Is the Corolla APEX a desirable sporty compact car?

The Toyota Corolla first landed on US soil in 1968 and has made one of the biggest impacts on the nation's car scene ever since. With the Corolla having sold over 50 million units globally, it is a feat not many car companies can say they have achieved. At some points in the vehicle's history, the Corolla received sporty features and options to make it more of an enthusiast's car rather than just a boring old compact sedan.

Now well into its twelfth generation, Corolla enthusiasts get another sporty compact sedan. Named the "APEX" like a predator, I had the keys to a Corolla Apex for a week. I got a chance to figure out if it is sporty enough to be a desirable car for the enthusiast.

The exterior styling of the Corolla APEX is nothing short of aggressive beauty. The front fascia reminds me of a defensive lineman in ready position for the snap of the ball to get to the quarterback. The black grille with bronze accents adds definition to this feature. The side profile has a prominent line running from the rear door under the window through the top of the fuel door and finishes off at the rear tail light.

Speaking of the back of the car, the rear diffuser is the finishing touch to the aggressive look of the rest of the Corolla APEX emits. Although the black line that runs between the tail lights looks like someone with a unibrow, giving the rear a face-like demeanor.

Unlike the base Corolla, the APEX comes standard with the sport mesh black front grille, black and bronze front spoiler as well as the diffuser accent and rocker panels with the black 18-inch wheels. The lowered tuned sport suspension makes the Corolla APEX sit lower to the ground.

Looks can be deceptive and the Corolla APEX may appear small from a distance, but up close, it really isn't. The APEX Corolla is 182 inches long, 70 inches wide, and 56 inches tall with a wheelbase of 106.3 inches.

As exciting as the exterior of the Corolla APEX is, the interior is the complete opposite. It takes a very Spartan approach with everything on the inside. There is only enough to get you by with minimal metal, plastic, APEX bronze stitching, and leather trim to create such an apathetic environment. The Corolla APEX doesn't really offer you much in terms of making an impression.

As for my favorite features, nothing about the interior comes to mind when thinking about the APEX Corolla. The one thing that I am happy about seeing in the Corolla APEX is its six-speed manual gearbox instead of having an automatic transmission. But that is my own preference. The fantastic seats of the Corolla are another brilliant feature that can't go unnamed.

The seats, like on every Toyota, offer plenty of comfort and support. For those of you familiar with the newest GT86, or similar models, the shifter knob shares the same mechanism for going into reverse. As for visibility, the Corolla APEX offers plenty of it throughout the cabin. The only problem I encountered was that you can't really see much through the interior rearview mirror.

When sitting in the driver's seat, it seems as if everything on the dash (and even the hood) was up close and personal, but spacious where it counts. Even with my height, I am able to sit behind myself in each of the back seats. The front legroom in the APEX Corolla is 42 inches. For the rear legroom, the APEX Corolla offers 34.8 inches. That's almost 3 feet for the person in the back seat.

As for the trunk volume, the APEX Corolla doesn't hold back at all when giving you what you want where you want it. Wanna take a trip for the week with the family? Throw in a couple of suitcases you have in the trunk and leave the extra space for some souvenirs or leftover food. The capacity of the trunk stretches out to be 13.1 cubic feet.

- 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility

- Sirius XM Radio (with a 3-month trial)

- Toyota Safety Sense 2.0; Pre-collision system with pedestrian detection

- Lane departure alert with steering assist

The 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder under the hood of the Corolla APEX produces 169 horsepower and 151-pound feet of torque. Power goes to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. With my driving habits, I was able to achieve 26 mpg. After driving almost 120 miles on a full tank, I still had an estimated range of 200 miles left according to the onboard computer. The fuel tank capacity is small, only being able to hold 13.2 gallons.

The ride comfort of the Corolla APEX is surprisingly phenomenal. Sure, the sport-tuned suspension keeps everything tidy and undramatic, there weren't any pains or aches after going over bumps and uneven roads here in New Jersey. As for cornering, the Corolla APEX thrives when thrashing about into curving roads and kept itself balanced. To put it in simpler terms, it all felt like riding on a roller coaster.

Steering is sharp and direct with plenty of feedback from the tires. The sport-tuned exhaust is throaty when the engine gets a little chatty near the redline of 7,000rpms. The whole process of changing gears is light and fluid. Braking is exactly as it should be with a biting grip. The APEX Corolla comes to a stop from 60 miles per hour to zero in only 115 feet.

There is not much negativity to report about the Corolla APEX that affects the driver experience. Having said that, I have all but two complaints. The first problem is that there is no physical lever for the parking brake. The second, and last, is the clutch.

With the hand brake being a switch rather than the more traditional kind, engaging the parking brake takes away from the driver's experience. Luckily now if you were to forget to engage it on your own, the electronic parking brake will do so afterward. However, engaging and disengaging an electronic parking brake takes much longer now, than it would have, with an old-school mechanical setup.

Coming to the clutch, using my experience of driving manual transmissions for 10+ years, the Corolla Apex doesn't catch and go as it should. Cars I have driven don't require much effort to get off from a dead stop. It usually takes me easing off the clutch without having to apply the brakes. With the Corolla APEX though, I had to give it more than it should take with the throttle than necessary to get off the line.

So, how much does this Toyota Corolla SE APEX cost? After adding up the only option of $249 for the "Carpet Package" to the base price of this SE APEX ($25,610) the total cost comes to only $26,854. That is $1,244 in options and fees. The base price of a "Corolla L" is $20,425. That is a $6,429 difference from the tested APEX model. The highest starting price in the Corolla lineup is $28,710. That price belongs to the "Corolla APEX XSE," and is $1,856 more than the model I tested.

The warranties offered by Toyota are quite limited. For a new vehicle warranty, Toyota only offers 3 years or 36,000 miles. For the powertrain, Toyota only offers a 5-year/50,000-mile warranty. For the corrosion perforation warranty, Toyota only offers a 5-year/Unlimited-mileage warranty. It is quite minimalistic like the interior of the Corolla APEX, but almost everyone knows Toyota for its reliability.

As far as competition goes for the APEX Corolla, there is not much to compete against in any reality. The APEX Corolla is almost alone in its line of competition from my expertise and experience. The only vehicle I see being its rightful contender to the Corolla Apex is the Honda Civic Si. The Honda Civic Si starts at $27,500.

The reasons why I put the Civic Si and the APEX Corolla in the same category are because they're both front-wheel drive compact cars with manual gearboxes and pack a sport-tuned suspension. No other vehicle compares. Some people might say the Mazda Mazda3 Hatchback is a rightful competitor, but it isn't for the reasons I listed. Plus the Mazda 3 is a hatchback and competes with the Corolla Hatchback.

2022 Toyota Corolla APEX Competition Prices

So to summarize, is the Toyota Corolla APEX sporty enough to be a desirable compact car for the enthusiast? In the most simple of words, 'YES' it is. Although I can appreciate it for what it is, I still wouldn't want it for myself. It is a forgettable car where I know if I were to have bought one, I would have regretted the purchase at some point. I would much rather buy the hatchback variant instead. At least then, I would be able to go against more competitors.

Charles North VI is an automotive journalist for TopSpeed.com. He started writing reviews in 2017 with DriveTribe (before it closed down) and briefly with HotCars. He writes driven reviews and has tough criteria for any vehicle for the average (or not so average) consumer in the market to get a new car. Whether he enjoys a car or is disgusted by one, he'll let you know. For any updates, check out his Twitter or Instagram to stay posted or tuned in!