Toyota Corolla XRS
Toyota "Sporty" and "Toyota" are two words that go together like "nasal" and "bathrobe", so it's no surprise that Toyota is axing the hot-rod Corolla XRS, which had a 158 horsepower 2.4 liter engine in place of the regular Corolla's 132 hp 1.8. Though the XRS was notably faster and handled better than a standard Corolla, it wasn't a whole lot more fun to drive, and with plenty of more appealing choices in the same price range -- most notably Mitsubishi's version, the Lancer GTS -- it's no surprise that the XRS is gone. What is a surprise is that Toyota has also eliminated the top-of-the-line Corolla XLE -- at a time when automakers are making their compacts more luxurious, Toyota is dropping the nicest Corolla. Odd.
