No contest. If I wanted a small economical car just to drive and I wasn’t a car enthusiast, the Corolla wins. Even though I think the current Corolla’s sitting position is kind of dorky.

2009 Chrysler Sebring
MSRP: 20,515
Invoice: 19,9009

Not only would you have to enjoy the gutless, leaking, rattling piece of shit that is the Sebring, you have to be willing to pay an extra $5k for those privileges.

On the other hand, I cannot understand why anyone would buy a Sebring. They hate themselves?

This is like having to choose between a Taco Bell bean and rice burrito and a bowl of oatmeal. One is tasteless and bland, but it will stick with you, not make you ill later on, and provide a much greater return on investment.

Bon appetit.

Absolutely Zero even after boasting record sales months in the summer of that year.

That is false, and has been debunked by snopes.com. Both Toyota and Honda made substantial donations after 9/11.

I sat in the XRS during the summer. I wasn’t all that impressed. My 5 year old Jetta is more exciting than a brand new Corolla. Needless to say, he is not a car guy. He just wants reliable transportation, so he buys Toyotas. Toyota doesn’t build exciting vehicles, but they do build long lasting vehicles. Chrysler builds sh1tmobiles that will likely be dead before it’s paid off. So if I had no other choice, it would be a Corolla.

The Sebring convertible I rented once wasn’t a total piece of crap, and it had a nice size trunk for a convertible, but the top mechanism did not inspire confidence. The drivers door would not lock either. The interior used way to many different textures and colors, and was poorly assembled. The stereo was nicely designed and performed reasonably, and I liked the digital stereo / information display built into the gauges.

Yes, the 09 Corolla is soulless to drive. That’s true of most Toyotas.

The fit and finish on the Corolla was pretty horrible, with bent/misalinged trim pieces and just about everything that people normally bash Chrysler for.

Somebody who lives on my block has an older chrysler lebarron and at least twice a month i see him fighting with his top, sometimes in the rain!

forget that the sebring is a chrysler (garbage), the convertible alone is more grief than i’m willing to put up with…

Having said that, the 100% better part makes it a better Corolla if not actually a better car… it’s quieter, it has finger-light steering, it has a very good chassis (underneath all that understeer beats the heart of an… uhmm… well, I’m still trying to figure it out) which gives it predictable handling and the ride is the most syrupy in the class (unlike the stiff, stodgy old one). By refusing to go an engine size up, like others have done, Toyota has kept the Corolla one of the most economical in the class.

I would never, ever buy one for myself. But if I had to choose a car to drive to work, everyday, I wouldn’t feel too bad about driving a Corolla. And not even the XRS model, with a sports engine that doesn’t like to rev and ride-comfort compromises that still won’t cover up the woefully inert steering. Instead, I’d pick a vanilla 1.8 liter one with an automatic. I’ll
reserve the car I actually love for driving on weekends.

—-

Future comparison? Let’s see how green you are: A Tata Nano or a Smart ForTwo. That’s an interesting choice.. Pick an ultra-commuter that costs more than the gas it’d save you, or pick a really frugal little car that may just qualify you for a Darwin Award when you take it out on the Interstate?

I have a couple of suggestions for future comparisons:
Trabant vs. Vega
Tata Nano vs. Cozy Coupe II

Yes, it’s boring, extremely wobbly over 70 mph, and no one ever gives it a second look. But the damned thing is bulletproof. I’ve never had to fix anything on it (beyond normal wear and tear) that wasn’t my fault as a driver. I’m always giving my coworkers who own VWs, Saturns and Chryslers a ride to work, because my car is unstoppable. Plenty of room, too. Does anyone who doesn’t tow REALLY need anything bigger than a Corolla? Get creative and you can fit anything in it. Gas mileage is insane, too.

I’d like to own something sportier and more fun, but until I can come up with the cash for it, I know the Corolla’s not going anywhere. These cars are really special because of their incredible quality. I wish Toyota still made sports cars; I’d buy another one from this brand in a heartbeat.

The Sebring has no such oddball fan club. It is a truly awful machine, and much worse than a merely boring one.

Corolla: yes
Sebring: no

Nuf said.

would it be ok if it was called a Pontiac vibe ?