I have an opportunity to buy a 96 Toyota Corolla with 106K miles, auto transmission, 1.6 liter engine. I read somewhere that the 1.8 L engine is preferable. Why?
The 1.8 liter engine has a little more power, and is a more recent design.
Buying a '96, I would be more concerned about the condition of the engine - get a compression check!
More power. everybody wants power like a v8 but the 1.6 does ok and true later on they do burn a little oil but with good maintanece they will go 250000 easy
Check the tranny and see if it is 3spd or 4spd. I think the 1.6 came with 3spd and that is a bit annoying. Poor gas mileage at fwy speeds and lots of noise at those speeds.