Toyota is a well-known auto maker all over the world and has been producing some very popular and luxurious models like Royal Saloon, Land Cruiser, Corolla and the list goes on.
Talking about Toyota Corolla, the first sedan car was launched in 1966 with an 1100cc engine. If you compare the latest model of Corolla to the one which was first launched, you will see a drastic change, from the interior to the exterior. Though it is very difficult to find the very first version of Corolla but I must say that every single thing has been changed. Toyota introduced its seventh generation Corolla in 1992. The vehicle was also known as E100 and Indus Corolla in Pakistan since it was the very first model launched locally by Indus Motor Company. Though the car was not successful in Japan but it received great success in Asian countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, and Philippine. The vehicle was and is still known as “The Great Corolla” in Indonesia.
Talk about it in any respect, the car will never disappoint you.
I know none of you will disagree if I say that it has the strongest body if you compare it to many other cars of its time like Suzuki Margalla, Honda City, etc. The drive of this car is no doubt smooth as the lower center of gravity of the body prevents body roll to some extent which provides superior road grip and better handling. Toyota Corolla (E100) or commonly known as the Indus Corolla was launched in many versions but amongst them the most popular ones were 2.0D – the two-liter diesel variant – and 1.6GLI – the 1.6 liter petrol variant.
2.0D was seen more on the roads because the car had crazy low-end torque and was cheaper to run as it was on diesel. Diesel cars were preferred back then due to their overall lower running costs as the price of diesel was lower than petrol which is opposite now.
The interior of the car was comfortable and spacious. The five-seat family car was no doubt able to beat many of rivals, but lost the race when it came to the height of the car. Previously, I mentioned that the low height of the car helps it to achieve a better grip on the road but keeping in mind the roads we have in Pakistan and the speed breakers, which are more of a car breaker, affect the drive. It is impossible if five people are sitting and the car doesn’t touch the speed breakers.
To overcome the problem of low height, many people went for alternates such as increasing the tire size, installing bigger and tougher suspensions or even lifting the car by an inch or more by installing spacers which are locally called Gutkas. Obviously, there is an overall impact in the long run but you need to take alternates because the speed breakers here are like this and probably will remain like this.
Learning from the mistake, the new model of Corolla launched in 2003 had a good height. Back to Indus Corolla, the vehicle gained so much of success that the Japanese model also entered the Pakistani car market. My elder brother still owns one Japanese Indus Corolla, and it’s been almost 8 years he has it and there is still no major work. Most of the imported Indus, in fact almost all of them imported here in Pakistan were 1.6 automatic.
As it been more than 20 years since the launch of Indus Corolla, there are fewer models seen on roads of big cities, but the car is still present in interior Sindh, Punjab and in many cities of KPK.
Indus Corolla was also given to government officials showing the sign of respect the car has. Later on with time people started to do swaps and modifications to the car. There was a very famous Indus Corolla in Karachi which I must say was well kept and modified. Don’t know the name of the owner but the car had a golden body with beauty at its peak.
You may call it a personal preference but in my opinion the Indus Corolla or the Toyota Corolla 1992-2002 (E100) was one of the best cars of the Pakistani market.
Photo Credits: PakWheels’ Member: KiwiRolla
The author does not seem to have adequate knowledge about the car. Very poorly written article. Almost all the imported ones have a 1.5ltr 5a-fe engine. The ones popular in Pakistan were the 1.3ltr carby variants and the 2.0D version. 1.6ltr gli was, and still is, not so popular across the country.
you may right as I didn’t have much deeper knowledge about this car. But this Corolla Indus is surely with no doubt the Popular Corolla of All Times.
Corolla is a good car all over the world, but the mafia in Pakistan is manipulating the market so there is black market for this vehicle by 150,000 rupees
Great look, how much would it cost to get my indus in this look 🙂
No doubt it has great durable body.. Few days back find Indus corolla hit by brand new cultus on national highway.. See the difference in these snaps