Thought I would do a quick review of my relatively 'new' car, a 1993 Toyota Celica ST182 GTi-16.
Some of you are probably aware of my car history, mainly classic Triumphs with a Dolomite Sprint, 1850, TR7 and Acclaim and recently a Rover 100.
Far from the best selection of cars I will admit. ;-)
It got towards the middle of last year when I was wanting something a bit more comfortable, quicker and sensible but still a little interesting. The main contenders seem to be BMW E46 Compact (318Ti), Porsche 924, various Saabs (9-3 Coupe/Hatch), Alfa Gt and 147, VW Corrado etc but nothing really caught my fancy. A few people here (JP & Mark) mentioned a Celica, which is not a car that I have ever taken much real notice of, especially the ST182 and ST202 models.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I became a member of the UK Celica Club, found one that was not too far away and took the plunge. It was badly timed as my gf's car was off the road after an accident, and later the same week the Metro suffered a catastrophic electrical fault (ignition wiring) so we were both without cars for a couple of weeks, and we both work in areas that can not easily be traveled to by public transport.
So a hire car for the couple of weeks later and I ended up with a 1993 Celica, the standard 2.0L 16v model.
Toyota Celica GT by RSdesignUK, on Flickr
Toyota Celica GT by RSdesignUK, on Flickr
As mentioned, I have owned plenty of older cars (only the metro was newer) and driven plenty of newer cars but the Celica is the first car I have actually owned that has Air-Con, Electric Windows, PAS, ABS, Electric Mirrors etc. :nerves:
First impressions
when I took it for a test drive were positive, very responsive on the throttle and relatively light steering. Its not a small car, and actually quite heavy but it only really feels it when giving it the beans.
Speed
If you keep it high in the revs, it seems happy to go up to 6k rpm where the peak power is and by that time, with the long gearing you can be doing over 70 in 3rd if being very keen, and its still pulling.
More than fast enough for me, could do with a little more mid range punch when overtaking in the 40-50mph area without having to change down to 4th or even 3rd.
The downside of that is that its not the real cruiser, it does not have enough torque to sit in 5th everywhere, it can do it but its not brilliant.
Ride/Handling
Ride wise, its very comfortable, the rear droplinks (I think) need replacing, or possibly some suspension bushes as there is a small knock when going over rough road surfaces, something I will be looking at soon.
Its also quite nice to be in, usual '90s black interior but everything still works (electrical) and feels solid as a rock. Seats are nice and supportive, good bolster support too, firm but comfortable on long journeys.
Its not the quetest, the exhaust is fine but the car suffers from wind noise (pillar-less windows) and not much, if any sound insulation in the rear from my initial investigations.
Handling, is interesting. I have Dunlop SP Sport 6000 (IIRC) on aftermarket 15s right now, I am not that keen with them. I had Dunlop SP Sport 2000's on my Dolly Sprint and they were awefull, these 6000's seem reasonable (they are quite new) but I don't feel that confident in their ability, especially when its greasy.
One thing, is its very easy to get understeer and torque steer, with 160bph through the front wheels, when accelerating hard you get a good dose around 3k rpm and then again at 6k rpm.
Lift-Off Oversteer is very progressive, only had it a couple of times when seeing what it will do on a quite roundabout (private land) and its very easy to catch, which I think might be down to the longer wheelbase, the Metro would snap, not an issue as you got it doing 20 odd round a wet roundabout but not exactly great.
Under 'normal' driving this is not an issue though, only when giving it the beans.
Living with it
Its actually quite practical too, rear seats fold flat and good sized boot/hatch as well although the boot lip is quite high.
Couple of things generally, very quick to get up to temperature. It has had a new rad so no overheating issues and does not use coolant, as well as oil. The heater gets up to temperature very quick, within about 5 min of driving its roasting hot, a bonus compared to any of the classics I have owned.
Lots of nice little features like electric mirrors, lights jet wash, electric dip on the headlights, ignition key lights up when you get in the car and adjustable speed intermittent wipers. And it all still works.
Economy has been better than expected, I get around 32-33mpg most of the time (up to 1.5k miles a month at the moment) with a low of 29.5mpg so pretty pleased with that from a early '90s 2.0 Litre Injection.
One other bonus is most parts seem easy to get hold of and quite cheap, Air Filter was £7, Alternator Belt was £10 and a doddle to fit as well :^
One thing is its missing any cup-holders. Still not owned a car with any :x
Hifi
Getting a decent stereo setup too, the original car came with reasonable components that with some time alignment and little DSP sound very good, and got some descrete 6.5" Sub/Bass drivers going in the rear dedicated enclosures for a nice OEM look.
Pro:
-Great value - my cared for example was £1k with 100k on the clock
-Looks good - IMO
-Reasonable Ride - Not the best but still pretty good
-Practicable - Good boot and seats fold flat
-Fuel - Not silly on the MPG for its age
-Heater - Warms up VERY quick, within 5 min of driving its baking hot!!
-Pop Up Head Lights - nuff said.
Con:
-Understeer/Torque Steer - When provoked
-Most if not all will be high mileage
-Gearbox - can be a little clunky but solid and positive when in gear
-Bit noisy - Motorway speeds wind/road noise
Overall its been a great car so far, in the first 3 months I have had no issues other than the alternator belt going, which was a 10 min/£10 job to fix myself. Its been reasonable on fuel, done around 3k Miles so far and been comfortable on long journeys and generally nice to be in even when sitting in traffic on a miserable drive home late from work.
Disclaimer - The aftermarket wheels and ST185 bonnet are not original and were added by the previous owner.
Some of you are probably aware of my car history, mainly classic Triumphs with a Dolomite Sprint, 1850, TR7 and Acclaim and recently a Rover 100.
Far from the best selection of cars I will admit. ;-)
It got towards the middle of last year when I was wanting something a bit more comfortable, quicker and sensible but still a little interesting. The main contenders seem to be BMW E46 Compact (318Ti), Porsche 924, various Saabs (9-3 Coupe/Hatch), Alfa Gt and 147, VW Corrado etc but nothing really caught my fancy. A few people here (JP & Mark) mentioned a Celica, which is not a car that I have ever taken much real notice of, especially the ST182 and ST202 models.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I became a member of the UK Celica Club, found one that was not too far away and took the plunge. It was badly timed as my gf's car was off the road after an accident, and later the same week the Metro suffered a catastrophic electrical fault (ignition wiring) so we were both without cars for a couple of weeks, and we both work in areas that can not easily be traveled to by public transport.
So a hire car for the couple of weeks later and I ended up with a 1993 Celica, the standard 2.0L 16v model.
Toyota Celica GT by RSdesignUK, on Flickr
Toyota Celica GT by RSdesignUK, on Flickr
As mentioned, I have owned plenty of older cars (only the metro was newer) and driven plenty of newer cars but the Celica is the first car I have actually owned that has Air-Con, Electric Windows, PAS, ABS, Electric Mirrors etc. :nerves:
First impressions
when I took it for a test drive were positive, very responsive on the throttle and relatively light steering. Its not a small car, and actually quite heavy but it only really feels it when giving it the beans.
Speed
If you keep it high in the revs, it seems happy to go up to 6k rpm where the peak power is and by that time, with the long gearing you can be doing over 70 in 3rd if being very keen, and its still pulling.
More than fast enough for me, could do with a little more mid range punch when overtaking in the 40-50mph area without having to change down to 4th or even 3rd.
The downside of that is that its not the real cruiser, it does not have enough torque to sit in 5th everywhere, it can do it but its not brilliant.
Ride/Handling
Ride wise, its very comfortable, the rear droplinks (I think) need replacing, or possibly some suspension bushes as there is a small knock when going over rough road surfaces, something I will be looking at soon.
Its also quite nice to be in, usual '90s black interior but everything still works (electrical) and feels solid as a rock. Seats are nice and supportive, good bolster support too, firm but comfortable on long journeys.
Its not the quetest, the exhaust is fine but the car suffers from wind noise (pillar-less windows) and not much, if any sound insulation in the rear from my initial investigations.
Handling, is interesting. I have Dunlop SP Sport 6000 (IIRC) on aftermarket 15s right now, I am not that keen with them. I had Dunlop SP Sport 2000's on my Dolly Sprint and they were awefull, these 6000's seem reasonable (they are quite new) but I don't feel that confident in their ability, especially when its greasy.
One thing, is its very easy to get understeer and torque steer, with 160bph through the front wheels, when accelerating hard you get a good dose around 3k rpm and then again at 6k rpm.
Lift-Off Oversteer is very progressive, only had it a couple of times when seeing what it will do on a quite roundabout (private land) and its very easy to catch, which I think might be down to the longer wheelbase, the Metro would snap, not an issue as you got it doing 20 odd round a wet roundabout but not exactly great.
Under 'normal' driving this is not an issue though, only when giving it the beans.
Living with it
Its actually quite practical too, rear seats fold flat and good sized boot/hatch as well although the boot lip is quite high.
Couple of things generally, very quick to get up to temperature. It has had a new rad so no overheating issues and does not use coolant, as well as oil. The heater gets up to temperature very quick, within about 5 min of driving its roasting hot, a bonus compared to any of the classics I have owned.
Lots of nice little features like electric mirrors, lights jet wash, electric dip on the headlights, ignition key lights up when you get in the car and adjustable speed intermittent wipers. And it all still works.
Economy has been better than expected, I get around 32-33mpg most of the time (up to 1.5k miles a month at the moment) with a low of 29.5mpg so pretty pleased with that from a early '90s 2.0 Litre Injection.
One other bonus is most parts seem easy to get hold of and quite cheap, Air Filter was £7, Alternator Belt was £10 and a doddle to fit as well :^
One thing is its missing any cup-holders. Still not owned a car with any :x
Hifi
Getting a decent stereo setup too, the original car came with reasonable components that with some time alignment and little DSP sound very good, and got some descrete 6.5" Sub/Bass drivers going in the rear dedicated enclosures for a nice OEM look.
Pro:
-Great value - my cared for example was £1k with 100k on the clock
-Looks good - IMO
-Reasonable Ride - Not the best but still pretty good
-Practicable - Good boot and seats fold flat
-Fuel - Not silly on the MPG for its age
-Heater - Warms up VERY quick, within 5 min of driving its baking hot!!
-Pop Up Head Lights - nuff said.
Con:
-Understeer/Torque Steer - When provoked
-Most if not all will be high mileage
-Gearbox - can be a little clunky but solid and positive when in gear
-Bit noisy - Motorway speeds wind/road noise
Overall its been a great car so far, in the first 3 months I have had no issues other than the alternator belt going, which was a 10 min/£10 job to fix myself. Its been reasonable on fuel, done around 3k Miles so far and been comfortable on long journeys and generally nice to be in even when sitting in traffic on a miserable drive home late from work.
Disclaimer - The aftermarket wheels and ST185 bonnet are not original and were added by the previous owner.
