Toyota hatches an appealing version of it Corolla

 Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- Quick, I say Toyota Corolla and you think of ...

My guess is that the overwhelming majority of folks think of the venerable compact sedan -- the basic four-door of rental lots, or maybe even a warm memory of said sedan parked in their driveway.

Not many think of the Corolla Hatchback.  I learned this lesson from neighbors who walked up to my recent tester and exclaimed, "What is that?"  Told it was a Toyota Corolla, they reacted with disbelief.

Believe it, Toyota does make a Corolla hatch.  The full, formal name of my tester was the 2021 Toyota Corolla Hatchback SE Nightshade Edition.  Yeah, you need two pages in the owner's manual just to get that name in, but for my money, this ride is the embodiment of entry-level motor vehicle simplicity.

Mine checked in at an entirely reasonable $23,480, which included an eight-inch touchscreen, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and paddle shifters among the standard features.  Safety tech also was well-represented on the sticker.

The back hatch opens to a nicely spacious cargo area for a compact four-door vehicle. I could picture a college student happily loading up this Corolla for a move into the freshman dorm.  Or maybe a urban/suburban resident using the car for double duty -- work daily driver and weekend chore doer.

Even the busiest of motorists will be pleased with the gas mileage they're going to get: 32 miles per gallon in the city and an impressive 41 mpg on the highway.

The Nightshade Edition translates to some sharp, black cosmetic additions that add spice to the hatchback's look.  The wheels, exterior mirror caps and rear spoiler are among the components getting the Nightshade treatment.

While I found the tester exceptionally agile in traffic and on high-speed corners, I really had to plant my right foot hard on the accelerator to keep pace on freeway runs. The 2-liter, four-cylinder engine needed every bit of its 168 horses to maintain speed at the top of sharp inclines in the Sierra Nevada.  And a surprising amount of engine noise invaded the interior cabin, even in highway cruise mode.

OK, so it's not a road-burner.  Check on that.

But if you're looking for an affordable first car for your young offspring, or an all-purpose compact to reduce past costs amassed owning a larger automobile, the Corolla Hatchback should be on your test-drive list.

One other bonus: Owning a Corolla hatch will make you feel relatively unique among Corolla owners.