The Toyota Corolla has been a global market success for over two decades, offering sensible and practical motoring at an affordable price. Flair and driving appeal may have seemed low on Toyota's list of priorities, until now. In its latest guise, the Corolla competes with the class leading rivals in the hot hatch segment.

Welcome in the Toyota Corolla Supercharged - a machine whose macho title is justified by the embodiment of an excellent hot-hatch. The Supercharged is a limited edition model, launched to replace the outgoing T-Sport, sadly culled due to its inability to match tougher fuel emission guidelines. Only 250 right hand drive models will be made available to the UK market, with orders being taken from the 1st of November. However, there is a noticeable increase in price, from £16,000 for the T-Sport to £19,995 for the Supercharged, the latter continuing with the 1.8-litre powerplant from its predecessor though with the fitment of a supercharger.

The introduction of the supercharger has significantly increased the model's performance, thanks to a hike in power to 215bhp. The 0-60mph sprint takes just 6.9 seconds now with a top speed of 143mph. The Supercharged is also dressed to thrill with 17-inch alloy wheels and a host of visual tweaks. The increase in performance means the Corolla Supercharged can compete with the likes of the Honda Civic Type-R, Vauxhall Astra VXR and Volkswagen Golf GTI. However, its price puts it is among the more expensive models in its class.

If a unique hot-hatch is on your shopping list, then the Corolla Supercharged is definitely worth a look, although time is of the essence if you're to snap up this Japanese pocket-rocket.

Andrew Frampton - 1 Nov 2005