Whats up everybody? Im new here, decided to introduce myself. I recently acquired a 94 Toyota Corolla DX 1.8L of fury, I bought it off my grandma when I sold my turbo Probe. Its soo freakin reliable, good on gas, and actually fun, even though an auto.
Anywho, just seein' whats up . . . im off to browse the forum.
Welcome to the fun of the corolla world.
I used to have an 89 probe gt that could hang with a mitsubishi 3000gt at 125mph on I285 back in my younger stupider days. That car had strange electrical problems the entire time I had it. I also picked up an 89 lx from ebay, and later was given an 89 gt with a blown turbo. Eventually I had to haul them to the scrapyard because they were considered "junk" by the county I lived in. I still miss the fun of spooling that turbo up to just below the fuel cut point.
After that car, I was driving a 93 dodge dakota for a long time. When I first got it, I had difficulty keeping it from smoking tires. Tires never lasted the full mileage rating. But now that it is up to 180,000 miles or so, it just doesn't pull as hard.
My most recent purchase is my 98 rolla. I'm glad I got a manual. This car is amazingly strong for what it was built to be. I'm quite happy with it.
As I drive to work each day, I see corollas everywhere, of almost all generations. And matrix/vibe and prisms too. Funny how I never noticed them before. Where I work there are now 4 corollas in the parking lot. One is the identical model as mine, except it is an automatic and the owner has put on a ski rack and a bazillion bumper stickers, while mine is still mostly stock. Today I filled up at got 37.17 mpg on this last tank. My probe never did that. I think the best it ever hit was 27mpg on a long trip. Basically, I filled it up, got onto the interstate and set the cruise until the next gas station, without touching the turbo much. lol. The best the dakota ever did was 23mpg (again, a long trip), and the best the chevrolet C30 7.4L ever did was 13mpg on a long trip.
I believe you'll enjoy your corolla a lot more (value-wise) than your probe. Even if the performance is a bit of a let down compared to a probe.
Anyway, as one former-prober to another, welcome to the joys of fuel economy that still is fun!
jim