Toyota Celica GT-4
Discussion
I picked one up at the end of last month.
Brilliant car. Quite expensive to insure, more if it's an import. I'm 29 and it's still a hefty premium (modded). Any mods will add more to the premium.
26mpg on the B road commute to work and other local mileage, 31 on the motorway, sticking to 70-80mph. If you've a heavy right foot all the time, that goes err dowwwwwn!
No work needed as yet. But aside from the superstrut suspension, the fig 8's and the regular things, there isn't much to go wrong.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... GT4 ST205
Brilliant car. Quite expensive to insure, more if it's an import. I'm 29 and it's still a hefty premium (modded). Any mods will add more to the premium.
26mpg on the B road commute to work and other local mileage, 31 on the motorway, sticking to 70-80mph. If you've a heavy right foot all the time, that goes err dowwwwwn!
No work needed as yet. But aside from the superstrut suspension, the fig 8's and the regular things, there isn't much to go wrong.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... GT4 ST205
Edited by LandingSpot on Tuesday 25th May 00:06
Edited by LandingSpot on Tuesday 25th May 00:09
which era are you looking at?
I have had my 1994 WRC for 6 years and love it.
I've done about 40k miles in it and considering I drive it like I stole it I've had very little trouble with it.
I use it every day and manage about 250-300 miles from a full tank (68 litres) so average about 25mpg. Running costs aren't especially high but when things go wrong they can be expensive:
replace suspension components = about £600 parts alone
New clutch = 2 days labour
I have done some work to mine and have 356bhp & 320ft/lb torque. The car surprises soooo many people and I think it doesn't look anything like 16 years old.
If you need any more info ask away
I have had my 1994 WRC for 6 years and love it.
I've done about 40k miles in it and considering I drive it like I stole it I've had very little trouble with it.
I use it every day and manage about 250-300 miles from a full tank (68 litres) so average about 25mpg. Running costs aren't especially high but when things go wrong they can be expensive:
replace suspension components = about £600 parts alone
New clutch = 2 days labour
I have done some work to mine and have 356bhp & 320ft/lb torque. The car surprises soooo many people and I think it doesn't look anything like 16 years old.
If you need any more info ask away
Could I ask what they're like at sane speeds? I've always liked these but for one reason or another they've never figured in my plans before, but at their current prices they're right in the middle of my radar. Thing is, the only 4WD car I've owned before was dull as ditchwater at anything under 80mph, which made everyday driving very very boring. It was fine when you were in the mood and on the right road, but the rest of the time it was just too damned competent to deliver. Have these got a bit of sparkle in the chassis when under the NSL, or is it a case of you have to drive the wheels off it all the time to get the best out of it?
Insurance I found was cheap compared to other cars- the the tune of over £1000 cheaper than an Impreza Turbo 2000 which is in the same insurance group. It was also £1000 less to insure my UK GT-Four than an import one, and they are nigh-on identical. As an aside, the Toyota Supra TT was the same price to insure as the GT-Four, but only for a UK Manual which are rare and carry a fair premium over an import.
To live with they're quite good- not ideal for furniture shopping as although the rear seats drop the rear strut brace can end up in the way, but with some careful planning you can get items in. I've managed a 32" TV, small garden table/chairs set and a mountain bike (front wheel off rear frame slid under strut brace) in the back of mine, although not all at once! While you can only have yourself and one passenger on board for these sort of trips, they're infinitely more practical than an MR2 Turbo which shares the same engine (minus chargecooler).
On a day to day drive they are very planted, so in one sense could seem a bit dull compared to something rawer. They have a lot of mechanical grip, and the WRC model (with the riser blocks under the rear wing) actually has some meaningful downforce too. As you'd expect, the B roads are where it really shines, where it can maintain high average speeds. Curving motorway slip roads are also interesting (!) and in many corners you can get onto the throttle slightly before the apex as it is stuck so well to the road. Initially coming from other cars this seems like you're getting away with bad driving technique, but really they just need a slightly different driving style to fully exploit them. To conclude: if you have some decent country lanes in your journeys then you will really enjoy it, but if it's all urban routes then it will be less interesting. I suppose this is true of most cars though!
Issues to watch out for when buying are the Fig 8 joints, rear diff mount, smoky turbo, failed chargecooler pump; tests for all of these and more are detailed on the GT4OC. One of the beauties of a GT4 is that you can do the diagnostics using only a bent paperclip, so if it does have stored error codes or go into limp home mode you know why (most common is needing to top up the chargecooler- an easy job!). As a final tip, make sure you calculate the cost of sorting any issues as it can soon get very high compared to the price of the car- one tyre 2 x £100 (as you'd need to change at least two due to diffs), diff mount £100, 2 discs + pads £300= £600, and that's just for parts and before looking at figure 8's plus any service items like cambelts. It's much better to buy a car where a lot of money has been spent by someone else already!
Hope this helps, feel free to contact me with any other questions about it.
To live with they're quite good- not ideal for furniture shopping as although the rear seats drop the rear strut brace can end up in the way, but with some careful planning you can get items in. I've managed a 32" TV, small garden table/chairs set and a mountain bike (front wheel off rear frame slid under strut brace) in the back of mine, although not all at once! While you can only have yourself and one passenger on board for these sort of trips, they're infinitely more practical than an MR2 Turbo which shares the same engine (minus chargecooler).
On a day to day drive they are very planted, so in one sense could seem a bit dull compared to something rawer. They have a lot of mechanical grip, and the WRC model (with the riser blocks under the rear wing) actually has some meaningful downforce too. As you'd expect, the B roads are where it really shines, where it can maintain high average speeds. Curving motorway slip roads are also interesting (!) and in many corners you can get onto the throttle slightly before the apex as it is stuck so well to the road. Initially coming from other cars this seems like you're getting away with bad driving technique, but really they just need a slightly different driving style to fully exploit them. To conclude: if you have some decent country lanes in your journeys then you will really enjoy it, but if it's all urban routes then it will be less interesting. I suppose this is true of most cars though!
Issues to watch out for when buying are the Fig 8 joints, rear diff mount, smoky turbo, failed chargecooler pump; tests for all of these and more are detailed on the GT4OC. One of the beauties of a GT4 is that you can do the diagnostics using only a bent paperclip, so if it does have stored error codes or go into limp home mode you know why (most common is needing to top up the chargecooler- an easy job!). As a final tip, make sure you calculate the cost of sorting any issues as it can soon get very high compared to the price of the car- one tyre 2 x £100 (as you'd need to change at least two due to diffs), diff mount £100, 2 discs + pads £300= £600, and that's just for parts and before looking at figure 8's plus any service items like cambelts. It's much better to buy a car where a lot of money has been spent by someone else already!
Hope this helps, feel free to contact me with any other questions about it.
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