Emily Minson’s grandmother drove a Corolla. Her mother drove a Corolla. So it was only right that when she bought her first car, she did too.
About two decades ago, Minson was in her early 20s and saving up for a Corolla when she got a tip about a horse called Minson, which had been named for her football-playing brother. She put $100 on it and won enough to buy a dark green Corolla hatchback.
“It was called Molly,” she says. “It had already done 90,000km. I think I drove it to 200,000km. It was just beautiful driving, smooth, reliable … it just fanged along.”
For almost 60 years, Australians have been driving Toyota Corollas. The cars have been passed down through generations, hotted up and given pet names.
More than 1.6m Corollas – including hatches, sedans and panel vans – have been sold in Australia. It was the top selling car in 2013-15, according to Toyota.
After dropping out of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries top 10 list for most new vehicles sold entirely in 2023, Corolla re-entered the top 10 last year – and experts say there are many reasons behind the “enduring love affair”.
A longtime love affair
In 1966, the sporty KE10 Corolla followed Nissan’s Datsun Sunny 1000 off the production line in Japan.
A year later, Australia became the first export market for the little car, a 1.1-litre two-door sedan. It was so popular, Toyota built them locally from 1968 – the same year a Corolla won a race at Bathurst.
The cars were built in Australia until the factories were shuttered in 1999.
But Corollas kept rolling in, getting roomier, more powerful, and more environmentally friendly – the model is now exclusively hybrid.
Toby Hagon, a motoring journalist and the editor of electric vehicle website EV Central, says the sale of small hatchbacks has dwindled as Australians gravitated towards SUVs.
In 2024, the Corolla was the only small car in the top 10 bestselling cars in Australia, a list dominated by SUVs and utes. Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (Fcai) data shows it at eighth after recording a 20% increase in sales from 2023.
Car insurance comparison site Compare the Market found that, of those who used their site last financial year, the Corolla was the most popular car in all age groups. The exception was those under 26, who were more likely to have a Mazda 3 or a Hyundai i30.
But there are several factors that contribute to Australians’ “enduring love affair” with the Corolla, Hagon says – and good value, reliability, durability and quality are part of it.
Rebels with a Corolla
Australians have used Corollas to ferry families, cruise the streets – and do burnouts.
Maurice Hanger, the vice-president of Toyota Car Club of Australia, bought his first Corolla in 1984.
It was a white 1974 KE20, which he modified and painted, from white to red to pink.
“It still exists somewhere in New South Wales with the pink interior,” he says. “They’re lightweight and nimble … a fun car to race.”
They’re reliable, he says, and the parts can easily be swapped out with parts from other cars. “You can take the engine out of a 2004 HiAce van and put it in your 1966 Corolla,” he says.
He says people who’ve never had problems with an old Toyota would find it a “no-brainer” to stick with the brand.
Last year’s winner of the Burnout Masters at Canberra’s Summernats car festival was Nhill man Andrew Lynch in a 1981 KE55 blue Corolla – he told the ABC he’s travelled the world doing burnouts in it.
Shelaye Boothey would do “mainos” – cruising the main street of Port Lincoln checking out the boys and playing Wham – and burnouts in her 1974 cream Corolla.
“I do remember trying to light a cigarette using the inbuilt lighter for the first time and swerving on to the wrong side of the road! Trap for young players,” she says.
“I was a bit of a rebel and could be found trying to do burnouts at the front of the old railway station.
“Sadly I sold the old cream Corolla when I moved to Adelaide to go to uni. I was too scared to drive in Adelaide traffic!”
The car that grew up with Australia
The motoring journalist Hagon says another reason for the Corolla’s recent rise is that there are not many hybrid hatchbacks to choose from, which ensures the Corolla’s ongoing popularity. The model is also often used in corporate fleets and care rental agencies.
He says Toyota still has an ongoing, very loyal following. “Roughly one in five cars in Australia is a Toyota,” he says. “There are still plenty of people queueing up to buy [them].”
Toyota Australia’s sales, marketing and franchise operations vice-president, Sean Hanley, says when it first arrived, the Corolla weighed half the modern-day version. Since then, it has “remained a consistent favourite”, he says.
“It’s a car that has grown up with Australia, becoming more sophisticated and worldly,” he says.
He credits quality, durability and reliability, and says the brand has developed trust with generations of loyal buyers. Hanley drove a Twin Cam Corolla in the 80s, then bought a secondhand, ex-rental Corolla for his son just over a decade ago.
“My son drove it for years and we eventually sold it to my nephew,” he says. His nephew texted him recently that he had just clocked 260,000km in the old car.
Minson says she “reluctantly parted” with Molly after a move from Adelaide to Melbourne.
“Mum helped me sell it,” she says. “And she made sure it went to a good home.”
