THE ninth generation Corolla has made a discernible leap over its predecessor in just about every area we could care to name. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the range-topping Ultima, which is more luxurious and more abundantly specified inside than we had imagined and features some notable flow-downs from the prestige Lexus brand. But we must stress that this is still some distance off being a prestige car and improved performance is still not enough to set a cracking pace. We also suspect its target audience won't mind a bit. Safe, dependable and uncomplicated motoring is what the Ultima is all about.