Here's Why The Toyota Corolla XRS Is The Perfect Car For Enthusiasts on a Budget
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ม.ค. 2023
- The Toyota Corolla XRS is an often-forgotten gem from the mid-2000s. Reliable and practical, yet well-handling and high-revving, it's a wonder why it didn't sell more than it did. But, thankfully, the Corolla XRS has depreciated quite a bit since it was made. Here is why the Toyota Corolla XRS is the perfect car for enthusiasts on a budget.
Thanks a ton to Jeff of TH-cam channel @gray25xt for letting me film his XRS, as well as helping me film! (and for the burger!)
/ @gray25xt
Music:
Happy Happy Game Show by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b... - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
The first generation Matrix XRS or Vibe GT take 'perfect' to the next level. Sadly, the second generation of those cars was plagued by the oil burning 2.4 engine.
Underrated comment ! 1st gen matrix XRS awd are a hidden gem
@@marcreyes161no such thing as xrs awd. Awd matrices had the base 1zz engine with automatic transmission only. It’s what I have for my winter beater and it’s dangerously slow.
My second gen matrix 2.4 don't burn oil just put de right oil
1st gen is 1.8 1zz/2zz no?
The 2.4 is great if you got the later versions that got rebuilt. I have a turbo 2.4 Corolla XRS and it’s awesome. Also have a 2zz matrix and both are lots of fun!😊
Memory lane for me. I worked at Toyota when this car was new and drove it a bit. People didn't like it at the time and the one we had stayed on the lot for like 2 years. I wanted to buy it but didn't have the money at the time.
Wow, that’s so cool! It’s a shame these don’t have a bigger following. It was truly a blast to drive.
@@thirdhandmotors4540 I don’t think it’s that there’s not a big following.. there just isn’t that many of them. The more plentiful ones on the road, don’t feature what the first generation did. The 2nd and 3rd gen i’m pretty sure we’re a glorified corolla S
I bought one in 06, it was an 05 model year. It also sat on the lot for a long time. We got it because it was the only manual Corolla they had. I loved that car.
@@coredaqqer6197 thats true. I bought a red 06 a few months back, and at the time I looked on multiple websites, all over the country, and couldnt find another red xrs for sale. And most of them for sale now have high miles, mine has almost 200k
I think people just didn’t think it was worth it because it was like 3k more at the time or something
Had an 06 XRS, and it was hands down my favorite car I've ever owned. Ended up getting in a wreck in it 2 years back.. Was a sad day indeed.
Pretty much same story for me as well. I had a red 06 XRS and that thing was fun to drive. Would still be driving it today if I could.
U did urself a favor, I hope ur in something way better now
Same story as well a white xrs and it was my boring old Corolla
@Aberix i just picked up a red 06 xrs a few months ago! Love it so far. Its my daily, also have a '20 STi. Gotta admit I do have a blast driving the xrs tho
@@BChunter56 sorry to hear u got an Xrs but good luck with your boxer motor!
I love my XRS. I bought it for $3200 4 years ago and it’s so fun to drive. Still only has 150k miles. My first vehicle I bought that is a manual and I will never regret my decision. ❤
Yamaha does not make cars, but they make CRAZY powerful car engines!
Underrated,people slep on this,passed under radar,2zz vs k series is a real war in Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Yamaha powered beast
And jamaica 🇯🇲
I have the base CE with the 5-speed manual, and while I wish I could have gotten the XRS I definitely use every horse that little engine can muster. 😂
Got the European version of this, the Corolla T-Sport. Hatchback only, 3 or 5 door layout. I have a grey 5 door 2005 post face-lift (Meaning upgraded suspension and better Lift bolts, known issue on earlier models) T-Sport and it goes like hell. Here in Europe they also make 192 hp and 180 NM of Torque. The car just takes of like a missile and beats damn near any other car in a rolling drag race, if you got the balls to shift it fast. The suspension is crazy good for being bone stock and honestly you can almost not tell its FWD in the corners. Drawbacks with it is the fact you can't get any traction whatsoever when taking of from stoplights, just spins for a good 5 seconds
needs an lsd thats why
I've had one for 3 years that is now pushing 400,000kms. Got it for just under $2500. I've roadtripped in it, moved in it, and raced in it. Most expensive job I've had to do besides the throttle body was the chain cover gasket which slightly weeped oil. I love this little car. Bulletproof (as long as you don't hammer the redline).
400k kilometers on unopened 2zzge mate?
@@DimoS... you betcha.
@munkee601 what means that buddy?
@@munkee601 have you ever done valve adjustment mate?
@@DimoS... Surprisingly not yet, thought it’s due on this car.
LMAO the spongebob meme was gold, also worrying about a ticket is so true. I have a 500+ hp big turbo r33 Skyline and while it's heaps of fun, a few seconds on the throttle means I'm well above 'losing my license' territory. With cars like this there's tons of fun to be had under the speed limit.
I have an 8th gen Si as a beater daily and an s2k for a summer car. Id add this thing to the collection in a heartbeat if I ever had the chance!😂
I have an fg2 for the weekends and a regular corolla as my daily, would love to replace my Corolla with an xrs 😂
Lol funny I have the toyota versions of same cars. 03’ Matrix XRS for beater and MR2 Spyder for the summer 😂
I know a fellow who also has an 05 xrs like mine. He got a ap1 s2k for a beater and says he still love his xrs and will never get rid of it. Him and his wife both has 05 xrs
One of the greatest cars of all time
This an extremely comprehensive review of this car. Thank you!
i own 5 b5 audis. from 1.8t a4s to 2.7 s4s, and i have a corolla thats daily driven when the b5s are broken, so like most of the time. greatest car to own if you want absolute zero problems
Just waiting for this channel to blow up lol your videos are very well thought out and put together
The Matrix also came with the XRS variant as well I just wish Toyota had made the 2ZZGE more tuner friendly. The K series just left this motor in the dust.
the problem was the high compression, and the alloy they used for cylinder sleeves. It's a great engine if you aren't looking to add boost.
@@skunch the high compression isn’t a problem, and it doesn’t have sleeves
@thorodinson3323 600++ hp on 2zzge is very impressive mate well done ! Generally is underatted engine. What mods mate?
Great info and presentation. Subscribed!
Love this. The intro 😂 alone made me Sub❤
I had one of these for a couple of years, and can say that your video is very much on point. For the whopping price of $4500, it was an excellent commuter and a great compliment to the Celica I had on the weekends. It is relatively light(about 2500lb IIRC) and responds quite well to handling mods; I had a Progress rear sway bar and Eibach springs on Koni struts and it was probably the best handling FWD car I've ever owned.
I would get significantly better fuel economy than rated; usually in the upper-30s highway and mid-20s city, though that was driving it like a normal Corolla and staying away from lift. Without the modifications this car has, the 6700RPM lift crossover point seems a fair bit too high; it feels like the engine runs out of breath after 6300-6400 and you have to thrash it to get to the hot cam.
The only other thing I'll ding the car on is the lack of a telescoping steering wheel. I have long legs and a short torso and couldn't get a comfortable driving position. That ultimately made my decision to move onto another platform, but for the time that I had that car it was glorious. It's still among the spiciest Corollas you can get, other than the GR and possibly the '19-22 manual with the 2.0(heavier, but significantly more torque and a fatter powerband).
I have one, and agree they should’ve made it with telescopic steering wheel.
I had a ‘22 2.0 with a 6 speed manual and it got flooded 😭 looking at a 2005 xr-s now
I have this exact same car and I'm 5'1 with a long torso and really short legs haha I have to drive so close to the dash and my knee risks shattering to pieces at the first accident because it's constantly touching the bump under the steering wheel. Not comfortable!
Here in Europe we got the same. Kind off.. Ours is named Corolla T-sport and got 192hp, is a hatcback and it has lift at 6000rpm instead so you'll stay in lift in every gear. Done 0-60 in my T-sport in 6.3 sec
Dude this is the content I live for.
The music and accent at two minutes had me in stitches.
Thank you for this!
OMG due the FIST at 2:55 hit me in the feels ROFL. I got one myself and that got me🤣
Was nice to see that shoutout to r9k in there, too! Love my reflashed Vibe GT. That tune really wakes the 2zz-ge up!
Love the content 💞 keep this kind of unusual GEM coming
Great review! Keep making videos
I love your channel, so charismatic.
Thanks for all the information. Enjoyed the jokes too and am looking forward to more videos of you!
It would be interesting to see this compared to a Mazda 3 "S" trim. Acceleration is similar but it has an independent rear suspension, wasn't limited production, and uses regular gas.
From my one 2zz experience in the lotus Elise I’d say the engine makes a world of a difference
Xrs has a better sport look
I have a 3 S, it has torque but upper end sucks. Top end this would beat it for sure but off the line maybe
@@KO-sx9uy I've driven a Matrix XRS which is pretty much the same thing and it felt WAY slower than my Mazda.
@@madmatt2024 Dunno I lost to one with my Integra LS manual from a stop - I also lost to one driving a friends E90 330i on the freeway. Our cars are quick but this car pulls low to mid 15 quarter miles - our S models pull 16.2 in magazines. Mine is a manual too, it's hard to say but I think off the line we can take them for sure
I’d love to have one of these. Great video!
Don’t forget the 2005 Nissan Sentra Spec V. Similar horsepower and weight on a 2.5 liter but with 180 torque!
Great writing and great editing
My dad drives one as a daily driver. It almost looks like something out of fast and furious. He has driven it for nearly 8 years now and it hasn’t let him down.
My brother still has his XRS except on a flat and hasn’t driven it in almost year. He did a motor swap on it after the original 2ZZ gave out after 280K. But I always like it.
This is dope. Keep making vids!
This is a really good review good humour
Great video thanks
I absolutely love my 03’ Matrix XRS. It’s my daily/winter beater and it’s extremely fun and one of the most spacious hatchbacks out there (hot hatch) I’m in Canada and the car handles like an old school rally car in the snow with its immense torque in the first gear. Fuel economy is great, hitting that Lift is like drug, but my only gripe is I just wish the gearing was as smooth as a Honda.
There’s no problem at all ? Nothing fails for the Manual?
I had an 05 corolla XRS, I loved that car!
dood you had me with that intro, subbed.
We have the 2005 Corolla XRS and we love it. We bought it used 5 years ago with 132,000 miles on it and in 5 years we have only put 40,000 miles on it. I love to drive it. I call it my street legal go-cart. We hope to have it for several more years. Just replaced 6th gear and some head gaskets, -figure, cheaper than buying a brand new one is to fix the little things that go wrong with this one. Fun Fun Fun
Thats such a clean nice red corolla xrs, I love my 04 matrix xrs, i also just picked up a 01 celica gts same 2zz engine 😁
I have wanted one of these ever since it came out.
great review!!! I'm subbed :)
Those are very hard to find. Great video..
As a Fiesta ST owner I love seeing you show it and the Abarth. Everybody wants the new crazy v8 whilst perfectly capable and fun cars are sitting on lots collecting dust. People don't know what they are missing out on.
The fiesta st is well known rally car . And will continue to go up in value better than it’s big brother focus . The abarth is a sweet car also with the exhaust note and tossablilty . But not as reliable. Enjoy your fiesta st .! Will be talked about a decade from now as legendary
this dude is fun to watch with all the memes in between lol
This car reminds me of the Lexus IS200. I had the Toyota version when I lived in New Zealand. That had a straight six Yamaha engine!
Big fan of this video :)
This reminds me of my Mitsubishi lancer GT, it had a 5 speed with 2.4L that thing redlined at 9k and was a blast to rip around without getting in too much trouble
I love the sound when he changed gear, so pleasing to the ear! 😂
I love my XRS lotta miles but runs fine. I beat on it and still feel fine.
I love my XRS and I wish I knew what it was like 10 years ago lol
Great job
Absolutely love my 01' Celica GT-S I picked up in November. Same motor of course, but the car is way more sporty than this and really has the right look.
Granted they are still sought after so the XRS is going to be a lot cheaper. I'm STILL not used to how high this damn engine revs. It sounds like it's going to EXPLODE but it loves the cycles.
my Toybox corolla e120 sport with supercharger have around 116k miles on it. I only do regular oil change. and it runs like new. I bought it when it had 30k miles. :)
I had a 2011 same colour wow it was fun, did some racing on the highway with an Acura MDX that was alot of fun kept it safe didn't go to wild when we were around other drivers but that car moved sadly one winter a truck slid right into the back of my car writing it off I was sad but excited at the same time as to when I got my payout for it I ended up getting a 2017 Tundra
I've always seen power/weight ratio values as weight/power and found it easier to compare that way.
my dad actually has a lotus elise with the 2zz-ge and its a damn good engine and goes like hell in that super lightweight chassies^^ but no wonders it is the successor of the legendary 4age
I had an 03’ Matrix XRS. It was a great practical car. Fast too. Always enjoyed when VVTL-i kicked in at 5800rpm. I eventually traded it in for an 05 Subaru WRX STI.
Dude the 03 had the ECU with lower lift engagement too, that’s a good one!!
Beautiful car. I have an SI and never redline it. Maybe I should start doing it 😂😂
That gen corolla and matrix are gems
Ill be honest, I've never even heard of this trim, but your definition of "not too fast, but not too slow" is what I'm looking for. Being able to rev out gears without going to "criminally insane" speeds sounds nice. Going from like a 11-12ish 0-60 to a 6.5-7ish 0-60 is plenty fast for me at my beginner stage of enthusiast driving. I may just have to look into a corolla XRS in the near future, but I do think the mini cooper s has it beat by a hair.
the mini cooper will cost far more to maintain
You should also check out a Mazda 3 with the larger 2.3L or 2.5L engines, otherwise know as the "S" trim. Unlike the Corolla, it actually has an independent rear suspension and both engines best the Corolla in torque, the 2.5L beats it in power as well.
I have the Matrix version XRS. I recommend looking into those as the Corolla version is more rare (Matrix made more power) Mazdaspeed 3, Cobalt SS, Acura RSX, Sentra SE-R, IS 300, & Lancer Ralliart are some of the other recommendations for budget friendly “under the radar” sports cars
@@theninethrees8044 celica gts too
Camry SE
I would love to own an XRS, but I do love my Speedway Blue 2007 Toyota Corolla S as is.
I had a 2005 the same color. Fun car!
i LOVE my corolla xrs. it looks just like the one in this video!
Great car, 2zzGE got updated in 03 and fixed many problems with the motor. I have an 05
You got me at high revving corolla
great video man, toyota cars are so underrated but they very reliable and cheap
god. Toyota can make fast and fun cars. not just cheap and reliable
The spongebob meme was absolutely hilarious
Even though I own a Z now I can confirm its hilarious racing other people in my old XRS. The look on their face when they hear Lift was funny asf
Keep the videos coming
I really wanted one of these a few years back because of the video on the Smoking Tire. Always liked the sleeper look mixed with the screaming motor. Is the steering feel good though? Because a normal Corolla has completely wooden steering feel
2zzge in this car only came with hydraulic or no power steering so yes, often need to change the fluid as most seem to not have been changed since 2011 or something lol
I like ur video mate
haha i love “the price is right” reference
Thanks for sharing. This was a great video as I learned a lot about XRS. I'd take XRS over any regular sedan E120 Corolla in a heart beat if it would've ever been sold here in Europe. Instead we got hatchback E120 called Corolla T-Sport. It has all the rev's too with it's 2ZZ 😄
had an 05 pretty much drove her until her wheels fell off. Honestly I miss that car
Nice review, the XRS is my fun daily drive since 2005. only has 105K miles, sorry not for sale.
My dad drives one with similar miles. He’s not selling that thing any time soon either.
The problem with the oil pump is that the engine is starved of oil going quickly around corners as it uses a baffle-less oil pan. A good upgrade is using the 98-08 1ZZ-FE corolla baffled oil pan. Well documented on the inter webs
not an issue for street driving, and the 1zz pan isn’t really any better
Super cool and enjoyable video! I was aware of this car but I learned a few things by watching your video. Would you be interested in selling this?
BTW, I still have a tuned ECU for Intake and exhaust if you need one or know anyone that needs one.
I had one. Best car I ever owned. They did have some issues. The 6 speed manual transmissions would eventually have issues with the 2nd and 3rd gears. I drove it hard also. And eventually the VVTL-i system failed and the dealership tried to repair, but ultimately failed and I eventually went to a 2015 WRX. But the XRS was better in terms of fun.
Honestly, Horsepower doesn’t depend at all, in fact, it’s great for beginner to have low HP!
I have a 2007 VW Polo, tiny 3 cylinder with 60HP, yet it feels quite fun shifting through gears and doing burnouts (Yes it actually does lol). And best of all: it is STUPIDLY ECONOMICAL!
For teenagers this is what you should have, small hp cars that are reasonably priced, economical but you can still throw it around!
if only i could find one
Also came in the Celica GT-S last model.
that miata bit got me
I need this
I have a 2010 XRS, and yeah, it's a little lamer than the one shown in the video. I actually didn't fully understand the differences between the generations til I bought mine. I just knew that the XRS was sweet. However, the 2.4 from the Camry gives it a lot of torque from the get-go, which makes for a really fun drive. I was surprised to learn that the earlier XRS had rear bracing, but I find that the handling is good enough with a wider stance and stickier tires, so I like having the rears fold down. Great video!
Filling up with 87 is nice too... But you gotta top up the oil with it.
“ just a Corolla “ is so true my red S is fun to drive and they don’t even look at me 😂
Need a new paint job tho
i'd love to drive a 2zz someday... maybe if I manage to blow up my 2zr (and I feel that if I try to, it will never give up just to make it's point)
Damn my dad had this car for 15 years in Singapore 😂
Hated the look of the Altis Soo much but damn was it reliable compared to my vw now
I have this exact car in grey. I bought it for a decent low price but had to change the entire transmission for cdn$2000. It's got 275,000 kms on it. My throttle needs changing now but we cannot find me a second hand one because it's a rarer make?? I didn't know that until the mechanic told me. Now I have a really responsive first gear and a sticky throttle. It's not as fun to drive as it should be. But I'm planning on driving it until 800,000 kms or more 😂
Where did you get that front grille from? Never that one before
I love my Xrs, I’ve had mine for 10 years so far. So much work done on it.
Also, what I’ve read is that Yamaha actually only did the dampening system on the 2zz, is that true?
they designed the head, Toyota did everything else
Hey also 10th gen Toyota Corolla ! My first car honestly
I go through GA all the time, if you want to do a video on my 2.3 Ecoboost 2020 Mustang
What do you think of the apex
The V6 3.3L Camry engines are really nice to esp. if you use premium gas
I took a 3.3 camry to 140 mph when I had one.
While the audio is okay you should get a lavalier mic any cheap one should be fine. Should help with wind and background noise
The only Toyota I would buy.
i wanna see this compared to a cobalt ss. any ss even the n/a one
whats nice about the matrix is you can get them with the all wheel drive, theyre really fun to drive and id love an xrs