I'm wanting to purchase a car in a year or two to replace my 1987 Nissan Pulsar. I want something safe, reliable, and not too big for ease of parking. I was interested to see in August 2005 Royal Auto that Toyota Corolla 98-01 model is the ONLY small car to achieve no 1 for driver protection (significantly better than average) based on REAL LIFE accidents. It gets 3 stars (almost 4) in ANCAP safety tests. The car is very light at just over 1 tonne, which makes the good real life safety result even more remarkable since higher weight creates a big advantage in 2 car accidents (but not single vehicle accidents). What do other contributors to this forum think? Do any owners of 98-01 Corollas have stories to tell of bad accidents where they got out of it with little or no injury? Strangely, the 02-03 models only rate average for real life safety. I would also like to know whether these cars can easily be converted to LPG and if it is worthwhile doing so. I would probably keep the car 5-10 years and do 10 000 to 15 000 kms per year. My other questions are: Is the glove box large enough to fit a melways street directory? Which model type has the best safety features eg air bags, ABS etc in 98-01 year range? Does Corolla have ways of minimising risk of leaving headlights on/locking keys in car eg buzzer sound for headlights and forcing you to lock driver's door with key? The order of model opululence ie is Ascent the best, then Conquest, then Seca? What does it mean if Csi is included as part of the model name? Any other hints tips about purchasing eg problems to look out for etc. I welcome any input from other members.
