Upgrades included in the uber-cool 2021 Toyota Corolla Nightshade Edition
Introduction
It was cool to see the transition of full-sized sedans into the more packed compact class but today, it is uber-cool when we see a compact sedan get all of the sporty upgrades, are very reliable, and do not cost much. This is a new trend where a base trim of the lineup is picked up and equipped with some beautiful and sporty parts.
A similar thing is done to the 2021 Toyota Corolla, a compact sedan that has been in the industry since 1966 and was one of the best-selling cars in 1974. Fast-forward to 2016, there were over 44 million units sold for a total of twelve generations. Nonetheless, it was just the previous year when Toyota came up with this cranky idea of dressing up its popular compact sedan in sporty overalls. This turned out to be a successful idea at least by the looks of it.
The Nightshade edition starts from $23,175 and is a makeover of the simple and affordable SE trim. It is very easy to visualize how a “nightshade” edition would look like and it would mostly mean a lot of the parts covered in dark colors. Though there are no major changes that improve its performance so let’s stay very observative and look at what Toyota offers on its special edition Corolla.
What are the changes on the 2021 Toyota Corolla Nightshade Edition’s exterior?
The exteriors are where the Nightshade edition of the 2021 Toyota Corolla is seen the most. With the same aggressively cut high-grade LED headlights and signature DRLs in the front as in all other trims, the front of the car is made to look sportier with a huge black-colored front grille.
The grille is actually fake but has a nice honeycomb texture to it with a patch of LEDs equipped on each side to the lower corners. This makes it appear very shady and sporty, especially in the dark. The hood slopes all the way to the front and is separated by a horizontal gloss black insert that joins the headlights from either side.
Moving to the appearance from the side, the thing that catches all the attention is the marvelously-styled 18-inch black-painted alloy wheels and in our opinion is the best upgrade on the Corolla Nightshade edition. Also, door sills painted in metallic gray take things to another level. Toyota has also spilled a little more black on its door mirrors that are heated and come with LED indicators whereas the door handles are also blacked out.
The rear also has little details in black that really go well with the smoked sport-trimmed LED taillights. On the lower part, the rear diffuser is painted black and though it has a single exhaust, it is covered up with dual chrome tips which are again, painted in black. Moreover, very similar to the front, a black piece runs horizontally that joins the taillights and the rear decklid-built spoiler is also covered in black which, put together, brings a great look to the Corolla from the rear.
With a pair of sharp eyes, it can be observed that the special edition carries a black-colored roof-mounted antenna, and the same is shared with the window trims whereas the badges of Corolla, Toyota, and SE are also blacked-out.
Are there any improvements to the 2021 Toyota Corolla Nightshade edition’s powertrain?
All of those looks will make the Toyota Corolla appear very smart and probably the coolest in a parking lot but take it out on the road and it is nothing different than driving a regular version of the sedan. And could it possibly happen if the manufacturer equips their special edition compact sedan with the same 2.0L in-line 4-cylinder engine that just makes 169 HP of power and 151 lb-ft of torque? We don’t think so.
On the other hand, the dynamic shift CVT-automatic transmission also remains the same as in the base model whereas the sedan is strictly front-wheel-drive. However, the driving experience seems to be a little better, maybe because of the heavily-styled exteriors that do impact its dynamics.
What about the interiors of the 2021 Toyota Corolla Nightshade edition?
From the inside, the Corolla Nightshade is just like its base SE trim with the same fabric-covered seats that are 6-way adjusting for the driver and 4-way for the front passenger, both are manually-adjusting. The rear seatback has 60/40-split bench seat with center armrests that have two cup-holders. However, these seats are pretty comfortable for the perky little drive that the engine can offer.
The dashboard gets some truly good-looking strokes and is covered in a hard, textured plastic that looks durable and feels good too. This is accompanied by a metallic interior trim that details very little of the dashboard, AC vents, and the leather-trimmed steering wheel. Moreover, the door handles are dipped in chrome whereas a blue contrast-stitching brings out something different in the interiors of the Nightshade edition.
There are ample convenience features as well like automatic climate control, cruise control, power door locks with automatic locking, rear window defogger with timer, and front and rear power windows with one-touch auto up/down are a few to name.
Moreover, infotainment also remains the same 8.0-inch touchscreen system but it is still a strong point in the Corolla. With features like Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, SiriusXM satellite radio, and integrating Amazon’s Alexa voice recognition system is a great move by Toyota whereas Bluetooth wireless connectivity, USB ports, and AUX inputs are also presented to connect with the car in an old-school way. Besides this, a 4.2-inch color TFT multi-information display at the right corner of the instrument cluster brings a lot of important information about the car to the driver’s knowledge. On top of that, a suite of standard safety features under the Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 umbrella is the best possible trim with sporty looks that one could get.
Should you consider the Nightshade edition?
We would definitely recommend the 2021 Toyota Corolla Nightshade edition to those who like to play it cool and smart at the same time. The exteriors are the only part where the changes can be seen, however, the interiors are also a little different than the regular trims with a mostly dark appearance. It is a great car for a daily drive as all the rest of the features remain the same as in the base model. In fact, a few packages that are available on the base trims are not even offered in this affordable and sporty-looking compact sedan.
