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
why is it so angry? why can’t the small cars just be joyous? Why must it have a furrowed brow and angry eyes and a gapping frowning maw (90% of which is blocked off plastic)?
horrid.
why is it so angry? why can’t the small cars just be joyous? Why must it have a furrowed brow and angry eyes and a gapping frowning maw (90% of which is blocked off plastic)?
horrid.
Delete Plz
Delete Plz
If Toyota was worried about a real sports variant being salesproof, they could have followed the same path they did with the Corolla Cross, but more so. Corolla Cross Hybrids are mostly SE or XSE trims to emphasize what Toyota likes to think of as “sporty” but really turns out to be a slightly less monochrome upholstery pattern. But an FX-H hatch. which, unlike the sedan and Cross, has no hybrid variant, with a sporting but not uncomfortable suspension upgrade and a little reprogramming for slightly more aggressive (but not mileage-killing) acceleration, would be both respectful of the original and very on-brand for today.
And this also reminds me of the Chevy Nova Twin-Cam, which was a four-door version of the FX16 built alongside it in the NUMMI plant that’s now Tesla’s. I never drove one, and although I liked the Protege LX I ended up with in 1990, I would have liked to try that or the succeeding Geo Prizm GSI hatchback.
If Toyota was worried about a real sports variant being salesproof, they could have followed the same path they did with the Corolla Cross, but more so. Corolla Cross Hybrids are mostly SE or XSE trims to emphasize what Toyota likes to think of as “sporty” but really turns out to be a slightly less monochrome upholstery pattern. But an FX-H hatch. which, unlike the sedan and Cross, has no hybrid variant, with a sporting but not uncomfortable suspension upgrade and a little reprogramming for slightly more aggressive (but not mileage-killing) acceleration, would be both respectful of the original and very on-brand for today.
And this also reminds me of the Chevy Nova Twin-Cam, which was a four-door version of the FX16 built alongside it in the NUMMI plant that’s now Tesla’s. I never drove one, and although I liked the Protege LX I ended up with in 1990, I would have liked to try that or the succeeding Geo Prizm GSI hatchback.
I was lucky enough to have a JDM version of the FX hatch while stationed in Japan. Still one of my favorite cars I’ve ever owned.
I daily a ’21 Corolla Hatch 6MT and would love to have an FX version of it today. Alas…
I was lucky enough to have a JDM version of the FX hatch while stationed in Japan. Still one of my favorite cars I’ve ever owned.
I daily a ’21 Corolla Hatch 6MT and would love to have an FX version of it today. Alas…
Wow, this is pretty awful.
Here’s a pretty cool yet simple idea for a new variant/upgrade of an existing car:
Ford Maverick Stepside bed panels
Sure it wouldn’t be a true stepside where the bed is a perfect rectangular box, but adding stepside bed panels should be both cheap and easy.
I’m not a pickup guy at all, but this would totally make me happy. I’ve always appreciated that at its best, Ford can be fairly measured with retro touches. At worst, it hits you over the head with them.
My ’02 Mustang has cloth seats that very subtly reference the “pony package” interior that was available on the ’60s cars. It’s not immediately obvious, but if you know about it, it’s a fun little thing.
Not only would it be a bit of a retro touch, but it would be useful, not just an aesthetically pleasing cosmetic.
I’ve never understood the allure of the stepside bed look on a modern truck/trucklet.
With how high truck beds are along with the even higher bedsides having a stepside bed on a modern pickup would be more function than form. I remember in Ford’s early promotional pics for the Maverick there was a pick of a woman standing on her tiptoes to either put something in or grab something out of the bed (can’t remember which at the moment) while they touted how the “low” bedsides made it easier for people to grab stuff out of the bed.
I’m not advocating for Ford to come out with stepside looking bed panels, I want them to function as stepsides, not just look the part.
Wow, this is pretty awful.
Here’s a pretty cool yet simple idea for a new variant/upgrade of an existing car:
Ford Maverick Stepside bed panels
Sure it wouldn’t be a true stepside where the bed is a perfect rectangular box, but adding stepside bed panels should be both cheap and easy.
I’m not a pickup guy at all, but this would totally make me happy. I’ve always appreciated that at its best, Ford can be fairly measured with retro touches. At worst, it hits you over the head with them.
My ’02 Mustang has cloth seats that very subtly reference the “pony package” interior that was available on the ’60s cars. It’s not immediately obvious, but if you know about it, it’s a fun little thing.
Not only would it be a bit of a retro touch, but it would be useful, not just an aesthetically pleasing cosmetic.
I’ve never understood the allure of the stepside bed look on a modern truck/trucklet.
With how high truck beds are along with the even higher bedsides having a stepside bed on a modern pickup would be more function than form. I remember in Ford’s early promotional pics for the Maverick there was a pick of a woman standing on her tiptoes to either put something in or grab something out of the bed (can’t remember which at the moment) while they touted how the “low” bedsides made it easier for people to grab stuff out of the bed.
I’m not advocating for Ford to come out with stepside looking bed panels, I want them to function as stepsides, not just look the part.
As an 18-year-old I wanted an FX16 so badly. I loved the idea of an indestructible corolla made into a hot hatch.
They could at least made it a hatchback that is better and faster than the base Corolla and a stepping stone to the GR.
Give it the GR motor slightly detuned and keep it FWD and it would slot right in beneath it.
As an 18-year-old I wanted an FX16 so badly. I loved the idea of an indestructible corolla made into a hot hatch.
They could at least made it a hatchback that is better and faster than the base Corolla and a stepping stone to the GR.
Give it the GR motor slightly detuned and keep it FWD and it would slot right in beneath it.
Ah yes, another “special edition” car that, in five years, won’t be worth any (or much) more than the standard model.
Ah yes, another “special edition” car that, in five years, won’t be worth any (or much) more than the standard model.
THIS IS WHAT TOYOTA DOES ANYMORE!!! It’s all stickers, useless spoilers, fake louvres, and bolt-on nothing. Marketing, marketing, marketing. They don’t even make their own sports cars. They don’t even ENGINEER their own sports cars. Just slap a different bumper on it, a different spoiler, wheels, and superficial nothingness. Then, when they do make something that people want (off road type stuff), they have to make sure the marketing department is prepared with BS excuses for drum brakes in 2023 that don’t hold up to the slightest scrutiny. Completely lost their way. They’re not even all that “reliable” any more, but they still do their best to trade on that reputation. Eventually the public will figure it out, and Toyota will be in deep kimchi.
Thank Athena they don’t engineer their own sports cars! Outsourcing was the smartest thing they could do. They were terrible at driver control feel and chassis communication back when they still made sports cars, never mind after 20 years of building meh in an era of cars where lack of feel and communication is an industry-wide problem.
THIS IS WHAT TOYOTA DOES ANYMORE!!! It’s all stickers, useless spoilers, fake louvres, and bolt-on nothing. Marketing, marketing, marketing. They don’t even make their own sports cars. They don’t even ENGINEER their own sports cars. Just slap a different bumper on it, a different spoiler, wheels, and superficial nothingness. Then, when they do make something that people want (off road type stuff), they have to make sure the marketing department is prepared with BS excuses for drum brakes in 2023 that don’t hold up to the slightest scrutiny. Completely lost their way. They’re not even all that “reliable” any more, but they still do their best to trade on that reputation. Eventually the public will figure it out, and Toyota will be in deep kimchi.
Thank Athena they don’t engineer their own sports cars! Outsourcing was the smartest thing they could do. They were terrible at driver control feel and chassis communication back when they still made sports cars, never mind after 20 years of building meh in an era of cars where lack of feel and communication is an industry-wide problem.
The hatchback is RIGHT THERE in their lineup already. Honestly, what are we doing?
The hatchback is RIGHT THERE in their lineup already. Honestly, what are we doing?
Im not a fan of Toyota’s mass market appliance cars at all, especially lately. I’ve taken to changing a letter or 2 in their model names to reflect my feelings towards them. The Corolla becomes Bore-olla and the RAV4 is a RAV-bore, Avalon becomes Avayawn and their midsized pickup has coma right there in the name. While I do admit the new Prius is pretty sharp, I still call the old one the Prenis.
Im not a fan of Toyota’s mass market appliance cars at all, especially lately. I’ve taken to changing a letter or 2 in their model names to reflect my feelings towards them. The Corolla becomes Bore-olla and the RAV4 is a RAV-bore, Avalon becomes Avayawn and their midsized pickup has coma right there in the name. While I do admit the new Prius is pretty sharp, I still call the old one the Prenis.
They could’ve at least made the new FX a hatchback
*rolleyes emoji*
They could’ve at least made the new FX a hatchback
*rolleyes emoji*
Nothing is as it was 40 years ago. It can never be, so move on. Instead of retreading memories, make new ones.
When you name something after something else you give it a standard to live up to. The very nature of bringing an old nameplate back out is to evoke the recollection of past desires. When the product doesn’t live up to those desires it’s the most obvious to the people they were trying to appeal to in the first place by giving it that name.
The funny thing is how far they’re stretching for something (they think is) of interest to even bring back.
Nothing is as it was 40 years ago. It can never be, so move on. Instead of retreading memories, make new ones.
When you name something after something else you give it a standard to live up to. The very nature of bringing an old nameplate back out is to evoke the recollection of past desires. When the product doesn’t live up to those desires it’s the most obvious to the people they were trying to appeal to in the first place by giving it that name.
The funny thing is how far they’re stretching for something (they think is) of interest to even bring back.
Eh, I’m not a fan of the huge words on the old one.
There should be “words” on every car–the brand name (or logo), the model name, and maybe the trim level.
And really, if I have any beef with the new one, it’s that I want smaller tires, dammit!
The tires! It’s a damn Corolla—it’s never going to be a fun car that encourages running curves where low profiles might be useful and it will take a lot more than wheels to make the thing look cool, so let it ride nicer on smaller wheels with cheaper-to-replace tires.