We get a little crazy
The internet never forgets. Decades ago, I had deemed the Toyota Corolla the most boring soul-sapping car in the world. I had promised that I would never get one. But life always loops and makes you eat your own words in some cases.
Fast-forward to 2025, and I find myself salivating over a Corolla. Admittedly, it is not just a simple Corolla.
Like a Lexus LFA, it is an engineer’s special. It is when designers and engineers are let loose, and passion takes over sensibility. When the company’s CEO, Akio Toyoda, gave a mandate to make one of the most boring cars on the planet interesting, the engineers took it to heart.
This is not a car. It is a homologated rally car. It aspired first to be a four-wheel drive monster with 300 horsepowers from its puny 3 cylinders, with perfect handling and balance, to rip through corners, no matter what the traction was. The fact that I can drop my kid at school and pick up groceries is irrelevant to her.
Very special cars instantly tingle at your fingertips. They shrink around you. You don’t drive them as much as you wear them. They want to dance when they walk and they want to run everywhere. There is energy wound up in the chassis that is eager to release. There is air spooled up to explode. This is one of them. What Toyota has done with this car is nothing short of magic. Enthusiasts will look back at this car and will fail to explain its existence. I am already looking forward to getting in it tomorrow to drive everywhere.
Life is too short for not having iconic cars. And when they are daily drivers, you have a life that is long enough to be grateful for.
