Why The New Toyota Corolla FX Sucks And The Original Kicked Ass

Whether you work in cars, movies, or music, it’s all the same—what’s old is new again. Like so many automakers before, Toyota is drawing from its history to add some heat to its current lineup. To that end, it’s released the new Corolla FX, resurrecting the magic letters last seen on the FX16 of 1987. Whether it lives up to the name is for you to decide.

Although, I’ve decided, and it doesn’t.

The new Corolla FX takes the SE trim and jazzes it up a bit. The FX gets an “enhanced” rear spoiler and satin black 18-inch wheels with black lug nuts. It also scores black mirror caps, black badges, and a black roof—the latter more noticeable if you spec the car in a contrasting color. The FX also gets lowering springs for a sportier ride height, and tweaks to the tune for the electric power steering. Inside, there’s orange stitching on the seats, and a bigger infotainment screen.

And… that’s it. No additional horsepower. No raspy exhaust. No wild graphic down the side announcing that you shelled out for the FX. Given the limited offerings of the trim package, though, it’s probably best not to brag about it. Regardless, let’s contrast this with the legendary Corolla FX16 of old. We’re gonna see where Toyota got it wrong.

The Corolla FX16 was an honest-to-goodness hot hatch when it hit the market in 1987. It rocked Toyota’s beloved 4AGE engine, which it shared with the mid-engined MR2 and the rear-wheel-drive Corolla GTS. The engine rocked double-overhead cams, electronic fuel injection, and four valves per cylinder, which helped it deliver 108 horsepower. That was a healthy leap over the 71 hp of the 8-valve carbureted base model, and made the FX16 a pretty hot ship by 1987 standards. Car and Driver went so far as to call it a “pocket rocket” in their contemporary review, and celebrated the upgraded powertrain:

The heart and soul of the FX16 is its motor. The 1.6-liter, twin-cam, sixteen-valve, fuel-injected four-cylinder produces 108 horsepower at 6600 rpm. Interestingly, when this same engine is assigned to duty in the MR2 and the rear-drive GT-S, it produces 112 horses. Toyota attributes the modest power loss to a redesign of the four’s intake and exhaust manifolds, which had to be modified to fit in this Corolla’s engine compartment. Except for plumbing, however, the 4A-GE engine is unchanged. The redline remains at the blender-level 7500 rpm.

The FX16 also got nicer rubber, shod in Goodyear Eagle GTs from the factory. Toyota also saw fit to upgrade the suspension for better handling, including a strut brace to help stiffen up the body. The FX16 was solely available as a three-door hatch, and weighed in at just 2440 pounds.

Japan actually got a Corolla FX first in 1984, under the name FX-GT. Kicking off in 1984, it got a full 128 hp out of the 4AGE, and it even got a huge “TWIN CAM” sticker down the side that made it instantly recognizable in traffic. That rocked. Toyota gave the FX16 three things: more power, better handling, and good looks. Combined with its mean stance and sweet wheels, the thing looked like it was ready to take on all comers. It may not have been a winner at the stoplight drags, taking 9.8 seconds to reach 60 mph, but that wasn’t the point. It had a zippy, high-revving engine, great steering, and it looked the business.

The new Corolla FX is none of those things. It’s a black, white, or grey Corolla that’s a bit lower with some black wheels. It looks just like any other Corolla out there, and I’ll wager it drives like it too. Yes, it’s faster than the old FX16, by virtue of the 169 hp from its 2.0-liter engine. But you can get that in any Corolla!

Where’s the sticker pack? Where’s the dual-exit exhaust with a droney, rorty note when you get the revs up there? Where’s the charm? Honestly. Ten horsepower and a sweet set of graphics, and I’d be writing an entirely different article.

The problem is, Japanese automakers don’t want to put words on cars anymore. They grew up. Apparently we all did.

Other automakers have done this before, too. The Ford Ranger Splash was a rad, fun-loving truck with neat graphics and an outgoing attitude when it launched in the 1990s. Cut to 2021, and Ford brought it back, only this time, it wasn’t the same. It was basically a yellow Ford Ranger barely different from any other. Kind of a shame.

I’m not the only one thinking this way, either. FlavouredMilk reached out on The Autopian Discord channel to share dismay at Toyota’s effort. They went so far as to correct Toyota’s missteps, too, drawing us what the new FX should have looked like. “A few years back, I scribbled this down when I was telling a friend how the new Corolla was kinda hot, and that I’d love them to do a throwback,” says FlavouredMilk. “Sad to hear they did, and botched it.”

I don’t want to be too harsh on Toyota. It’s doing a lot of cool things right now. It brought back the Supra (kind of), it built the GR Yaris and GR Corolla, and there’s some hot new product surely coming down the pipeline. But as far as the new Corolla FX goes? Swing and a miss, as far as I’m concerned.

Image credits: Toyota, FlavouredMilk