Toyota refreshed the eighth generation of the Corolla in 2000 and finally created a common design language for the entire family of this nameplate.
The Corolla was the best-selling car for Toyota, and it created a different front fascia for the three-door version than for the rest of the family. But customers didn't seem to enjoy that. In addition, that idea created more logistical troubles for the spare parts department. So when it saw that all of its efforts were in vain, the Japanese automaker unified the lineup's look along with the facelifted version that occurred in 2000.
The three-door Corolla looked more tamed, sporting horizontal headlights that still followed the already-gone bio-design trend. It might have loose some of its daring look offered by the big round headlamps from the non-facelifted version, but it was more acceptable for its customers. On the other hand, the profile remained the same with the large window behind the doors and the raked-forward tailgate.
Inside, the car sported a new dashboard that included a redesigned upper area above the center stack. There was also a new steering wheel, and most versions got a dual-airbag system fitted as standard. Yet, the seats were still not that bolstered. After all, it was not exactly a hot hatch of any sort.
Under the hood, Toyota installed a small range of engines consisting of a 1.6-liter gasoline unit and two diesel versions: a 1.9-liter carried over from Peugeot-Citroen, and a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel developed in-house.