.). My wife typically gets 10% better gas milage than I (apparently I'm heavy on the throttle), and that seems to be the case with this car too. The latest tank of gas is indicating 45+ mpg, with her commuting to work, but will need to be verified by hand. We have found that the computer typically underestimates the mpg by .5 mpg.

The 2.0 engine specifies 0W-16 oil if that is a concern. The manual states 0W-20 can be used but needs to be replaced at 5,000 miles with 0W-16. Normal oil change intervals with 0w-16 are 10,000 miles for "normal" driving and 5,000 miles for "severe duty".

Hope this helps
 
As much of a Toyota fanboi that I am, I'd hold off. If one is 5 and done, by all means, go for it; but Toyota is not above making misteps (2AZ-FE and 1ZZ-FE come to mind). Aisin transmissions seem quite robust in general, and I think Aisin makes this CVT, but still. I'd be waiting for high mileage examples to become commonplace.
 
Originally Posted by supton
As much of a Toyota fanboi that I am, I'd hold off. If one is 5 and done, by all means, go for it; but Toyota is not above making misteps (2AZ-FE and 1ZZ-FE come to mind). Aisin transmissions seem quite robust in general, and I think Aisin makes this CVT, but still. I'd be waiting for high mileage examples to become commonplace.

I agree.
 
My guess is that it would be a dependable and economical vehicle.

There is a lot of Mazda SkyActiv in that new engine.
 
Hopefully it is an improvement. I drove a 2019 for a long trip and that engine/CVT combination was abysmal. Poor fuel mileage, poor feeling, poor acceleration, poor everything. It was worse than a nissan altima.

Then again, that whole car was terrible. Didn't feel like a toyota at all. It felt like an early 2000s hyndai. Everything appeared and felt inadequate.
 
Originally Posted by rekit
Not sure what we rented, but it was a 2020 Corolla a few months ago in CO. The car was great (we had a 2007-don't ask....) but the transmission would zoom unexpectedly -like going down a hill it would hit 3000-4000 (on cruise). I never understood what it was trying to do. We rented a Sentra last year and it was great-whatever it had. Utah is 80 mph and it was cool to see 1900 rpm at 82 or so, and it did much less shifting. Almost seamless.


I had similar experience. It wasnt engine braking either. The ECU was giving the engine gas to maintain the RPMs. It was the weirdest thing.
 
My brother rents cars a lot for work and he loves the new Corolla. Now he wants to buy one to replace their 2014 Camry. He used to always rent Camrys for work but not anymore. He doesn't like the current Camry and the way the trans is geared. He also mentioned that the base version Corolla comes very well equipped with tech and safety features. Plus excellent fuel economy. Prob get a good deal on it since the suv market is so hot right now.
 
The Corolla is popular because of it's perception of reliability. It's dumb and out dated.

But it should be a hoot to drive.
 
Don't hear much about Toyota CVTs failing, at least not like some others out there. I'm thinking with proper fluid changes and half sane driving habits it might last till you sell the car for something else.
 
Originally Posted by rekit
Not sure what we rented, but it was a 2020 Corolla a few months ago in CO. The car was great (we had a 2007-don't ask....) but the transmission would zoom unexpectedly -like going down a hill it would hit 3000-4000 (on cruise). I never understood what it was trying to do. We rented a Sentra last year and it was great-whatever it had. Utah is 80 mph and it was cool to see 1900 rpm at 82 or so, and it did much less shifting. Almost seamless.

Software knows you are going downhill so it is trying to help you slow down so you do not overwhelm brakes, which is very easy in Toyota.
 
It seems like Toyota CVTs aren't dropping like flies and tend to hold up well. The new Corolla is built on a new platform(TNGA) and from my test drive of a 2018 Camry and riding in many 2016-2018 Prii as carpools and Ubers they still have the Toyota hallmark of comfy but lazy. But if you beckon, the new TNGA platform cars can be un-Toyotalike and actually feel pretty good.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw

Software knows you are going downhill so it is trying to help you slow down so you do not overwhelm brakes, which is very easy in Toyota.


that is exactly not what it was doing.
 
Originally Posted by badtlc
Originally Posted by edyvw

Software knows you are going downhill so it is trying to help you slow down so you do not overwhelm brakes, which is very easy in Toyota.


that is exactly not what it was doing.

What was it doing? Serious question here.
I drove CVT only as rental, and one will never find its way in my garage, so seriously do not know why would downhill raise rpms?
 
Engine braking is more efficient and reduces brake wear. Toyota brakes are very capable contrary to one "opinion" posted previously.
 
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