RE: Shed Of The Week: Toyota Celica

[KernowSid]

I had one of these for a couple of years. 1998 R reg 2.0 GT. I thought it was a great car, normal japanese reliability.

Reasonably quick, obviously no supercar, but for a 2 litre engine I thought it held its own.

I obviously wanted a GT4 after seeing them in the Castrol livery, or a ST185 Carlos Sainz edition preferably, but money at the time dictated GT rather than GT4.

Mine had about 145K on the clock when I sold it, only problems when I had were the lacquer was peeling from the paintwork, (common problem I believe) and I had to have the alloys refurbished. It needed the suspension refreshing as it was getting wallowy.

Edited by KernowSid on Friday 13th February 10:42

[molineux1980]

It ticks the boxes for a daily hack for me - Fun, reliable, decent to look at and reasonably practical.

I didn't even think of one tbh when I bought my Fiesta Zetec S. :-/

[PATTERNPART]

Nice. There's something honest and heartwarming about an older Japanese car that has been looked after. Be a shame if it got trashed by its next owner.

[Rincewind209]

I like it. Looks a nice example and they are very reliable. I used to have a GT4 which was a wild car but an absolute pig around town, these are a very nice drive.

[MustardCutter]

Roger Irrelevant said:

Funnily enough I'm thinking of getting one of these (or a gen 7) as a more interesting cheapo work hack. If anyone could confirm whether or not I could get a road bike in it without taking the wheels off that would be very helpful - reckon it might be possible with the front passenger seat forward? I don't think I'd buy this one though, I'd feel bad getting it dirty!

I currently own a gen7 and previously had a gen5 celica. A road bike will fit in either with the seats down without having to remove the wheels or push seats forward. Celicas don't set the heart racing but make very practical, dependable, affordable fast-ish cars. Their only downfall is rear leg and head room for adults, my 3 year old fits in the back just fine on his seat.

[s m]

dukebox9reg said:

s m said:

J4CKO said:

Bit of a timewarp car that and refreshingly un-barried, should be reasonably quick as well.

Preferable to last weeks Honda for me.

Timed at 7.1 to 60 in an Autocar test

Only weighs 1180kg so the 173bhp goes a long way

Found the Megane coupe with 150bhp was quicker in a straight line......Always thought the numbers on the Celica would mean a faster car. Maybe the gearing is at fault as the megane coupe wasn't that much lighter.

Edited by dukebox9reg on Friday 13th February 10:34

Yes, Autocar's 150bhp Megane was 30kg lighter than the Celica but tested a bit slower to 60 (7.8) and 3 seconds slower to the ton.
As always though, individual cars do vary

[Ryvita]

Only problem you'll have putting a bike in is lifting it up and over the quite high rear lip. It's what I would call a liftback rather than a hatchback.

Might need the front wheel off if it's a large frame, but yes the seats do fold pretty much flat without the seat bit of the seat having to be lifted up (i.e. just the back folds forwards)meaning that moving the passenger seat right forward can get you some decent length.

Had two GT-Fours for a combined total of about 7 years. Lovely things.

[jackthelad1984]

Had a lightly tuned import one for 4 years, took every bit of abuse I could throw at it and thensome. Never broke down, utterly reliable, only got rid after a van wrote it off. Would have another as a everyday car if I didn't need an estate for the dogs. Underrated cars I think.

[manmaths]

I really like these. Shed is on good form in 2015.

[Limpet]

My cousin has a tatty Jap import one of these that he paid £750 for back in 2010. Soaks up abuse and keeps coming back for more.

[dukebox9reg]

s m said:

dukebox9reg said:

s m said:

J4CKO said:

Bit of a timewarp car that and refreshingly un-barried, should be reasonably quick as well.

Preferable to last weeks Honda for me.

Timed at 7.1 to 60 in an Autocar test

Only weighs 1180kg so the 173bhp goes a long way

Found the Megane coupe with 150bhp was quicker in a straight line......Always thought the numbers on the Celica would mean a faster car. Maybe the gearing is at fault as the megane coupe wasn't that much lighter.

Edited by dukebox9reg on Friday 13th February 10:34

Yes, Autocar's 150bhp Megane was 30kg lighter than the Celica but tested a bit slower to 60 (7.8) and 3 seconds slower to the ton.
As always though, individual cars do vary

agree, it may have been a dog. The megane had very low mileage and had a full stainless.

[RemyMartin]

s m said:

J4CKO said:

Bit of a timewarp car that and refreshingly un-barried, should be reasonably quick as well.

Preferable to last weeks Honda for me.

Timed at 7.1 to 60 in an Autocar test

Only weighs 1180kg so the 173bhp goes a long way

Wow. I remember the GT4 being incredibly heavy. They must have used wrought iron for the 4WD system lol.

[s m]

RemyMartin said:

s m said:

J4CKO said:

Bit of a timewarp car that and refreshingly un-barried, should be reasonably quick as well.

Preferable to last weeks Honda for me.

Timed at 7.1 to 60 in an Autocar test

Only weighs 1180kg so the 173bhp goes a long way

Wow. I remember the GT4 being incredibly heavy. They must have used wrought iron for the 4WD system lol.

1434 kg for the Autocar test one - managed 60 in 5.9

[Roger Irrelevant]

MustardCutter said:

Roger Irrelevant said:

Funnily enough I'm thinking of getting one of these (or a gen 7) as a more interesting cheapo work hack. If anyone could confirm whether or not I could get a road bike in it without taking the wheels off that would be very helpful - reckon it might be possible with the front passenger seat forward? I don't think I'd buy this one though, I'd feel bad getting it dirty!

I currently own a gen7 and previously had a gen5 celica. A road bike will fit in either with the seats down without having to remove the wheels or push seats forward. Celicas don't set the heart racing but make very practical, dependable, affordable fast-ish cars. Their only downfall is rear leg and head room for adults, my 3 year old fits in the back just fine on his seat.

That's really helpful thanks MC - reckon I'll start looking in earnest then as from what you've said these seem to be just what I'm after for the work run.

[Brompty]

Best Shed this year (and maybe for a longtime). If anything it looks under-priced. And way better than last week's Honda.

[Frimley111R]

God those interiors are absolutely awful.

[Moonhawk]

Always liked this car - I have had three over the years.

[soad]

Back in the late 90's, these were pretty much everywhere.

I only fancy a GT-Four.

[Alfa159Ti]

Always quietly admired these.

I saw a GT4 in white on the way to work this morning funnily enough and thought it looked really nice.

I was more of an MR2 Turbo man back in the day, but still have a lot of love for the GT4.

[TotalControl]

Ah ST202, I remember the time we had together. A fabulous car if kept stock. The moment you start fking with them in regards to veilside (remember them?) bodykits, huge twin exit exhausts, large 18" alloys and a body kept together with tiger seal it loses its charm very quickly.

I have fond memories of this Gen 6 model with others driven, but my own one was a complete dog.