The Hot-hatch scene has been about for many years, seeing some of the most iconic cars on the road today.

Some rarer than others, the Corolla T-Sport flew under the radar somewhat as Renault took the limelight with their Clio 172 and 182 range, along with Honda and their Civic Type R.

Now as time has moved forward the T-Sport has widely become recognised for what it truly was and has increased in popularity among track-day goers and tuners.

Sporting the 1800cc, 189.1bhp engine used in the Lotus Exige, including the supercharged variants, the T-Sport is no slouch and will keep up with the more modern hot-hatch cars today.

Bought by the vendor on Christmas Eve 2021 in the midlands, this particular car spent the entirety of its life in the south of England owned from new by an older gentleman and clearly never saw any fast road driving or track days.

Since purchase, the vendor has spent in the region of £2000 making the car ‘Just right’ regardless of whether the work was ‘needed’ or not.

Due to personal circumstances changing, the vendor no longer has need for the car and is reluctant to either pile the miles on or leave it to sit and so having no indoor storage space, the the time has come to sell.

Everything is present with this car, the service book is piled high with Toyota dealer stamps until 2019, where there was one none dealer stamp, then a trader service stamp prior to sale in 2021, then the vendor, being a mechanic serviced it and replaced the all important ‘Lift Bolts’ commonly overlooked by many owners ensuring long engine life.

The v5 is up to date, and all the original handbooks are in the original wallet. Some PDI papers from when the car was new are still with the car too along with the original set of locking wheel nuts and key.

Overall the interior is very good given its age. 

The vendor told us the car had a replacement drivers seat due to the previous owner sitting on the side of the seat making it sag.

All the plastics are nearly blemish free, the footwell mats are brand new and custom made to match the car with their trim and we think they look exceptional. 

The gear knob shows evidence of wear due to the chrome flaking off and is a common fault with this particular model, this could be easily replaced but the vendor was aiming to keep the car as original as possible and so has not replaced it.

The clocks and centre console all work, along with the bluetooth stereo. The original Nav/Stereo unit will come with the car if the purchaser so decides to use it and this works as well. 

The downsides are the door card cloth trims are bagging a bit, mostly an easy fix but the vendor just has not had the time and the carpet near the drivers door has had a small and poor repair with glue which no doubt too could be easily improved.

In conclusion the interior is very very nice and would take very little work to make absolutely perfect.

The first thing you do notice with this car is how clean the exterior is! 

Benefitting from a recent single stage machine polish by a professional detailer and a graphene coating, the car really does not look its age at all. There are barely any signs of car park dings in the doors and the back plastics are original and nice. 

We noticed a couple of panels including the front bumper and drivers wing have been painted at some point but these match extremely well and have a very good finish, not detracting from the aesthetics of the car.

Red brake callipers hide behind the 195/55/16 motorsport wheels and all these are in a clean and tidy condition, evidently repainted at some time but look fairly fresh.

The wheels themselves are in their original silver finish, have almost no marks but have also never been painted so are slightly dull but clean up well and look very nice indeed.

This is particularly where this car shines as the vendor is a mechanic by trade and clearly appreciates a sorted car.

Firstly under the bonnet everything is very clean and in its place, nothing faffed about with or overly clean, just honest and functional. The clutch and drivers wheel bearing were replaced the week this was written, the clutch replaced with a high quality replacement. 

Since the purchase this is the list of mechanical replacements:

Other ancillary parts have also been replaced just to make owning and driving much nicer and more reliable.

The car drives perfectly with a straight steering wheel and no knocks, rattles or otherwise. Once the car passes 6000rpm the Variable valve timing kicks in and the car really shows its true colours pulling all the way through to 8000 rpm without any fuss. 

The 6-speed gearbox works perfectly with the engine too, changing gear at the redline keeps the engine in the power band and the car pulling very well. 

The sound is very subdued and quiet around town and only makes a very appealing and powerful sound when the road opens up and the right foot goes down.

If you’re looking for a subtle and fairly economical hot-hatch, this is the one. 

The practicality of a large boot, 4 doors and power to pass the slower traffic with ease is what this was designed for. The ‘lack’ of showiness and boy-racer styling keeps this car a bit of a ‘sleeper’ too and the original suspension set up is comfortable meaning you won’t be afraid of those long journeys or the typical country roads.

Equipped with very advanced traction control keeps this car on the back stuff when the corners get tighter, all the while being kept cold with ice cold A/C and entertained with a high quality sound system.

The perfect Sunday afternoon hoon or sporty daily, the choice is yours.