Well those of you with VERY good memories may well remember that a few months back i was after something fun for my boring current shape Astra.
Well I waited till my insurance premium was up to collect the added years no claims bonus.
Tried the Civic type R ek3 nice but a little chavvie for my taste and not enough toys.
Tried the Leon Cupra R great fun in all power bands but found the styling a little "dull"
Then went for a drive in a 2003 Toyota Celica T- Sport 190...
Never driven anything (in my price range) that has ever given me so much fun! Hitting "lift" whilst screaming round corners on A-B roads put a grin from ear to ear :D.
Its a fantastic looking motor reasonably economical too for the power it has and it really corners like its on rails. All the toys you could want climate control, CD changer etc etc...
So all in all well pleased I changed my "every other car you see is an Astra" for something a bit more fun.
Happy and safe driving to you all.
Cheers
Stu
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Brilliant car to drive. My mate had one of the very early 190s' (51 plate) from new which I remember fondly, but his was chronically unreliable. It used to keep melting its catalytic converter, throwing its suspension geometry out of kilter and it also lunched two gearboxes. All done under warranty, but not really the point. Same recurring faults
I think he paid the price for an early production model, and apparently all the mods his had were put into full production. He was definitely an unpaid development driver for Toyota though.
His was in bright red with the Dynamic Pack. Looked jaw droppingly beautiful, especially when washed and polished.
Fun car. Enjoy it!
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As DP says jaw droppingly beautiful car.
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Ah but was the ST185, or the t200 series better looking and more fun?
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I can't read about a Celica without remembering a large Afro-Caribbean gentleman who walked into the Renault showroom I worked in the early 80s.
After a brief preamble he mentioned part-exchange.
'What is it?' says I.
'It's a silly car,' he says in his deep West Indian accent.
'You might think that,' I reply. 'Probably why you want to sell it, but what is its make and model?'
'It's a silly car,' he replies. 'A Toyota Celica.'
And it was not until that point that I realised what on earth he was on about.
Story didn't have a particularly happy ending.
Cars like that fetched buttons in the trade and we were never going to be able to offer enough to tempt him to change.
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My father one of the first Celica's in the country. I think about a 1974 1600ST with a FIVE SPEED GEARBOX- WOW!!. It was a two door coupe and was really great. We still reminisce about it and how we left the cushions my mother had made for it in the back.
I thought it looked good then, and if I see one now I still think they look good.
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Good for you Stuski, nice to hear you're happy with it. I also love the look of the car; boxy but stunningly simple at the rear and lithe rounded gorgeousness up front. Several overtook me at lightning speed on the M25 on Saturday.
It's on my list (fairly low down due to some qualms about insurance and fuel consumption) for my next car. I doubt I'd be brave enough to take the plunge to such coupe madness but I think it's a shame that Toyota isn't doing cars like this anymore. The new city cars are all very well but they don't exactly light up people's lives. Oh, ciggie, I nearly forgot to smoke.
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It may have been rust-prone and the recirculating ball steering was not very precise but the very first model Celica looked great - inside and out.
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It may have been rust-prone and the recirculating ball steering was not very precise but the very first model Celica looked great - inside and out.
This one:
www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C73161
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"This one"
I'd forgotten how good they looked!
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FocusDriver
What ever you dont drive one then :¬D You may struggle not to buy it.
Insurance yes it quite steep group 15 but depending on your age no claims discount its not THAT bad. 600 fully comp for me at 23 with 4 years no claims.
It is actually quite practical for a coupe. Got a fridge in the back of it the other day without too many problems
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