There is a fraction of 8th gen Corollas (1998-2002 model years) with the 1ZZ-FE engine that have an issue with excessive oil consumption. The cause is from a couple of possible issue, but the majority settle around clogged oil ports (holes behind the oil control ring) on the piston that don't allow enough oil to be pulled back into the crankcase. In some cases, the oil ports are completely clogged - which leaves the oil no place to go except to be squeeze by the oil scraper ring and be burned during combustion.
No set fix for this - some have been able to slow or even stop oil consumption by switching to different oils or using a piston soaking approach. Unfortunately, this only seems to be effect very early on, less effective once oil consumption becomes steady. That point, an engine rebuild or engine swap are the only options left - if you plan on holding on to the car.
There has been a number of discussions on whether this constitutes a manufacturing defect or not - this point, almost impossible to say for sure. There was some design changes to the piston for the 9th gen Corolla - hole numbers have increased and overall piston skirt has changed - but that also coincided with a revised camshaft profile and higher RPM shift of the powerband - in which those changes would make more sense.
Not all 8th gens have oil consumption - mine for example has over 200K original miles and doesn't burn any oil. Others also have similar stories to mine - no issues at all on their 8th gens. But there are also a number of owners that have considerably less mileage and consume a staggering amount of oil. Some can't go 100 miles without burning a quart of oil. Part of it might be in the way the car was broken in - when I picked up my Corolla, I literally bought it straight from the transport truck. So I had control over the initial break-in. Conventional motor oil for the first several oil changes during normal break-in then synthetic motor oil for the rest of its operation. I don't baby it at all - I drive the nuts off the car, mixed driving - though mostly highway, it is in the DC Metro area - which can be gridlocked for a significant amount of time.
Best thing you can do is monitor its oil consumption and note if it is staying steady or getting worse. High mileage oils and ones with LOWER viscosity seems to help more owners than the old school thought of heavy/thicker oils. The idea is to maintain a thin enough oil to make sure oil pressures are at a safe level and oil film strength is sufficient for protection, but thin enough to start working on those deposits and circulate and move in smaller, tighter clearances.
As for constantly adding make up oil - have to stay on top of that. Running a reduced oil levels will increase the likelyhood of creating more deposits and prevent the oil from effectively transporting and suspending dissolved deposits. Going to a higher mileage oil, synthetic blends or synthetic oils may also help. Lots of discussion here and on Toyotanation and BITOG forums.