2009 Toyota Corolla

Vehicle type: front-wheel-drive, 4-door, 5-passenger compact car

Price range: $16,070 to $22,315

Warranty: 3 years/36,000 miles basic warranty; 5 years/60,000 miles powertrain warranty; 5 years/unlimited miles corrosion warranty

Base engine: 1.8 liter in-line 4-cylinder

Power: 132 horsepower at 6,000 rpm; 128 lb.-ft. torque at 4,400 rpm

Base transmission: 5-speed manual

Fuel economy: 26 mpg city; 35 mpg highway

Wheelbase: 102 inches

Length: 179 inches

Width: 69 inches

Height: 58 inches

Weight: 2,723 pounds

Fuel capacity: 13.2 gallons

Turning Circle: 35.6 feet

In the morality fable of the tortoise and the hare, the tortoise wins the race not only because the hare stops so often to goof off. Its victory also comes from the steadfast pace the tortoise maintains.

In the vehicle world, the Toyota Corolla exemplifies the stalwart values of the victorious tortoise. I don't mean to imply that the Corolla is slow. It may not be a showy speedster (ala the hare), but the Corolla goes as fast as an auto in its class needs to go.

But more important than the car's speed, like the tortoise it just never lets up. Toyota introduced Americans to the Corolla 40 years ago, in 1968 — two years after the model first appeared in Japan. So far we've seen 10 generations of the vehicle, with the latest arriving just nine months ago, in February. Through each renewal, the Corolla has retained its fundamental virtues of practicality and value.

A car can add other attributes on top of those, and the Corolla does. For example, the 2009 version wears a jaunty, contemporary appearance, especially in the side view, with an assertively stubbed nose, compact hood and rear deck, and high-rising side panels beneath the elongated cabin. But no matter what else it offers, a car must remain practical and valuable to retain popularity for four decades, as the Corolla has.

"We get a lot of people who are coming out of Ford Focuses and Chevy Cobalts, and the Corolla is the first car they ask for," said Eddie Najeeullah, Toyota sales manager at Rockingham Toyota Scion Nissan Honda in Salem, N.H. "For the price, you get so many standard features in it. It provides a lot of good value." The Corolla comes in five trim levels, with a basic model listing around $16,000.

Like its predecessors, the new Corolla is a front-wheel drive, four-door sedan seating five people — although they have to be little people if you really want to put three riders across the back bench. Corolla is compact, with power coming from a capable and efficient four-cylinder motor. The standard transmission is a five-speed manual, with an automatic available for an additional $800.

Top-rate fuel economy has been a hallmark of Corolla, and the 10th generation model upholds the tradition. In standard dress, the car's EPA fuel-use rating is 26 miles per gallon in city driving, 35 mpg on the highway. Along with the Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio and Pontiac G3, that rating makes Corolla the most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered car you can buy in the compact class. (The Honda Civic Hybrid beats the all, with a 40/45 mpg rating, but that's due to the electric boost of its hybrid drive system. Civic Hybrid starts at $24,220.)

"When the gas price went way out of whack, we started to see more of a demand for the Corolla," Najeeullah said. "We had customers putting deposits on cars we didn't even have in stock yet."

The highest priced, sportiest version of the car, called the Corolla XRS, sacrifices some fuel economy to deliver more spirited performance. Its larger, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine puts out 158 horsepower, compared to 132 horsepower for the standard, 1.8-liter four-cylinder. The XRS is set up for quick jumps off the starting line, with 162 pounds per foot of engine torque coming on fast. Equipment like four-wheel disc brakes, a rear spoiler and larger, 17-inch wheels give it both more capability and a more aggressive appearance. In exchange, fuel economy for the Corolla XRS drops to 22/30 mpg.

A recent test drive of a Corolla XRS reminded me that extra power isn't just for fun. The car's quicker throttle helped me merge more confidently, with less anxiety, into full traffic streams on a few occasions. The larger four-cylinder proved especially helpful when I needed to turn onto busy roads from full-stop intersections. That's precisely why so many car buyers opt for six-cylinder-engine upgrades in models that start out with more economical, four-cylinder motors, such as Toyota's own Camry midsize sedan.

I wondered if, in a car like Corolla, the larger engine's sacrifice in gas mileage was a demerit today, since fuel economy has grown more important to car buyers. But Rockingham's Najeeullah answered that its balance of practicality and zesty performance keeps the Corolla XRS popular among drivers in their 20s and 30s — often with young families — who want the four-door versatility of the car along with some high spirits.

"They want the value of the Corolla, but they also want it to look and feel a little sporty," he explained. "It provides them great safety and a lot of room. They're looking for reliability, and they know that the Corolla has a great reputation."

That gets back to those basic virtues: practicality and value. If a car holds fast to those fundamentals, it can endure excursions like the XRS, which extend a model's appeal by suiting it to a wider variety of drivers.

I expect Corolla to keep pace, moving with the characteristic determination of the tortoise, for at least another 10 years. Then it will be half a century old. Now won't that be an impressive victory for an automobile?

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Jeffrey Zygmont has written about automobiles since 1982. Based in Salem, N.H., he writes books and articles about innovation, technology and culture. He can be contacted through the Web site www.jeffreyzygmont.com