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| Supercharged nestles under bonnet |
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What does make the Corolla Compressor stand out, however, is what lies beneath the bonnet. It has a supercharger - as befits the Compressor badge - that boosts the T-Sport's power by around 15% to a heady 215bhp and maximum torque by 19% to 158lb ft.
An added bonus of fitting the supercharger to the T-Sport variable valve timed 1.8-litre engine is that the sweet point in the rev range - where torque and power are at their peak - is lower, at 4,000rpm, meaning you don't need to rev the engine all the way to the 8,000rpm limiter to make decent progress.
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| Putting the power down is an artform of its own |
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You wouldn't actually want to venture too high up the rev range though, as the aural accompaniment isn't exactly tuneful - more of a Delia, rather than a Will Smith melody.
Trying to put all that power down onto the black stuff is an artform of its own. The front wheels scrabble and spin away the power in first and second if you're too heavy on the gas; and the clutch hasn't been upgraded over the standard Corolla's; so it can feel a little baggy - and, bizarrely, smell of burnt cheese - after a few hard starts.
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