Toyota Corolla AE86
Discussion
I've always rather liked these things. I'm a sucker for boxy 80s styling and to me they just look so right.
Obviously I'm aware of the cult following of these things in the drift world, but I have no interest in that whatsoever - the appeal is the retro looks, low weight, the fact that they're RWD and the small, zippy 4A-GE engine.
But are they actually any good to drive if you're not looking out of the side windows?
Obviously I'm aware of the cult following of these things in the drift world, but I have no interest in that whatsoever - the appeal is the retro looks, low weight, the fact that they're RWD and the small, zippy 4A-GE engine.
But are they actually any good to drive if you're not looking out of the side windows?
Thanks. Yeah, I was assuming/hoping they'd be reliable and unbustable, and the noise doesn't bother me. I'm just wondering how much fun they are in normal driving and whether they're actually worth the money they seem to fetch for a nice one - I've always been one for excellent-condition, original, low mileage imports and to meet those requirements it seems you need £7k+ for a nice AE86.
I've seen one or two in the PH classifieds and a couple over on DoneDeal, is there anywhere else I should be looking for cars for sale?
Any more opinions from people who've driven them?
I've seen one or two in the PH classifieds and a couple over on DoneDeal, is there anywhere else I should be looking for cars for sale?
Any more opinions from people who've driven them?
You do get minters on Driftworks too. Its a good place to look.
prices have come off a bit in the last year as the Irish economy has tanked (Ireland picked up on hachirokus long before we did and most seem to be there). Expect to pay about 6-7000 euro.
there was one that sold recently that had an S2000 engine and a full restoration. stunning.
prices have come off a bit in the last year as the Irish economy has tanked (Ireland picked up on hachirokus long before we did and most seem to be there). Expect to pay about 6-7000 euro.
there was one that sold recently that had an S2000 engine and a full restoration. stunning.
I prefer the Levin, but I wouldn't mind either if it was the right car.
I've seen a really nice one in Ireland. It's totally original, in immaculate condition but it's up for £8300.
I'm not bothered about it actually being that fast, as long as you can make reasonable progress and feel like you're going quick whilst having good fun at the same time.
I'll keep an eye out on DW then, I must have just at a time when there are no cars on there to my liking.
The S2000 engined one sounds bloomin' marvellous! DO you have a link to that car?
I've seen a really nice one in Ireland. It's totally original, in immaculate condition but it's up for £8300.
I'm not bothered about it actually being that fast, as long as you can make reasonable progress and feel like you're going quick whilst having good fun at the same time.
Wadeski said:
You do get minters on Driftworks too. Its a good place to look.
prices have come off a bit in the last year as the Irish economy has tanked (Ireland picked up on hachirokus long before we did and most seem to be there). Expect to pay about 6-7000 euro.
there was one that sold recently that had an S2000 engine and a full restoration. stunning.
Sorry Wadeski, I missed this post while phone browsing earlier.prices have come off a bit in the last year as the Irish economy has tanked (Ireland picked up on hachirokus long before we did and most seem to be there). Expect to pay about 6-7000 euro.
there was one that sold recently that had an S2000 engine and a full restoration. stunning.
I'll keep an eye out on DW then, I must have just at a time when there are no cars on there to my liking.
The S2000 engined one sounds bloomin' marvellous! DO you have a link to that car?
Edited by Old Gregg on Thursday 29th September 17:15
I had a tired but totally original UK spec AE86 a few years back. Like many a Toyota twin-cam before it, it's quite schizophrenic. 'Normal' driving around town was totally vice-free; just comfortable but unexciting to the point of being dull - you could have been in a base model Corolla. Pick up the revs and it was a very different proposition. You'll struggle to find an ex-owner who doesn't regret selling theirs.....
ta22gt said:
I had a tired but totally original UK spec AE86 a few years back. Like many a Toyota twin-cam before it, it's quite schizophrenic. 'Normal' driving around town was totally vice-free; just comfortable but unexciting to the point of being dull - you could have been in a base model Corolla. Pick up the revs and it was a very different proposition. You'll struggle to find an ex-owner who doesn't regret selling theirs.....
Thanks for the input, what you've described sounds pretty good. I'd really like to drive a couple but there's slim chance of that without making a heck of a journey.I signed up to an Irish AE86 forum yesterday afternoon to learn more about them, but I'm still waiting for my account to be activated so I can't access any of the forums. God knows what's taking so long.
There are some nice ones over in Japan but they ain't half expensive!
My last long term car was a levin ae86. The engine went at around 160k km so I wouldn't say they are bulletproof, I don't know much about the life of mine before I owned it though.
They are not as fast as you may think. I barely kept up with Mitsubishi colt's on the track with mine.
The are tremendous fun. I had the usual big exhaust thing so it was always loud. They do feel great to drive and the lightweight probably gives this characteristic more than anything else.
They are overpriced, but unfortunately for what they are (a 80s rwd 4 seater lightweight coupe with a high revving engine) but it's surprisingly hard to find similar. Saying that looking at all else, I'd pay out again for one but be more strict on the good condition bit. Mine had rusty arches.
You really can't go over them enough. Don't pay £7-8k for one just because it's an AE86, pay that because its immaculate. Those ones are worth the money.
I had mine for 2 years and one year of that it was off the road (I stuck a supercharged 4AGZE in so it took a while). A lot of AE86 owners in the UK have them off the road due to upgrades or repair or simply wanting to keep the good condition.
They are not as fast as you may think. I barely kept up with Mitsubishi colt's on the track with mine.
The are tremendous fun. I had the usual big exhaust thing so it was always loud. They do feel great to drive and the lightweight probably gives this characteristic more than anything else.
They are overpriced, but unfortunately for what they are (a 80s rwd 4 seater lightweight coupe with a high revving engine) but it's surprisingly hard to find similar. Saying that looking at all else, I'd pay out again for one but be more strict on the good condition bit. Mine had rusty arches.
You really can't go over them enough. Don't pay £7-8k for one just because it's an AE86, pay that because its immaculate. Those ones are worth the money.
I had mine for 2 years and one year of that it was off the road (I stuck a supercharged 4AGZE in so it took a while). A lot of AE86 owners in the UK have them off the road due to upgrades or repair or simply wanting to keep the good condition.
Hi, and thanks for the advice. I looked at your Cardomain page, I bet it was fun the charged engine in it, albeit for the brief time you had it.
To be honest I don't really expect it to be very fast, but I'd like it to flow nicely down a twisty road and have lots of fun while doing it. I don't really do the sort of driving where lots of straight line shove is needed, the roads I like to drive for fun are the more sinewy and winding roads of Lincolnshire, so I'm thinking that outright pace in itself isn't really required.
As for the prices, they do seem expensive. But as you say, what are the interesting, decent to drive, pre-1990 RWD Japanese alternatives? S12/13 Silvia and R30/31 Skyline... what others are there that I haven't thought about?
I don't mind paying for a good one, but I don't want to pay over the odds just because people think they can get away with charging a high price for the name. I'd like to buy a standard one and just fit some period wheels, lower it a bit and enjoy it. Most of the ones I see around have been modified for drifting, which is fine, but not what I really want.
This one is up for a shade over £8k in Ireland. No mention of mileage, but it looks very tidy. What do you think?
To be honest I don't really expect it to be very fast, but I'd like it to flow nicely down a twisty road and have lots of fun while doing it. I don't really do the sort of driving where lots of straight line shove is needed, the roads I like to drive for fun are the more sinewy and winding roads of Lincolnshire, so I'm thinking that outright pace in itself isn't really required.
As for the prices, they do seem expensive. But as you say, what are the interesting, decent to drive, pre-1990 RWD Japanese alternatives? S12/13 Silvia and R30/31 Skyline... what others are there that I haven't thought about?
I don't mind paying for a good one, but I don't want to pay over the odds just because people think they can get away with charging a high price for the name. I'd like to buy a standard one and just fit some period wheels, lower it a bit and enjoy it. Most of the ones I see around have been modified for drifting, which is fine, but not what I really want.
This one is up for a shade over £8k in Ireland. No mention of mileage, but it looks very tidy. What do you think?
The silvia and skylines don't really compare as they are turbo. I drove a S14 mid way through owning my ae86 and found it incredibly dull.
A fair comparison would be a old rwd escort thinking about it, but we all know the prices of a good one of those too.
That Irish one looks ok, but I really wouldn't recommend buying without looking, have a good look underneath to make sure its all straight and rust free.
For £8k you can get a Honda S2000 which puts me off the idea of a AE86 again too. It's a lot of money
A fair comparison would be a old rwd escort thinking about it, but we all know the prices of a good one of those too.
That Irish one looks ok, but I really wouldn't recommend buying without looking, have a good look underneath to make sure its all straight and rust free.
For £8k you can get a Honda S2000 which puts me off the idea of a AE86 again too. It's a lot of money
Xaero said:
A fair comparison would be a old rwd escort thinking about it, but we all know the prices of a good one of those too.
In terms of character and cult status they're really quite similar, AE85/86's are pretty popular rally cars down this side of the world too.
Actually in terms of handling, driving character etc the AE86 is supposed to be fairly similar to the Mk1 MX5 as well, obviously very different in shape and so on though. But if the driving feel is the main goal then an MX5 is a whole lot cheaper!
Xaero said:
The silvia and skylines don't really compare as they are turbo. I drove a S14 mid way through owning my ae86 and found it incredibly dull.
A fair comparison would be a old rwd escort thinking about it, but we all know the prices of a good one of those too.
That Irish one looks ok, but I really wouldn't recommend buying without looking, have a good look underneath to make sure its all straight and rust free.
For £8k you can get a Honda S2000 which puts me off the idea of a AE86 again too. It's a lot of money
Yeah, I know the Nissans are turbos, but I was just trying to think of pre 90's Japanese RWD coupes.A fair comparison would be a old rwd escort thinking about it, but we all know the prices of a good one of those too.
That Irish one looks ok, but I really wouldn't recommend buying without looking, have a good look underneath to make sure its all straight and rust free.
For £8k you can get a Honda S2000 which puts me off the idea of a AE86 again too. It's a lot of money
I spoke to the seller of the red one last night and it's sold, so that's a no-go now anyway, and I wouldn't buy without looking at it first. What are the key areas to be looking at on the car rust-wise?
I have driven S2000s and do like them, I might look into them but I was really looking for something older.
GravelBen said:
In terms of character and cult status they're really quite similar, AE85/86's are pretty popular rally cars down this side of the world too.
Actually in terms of handling, driving character etc the AE86 is supposed to be fairly similar to the Mk1 MX5 as well, obviously very different in shape and so on though. But if the driving feel is the main goal then an MX5 is a whole lot cheaper!
You know what, the Mk1 MX5 isn't a bad shout actually. It's more modern in appearance, but it certainly gives the driving experience I'm looking for - pity that the mix of boxy 80s Japanese looks and decent handling seems mutually exclusive save for very expensive AE86s.Actually in terms of handling, driving character etc the AE86 is supposed to be fairly similar to the Mk1 MX5 as well, obviously very different in shape and so on though. But if the driving feel is the main goal then an MX5 is a whole lot cheaper!
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