History
The sixth generation model, which arrived here in 1987, was the first to really make an impact on the British market. There were two engine choices - 1.3 and 1.6 - and four body styles; a three-door hatchback, a five-door 'Liftback', a saloon and an estate. All these variants were available in 1.3-litre guise. If you wanted a 1.6, you had to have a Liftback and have it in Executive spec. There was also a sporty GTi-16 three-door 'hot hatch' and a novel 4WD estate; both had 1.6-litre power.
In August 1992, the seventh generation Corolla arrived, equipped with a curvier new look and catalysed multi-valve 1.3 and 1.6-litre engines. The range was wider this time, with a five-door hatchback added to the existing line-up (not to be confused with the larger five-door Liftback). There was also a wider range of trim options; originally GL, XL and Executive.
In February 1993, a rather restrained hot hatch flagship - the GXi - was launched equipped with a 1.8-litre 16v engine. Diesel versions of the three and five-door hatchbacks appeared at about the same time, while the Liftback also got the diesel option a year later.
A driver's airbag was introduced on all models in September 1994, but the real changes came the following summer. The range got a wash and brush-up with a slight facelift in July 1995; poor selling models like the 1.8 GXi were dropped and the popular Sportif special edition was installed as the entry-level model below new GS, CD, Si and CDX trim designations.
The current, eighth generation range arrived in the UK in late Spring 1997.
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