The Corolla's been pretty much the same from 1993 onwards, till this year. Minor changes, sure, and some minor refinements.

I remember that a 1998 Corolla with a 1.8 liter and 5-speed did 0-60 in 8.2 seconds, in Car and Driver.

You might want to save some serious cash and buy a 5-year-old car with service records, maybe "Toyota Certified Used" or whatnot.

-Sam