My wife and I recently started looking for a 5-door (hatchback) with a manual transmission to help us learn the ropes of driving a manual car before eventually moving to Europe (where that's all they drive). As a Toyota driver for over 10yrs, I figured it'd be a safe bet to give the Corolla iM a try for my next vehicle. Safe to say I haven't been disappointed! This car got to deal with the occasional jolts and stalls of my learning how to drive a manual transmission from scratch, all while during the break-in period, and with the rough edges in my technique now smoothed out, it drives like a champ. Pros- + Buttery smooth, responsive transmission + Long-throw clutch and tall shift knob easy to work with for beginners + Impressively well-equipped for price point + Very minimal road noise + Very comfortable ride when cruising + Great exterior styling + Very roomy/comfortable interior + Large trunk Cons - Engine could have more power* - Doesn't inspire confidence around curves _ Stock suspension feels squidgy (car rolls quite a bit) _ Stock Toyo tires don't feel overly grippy _ Steering feels somewhat numb/vague** *Just requires playing with the revs a little more; still faster to 60 than the 2017 Impreza I drove **Could be partially due to stock tires and suspension Overall, I am a huge fan of this car. Offerings from competitors at this price point look very base and do not come nearly as well equipped. Echoing pretty much every video and text review of this car, it's not built for performance. If you head into a test-drive remembering to focus on the car as being a daily driver and not expecting it to have the performance or the "planted"-ness of a VW Golf or Mazda 3, you won't be disappointed. I'll definitely be giving the European-spec version of this car a hard look when I head overseas!