Hello again.

It’s been quite a long time since I posted. In the time since I lost my BA to a terminal gearbox failure, my life has been in a bit of an odd limbo. I focused a lot more on the gym, got myself a girlfriend, changed jobs a few times. It was chaos. After my BA died, between July 2022 and now, I have gone through 3 cars. A 2000 Peugeot 106 1.1, a 2004 Toyota Celica that was so rusty it was unsafe, a 2001 Peugeot 206 diesel which grenaded its engine, and finally, as of January 2023, I have bought a car that I have a genuine connection with once again. It’s a 2004 Toyota Corolla T-Sport. This one, being a pre-facelift, looks almost like a regular Corolla, which is the beauty of it. Under the bonnet sits the same 2ZZ-GE 1.8 4 pot that you’ll find in the Celica T-Sport and the Lotus Elise. It makes 192 bhp at an ear screeching 7,800 rpm. Handling? Like a Corolla. Safe, predictable and heavily biased towards understeer. Comfort? Amazing. Drive it calmly and it’s completely invisible to the world. Drop a few gears and hit lift, and all of a sudden people turn their heads, listen to it scream to its 8,200 rpm redline and think, “What was that?!”

Of course, I’m not saying it’s the fastest thing ever made. However, it’s a very sneaky way of owning a hot hatch, keeping you invisible for when you feel like embarrassing the German car that’s tailgating you on the M40. My Corolla gives me the same feeling that I had when I had my 323f and I intend to keep it as long as I can. Do I ever see myself owning a BA again? Possibly but it would need to be a V6.

Anyways, hope you’re all doing well and when I have all my maintenance done with my Corolla, I may see some of you at some shows!

Hi,
Good to hear from you.
Is there life after a Mazda!? You have found that Peugeots don't have the quality.
Toyotas do, and they have a lot of the BA feel, but for me not quite enough!
Have fun.

Good to hear from you - I like the sound of the Corolla. Being Jap, maybe we'll see it at one of the shows