Toyota Corolla

If you can believe it, the Toyota Corolla has been around for over 50 years. And to celebrate the subcompact sedan’s 5+ decades on this planet, Toyota has rolled out the 12th-generation Corolla. While in Carmel, California testing out the 2019 RAV4, I was able to check out the all-new 2020 Corolla up close and personal as a bonus.

When Toyota announced that it was bringing a proper Corolla hatchback to market in the US a couple of months ago, I was pretty excited. The idea that the company might be jumping into the hot hatch arena to take on the Civic is something gearheads are surely stoked about.

What started life as the Scion iM, and then later rebadged as the Toyota Corolla iM is getting a well-deserved do-over as it bids adieu to its shaky start and becomes a proper Corolla hatchback for 2019.

When you think about it, a car is nothing more than a means to get from Point A to Point B. There are hundreds of choices and certainly personal preferences play the largest role in the consumer demand for cars.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the everyday Toyota Corolla. It’s a perfectly pleasant and functional daily driver that won’t break the bank. But a sports car, it’s not. At least not until now, with this awesome custom-built ride headed to SEMA 2016.