The Toyota Corona is an automobile manufactured and marketed by Toyota, a Japanese car manufacturer, from 1957 to 2001. The Corona played a key role in Toyota's North American success. Having previously entered the North American passenger car market in 1957 as Toyopet, the company met little success, withdrawing in 1961. The nameplate "corona" derives from the Latin word for "crown", the sedan taking its place just below Toyota's similarly named flagship, the Toyota Crown.
History of the Toyota Corona
The Toyota Corona was a sedan that was positioned below the Crown in the automaker's lineup. It was one of Toyota's first international export models and won the Imported Car of the Year award in 1969. The Corona was also a popular taxi due to its build quality, reliability, and low maintenance, but Toyota was worried about its image being associated with a taxi. To overcome this, Toyota introduced the Corona Mark II, which was bigger and had more premium features, and sold it as a separate, up-spec model. The strategy was a success and the Corona Mark II eventually became its own standalone nameplate, called the Mark X. In the early 80s, a dedicated taxi version of the 7th generation T140 Corona was introduced with modifications to its front and rear end for a more distinctive look. This version of the Corona was only sold as a taxi and was popular in Japan. By 1971, the Corona had reached 3 million in production and was the most successful model for Toyota for many years. However, by the 1980s, the Corona began to lose its popularity. Despite this, the car reached 10 million sales in 1987 after its debut in 1957, although it was surpassed by the smaller Corolla which reached the same milestone in 1982, nine years after its launch. The discontinuation of the Toyota Corona was due to the increasing size of cars, including the Corolla and Corona, with each passing generation. The Corolla eventually moved from a subcompact to a compact sedan, entering the domain of the Corona. However, Toyota already had the mid-sized Camry, which had become popular in the North American market, making it difficult to fit the Corona in the lineup. With the success of the Corolla as the bestselling nameplate for Toyota and the mid-sized Camry, Toyota found it difficult to justify the position of the Corona between the two. Customers who preferred the Corona began shifting to the more popular Corolla, which offered similar or more features. Despite the launch of some impressive models in the late 80s and 90s, the Corona was not successful in terms of sales, especially in the presence of the hot-selling Corolla. The 10th generation Corona, launched in 1996, was only sold in Japan as the Corona Premio. The Corona name was dropped in 2001, and the car was renamed the Toyota Premio, which was only sold in the Japanese domestic market. The Premio had a sister product called the Allion, which was mechanically similar but aesthetically different. In December 2020, Toyota announced that both the Premio and Allion would be discontinued effective from March 2021, marking the end of the Corona lineage that started in 1957. Even though it has been discontinued for many years, various generations of the Toyota Corona are still on the roads globally and can be seen at various motoring events.
Price
The price range for a used Toyota Corona varies based on the trim level you choose. Starting at $2,000 and going to $32,547 for the latest year the model was manufactured.
Specs and Performance of the Toyota Corona
Engines:
- 1.6 L 4A-FE I4
- 1.8 L 7A-FE I4
- 2.0 L 3S-FE I4
- 2.0 L 3S-GE I4
- 2.0 L 3S-GTE I4 (turbo)
- 2.0 L 2C-T I4 diesel (until 1998)
- 2.2 L 3C-T I4 diesel (1998 on)
The Toyota Corona's 2.0L engine delivers 113 hp (84 kW) at 5,500 rpm and 125 lb-ft (170 Nm) of torque at 3,600 rpm. Toyota marketed the Corona as a rear-wheel-drive (RWD) vehicle, and it was available with a 4-speed manual transmission. Dimension-wise, the Toyota Corona measures 4,520 mm (178.0 in) long, 1,695 mm (66.7 in) wide, and 1,410 mm (55.5 in) high. Its wheelbase measures 2,580 mm (101.6 in) and has a curb weight of 2,623 lbs (1,190 kg).
Release Date
From 1957, the Toyota Corona made history with its production spanning nearly fifty years in ten generations until it was ultimately retired from assembly lines in 2001.