RE: Shed of the Week: Toyota Celica T-Sport 190
Discussion
2smoke said:
Blimey Shed, you're up early!
Looks like a reasonable car for the money, with no doubt plenty of life left in it being a Toyota.
Owner feedback anybody?
Love mine, had it since March now and it still puts a smile on my face. To echo the comments of others in this thread, it has aged well (depending on colour, subjective I know) and receives lots of positive comments.Looks like a reasonable car for the money, with no doubt plenty of life left in it being a Toyota.
Owner feedback anybody?
Always surprised at the people who lambaste it as unreliable because their 'mates cousins brother' had one that exploded after a year with 12k on it... they are widely known as being very reliable and there are a good number on the owners forums with 150 - 200k+.
Really benefits from lowering and some aftermarket alloys to make it the car it should of been, which is what the GT model basically did. Does embarrass some newer metal, especially on a nice twisty road. I've found it hard to make it understeer and on the right tyres feels like the grip will never end!
Gratuitous picture of mine while we're at it (from the original AutoTrader ad as I have none of my own on this PC):
A couple of years ago I bought a 2004 Corolla t sport with this engine from a lady in her late 70’s. She had owned it from new and got to the age where she was bashing it on the drive on the way in or out.
28,000 on the clock and I had to wait an hour for one of her family members to accompany me on a test drive as she couldn’t make it out.
Needed a new clutch due to the way she tended to drive but factored this in to purchase price of £1600.
For the price it was amazing, 190bhp, popped some updated discs and pads on with braided brake lines so it stopped quite well. New sticky tyres and decent clutch. The noise it made was good and apart from needing slightly updated suspension I found it a really good car. Revved up to 8k all day long.
Yamaha built engines these 190’s I think.
Anyway, sold it a couple of years later to a guy who used it as a track car.
Always keep an eye out for another as it was great fun.
28,000 on the clock and I had to wait an hour for one of her family members to accompany me on a test drive as she couldn’t make it out.
Needed a new clutch due to the way she tended to drive but factored this in to purchase price of £1600.
For the price it was amazing, 190bhp, popped some updated discs and pads on with braided brake lines so it stopped quite well. New sticky tyres and decent clutch. The noise it made was good and apart from needing slightly updated suspension I found it a really good car. Revved up to 8k all day long.
Yamaha built engines these 190’s I think.
Anyway, sold it a couple of years later to a guy who used it as a track car.
Always keep an eye out for another as it was great fun.
ZX10R NIN said:
Did they do a supercharged version of this car like they did with the Corolla? If they did that would solve a few of the driveability issue I drove a Corolla with that engine & while the handling was still crap the engine was fun.
Not from factory, at least not the UK or US market.However there are readily available aftermarket kits (Blitz and greddy)
Somebody mentioned insurance ,
i had a corolla which was even cheaper to insure (much) and hardly any slower when i was uni .in 2010 i picked it up 2250 with 76k on it, took it 114k before it was p/x`d.
Fuel economy was crap around 260 miles per tank , it was far to loud on motorway pulling over 4500rpm and doing <25mpg.As a poor uni student the reliability really did put me on the map working on demand. Great understated cars for 7/10 driving
i had a corolla which was even cheaper to insure (much) and hardly any slower when i was uni .in 2010 i picked it up 2250 with 76k on it, took it 114k before it was p/x`d.
Fuel economy was crap around 260 miles per tank , it was far to loud on motorway pulling over 4500rpm and doing <25mpg.As a poor uni student the reliability really did put me on the map working on demand. Great understated cars for 7/10 driving
IntriguedUser said:
ZX10R NIN said:
Did they do a supercharged version of this car like they did with the Corolla? If they did that would solve a few of the driveability issue I drove a Corolla with that engine & while the handling was still crap the engine was fun.
Not from factory, at least not the UK or US market.However there are readily available aftermarket kits (Blitz and greddy)
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
I thought that the 190 was the one that burnt oil and failed. Shows how much I know!
For that reason I avoided them and ended up with what I have now. GM’s strong and common Z20LET/Z20LER 2.0 turbo motor seemed like a safe bet for a similar price, notwithstanding the notorious weakness on sixth gear that can ruin the gearbox
For that reason I avoided them and ended up with what I have now. GM’s strong and common Z20LET/Z20LER 2.0 turbo motor seemed like a safe bet for a similar price, notwithstanding the notorious weakness on sixth gear that can ruin the gearbox
forzaminardi said:
There won't be a better car for the price. I've had a non-TSport 190 and a TSport. Both excellent cars, good to drive, reliable, pretty practical. Still great looking today in my opinion.
There probably will - PH just need to find a 325ti Compact in their adverts that is within budget (there have been plenty on Autotrader within current "Shed" budget)!"Only" 192 bhp, but RWD - much better idea!
Photo added especially for the benefit of "toyoda"!
Edited by Mr Tidy on Saturday 16th December 01:28
I saw a 190 one on AT or eBay near London, possibly Berks. or Herts. a couple of months ago with 160K on clock, 1 owner with FSH and new matching decent tyres alround for £1,000 ish.
I saw one this colour on Friday with the high rise aerofoil on the back, looked quite smart.
There's a video on youtube that compares a 140 bhp one to the GT86. I couldn't find it to post a link here.
The ever helpful magazine review uploads by s_m, and comments by other PHers has helped me conclude that I'd quite like one of these Celicas.
I doubt I'll ever own one due to the current road tax set up. My next car will be a £30 per year road tax or less one.
I saw one this colour on Friday with the high rise aerofoil on the back, looked quite smart.
There's a video on youtube that compares a 140 bhp one to the GT86. I couldn't find it to post a link here.
The ever helpful magazine review uploads by s_m, and comments by other PHers has helped me conclude that I'd quite like one of these Celicas.
I doubt I'll ever own one due to the current road tax set up. My next car will be a £30 per year road tax or less one.
Following up on my post yesterday comparing the Celica to the Teg R DC2.....a cursory glance at "Fastestlaps.com" this morning showed that the two cars were only tested on the same track once. Hockenheim...where the Teg was a massive 0.1 secs faster!!! Which, considering the Teg is a fair bit faster in a straight line can only mean that the Celica was quicker in the bendy bits.....
...So yeah, these Celicas really are in many ways a cut price Integra R.
BTW, looked on Autotrader and only one car for sale in the UK below £1450, so that chap who says there are tons available for under a grand is a bit wide of the mark. Still good value IMO.
As for the BMW 325ti, RWD it may be, but not BMWs sharpest effort. Its Hockenheim lap time, 1:21.9 against 1:21.2 for the Celica!! Fug ugly too IMO !!
greenarrow said:
Following up on my post yesterday comparing the Celica to the Teg R DC2.....a cursory glance at "Fastestlaps.com" this morning showed that the two cars were only tested on the same track once. Hockenheim...where the Teg was a massive 0.1 secs faster!!! Which, considering the Teg is a fair bit faster in a straight line can only mean that the Celica was quicker in the bendy bits.....
...So yeah, these Celicas really are in many ways a cut price Integra R.
BTW, looked on Autotrader and only one car for sale in the UK below £1450, so that chap who says there are tons available for under a grand is a bit wide of the mark. Still good value IMO.
As for the BMW 325ti, RWD it may be, but not BMWs sharpest effort. Its Hockenheim lap time, 1:21.9 against 1:21.2 for the Celica!! Fug ugly too IMO !!
You do have to read those fastest laps lap times in context though greenarrow - different drivers and track/weather conditions. ...So yeah, these Celicas really are in many ways a cut price Integra R.
BTW, looked on Autotrader and only one car for sale in the UK below £1450, so that chap who says there are tons available for under a grand is a bit wide of the mark. Still good value IMO.
As for the BMW 325ti, RWD it may be, but not BMWs sharpest effort. Its Hockenheim lap time, 1:21.9 against 1:21.2 for the Celica!! Fug ugly too IMO !!
All 3 of the cars quoted managed to lap faster or within a tenth of a second of a Ferrari 348 and also beat Alfa 3.0 GTV6, Fiat Coupé Turbo, BMW 330i and Alfa 156 GTA by a few seconds too!!!
Suspect there were quite a few external factors at play there.
Would prefer to see a back to back test on a track, same day, same driver to see the lap times then.
Certainly the Celica 190 is a great car for £1500 though!
JohnT993 said:
IIRC this is the same engine I had in my S2 Exige, and the best thing you can do with them is get the 'lift' point lowered from 6200 to 5700, it makes a hug difference to the drivability... its still a rev machine, but its easier to keep it in the power band. As standard you almost have to hit the rev limiter before changing to stay on cam!
Happy to be corrected, wasn't this the engine in N/A mode that was fitted to later S2 Elise's and it was a supercharged version of it in the S2 Exige?The lighter weight of the Lotus would flatter the lack of low down torque - rather like the Rover K series engine did in the much lighter S1 Elise - though it's torque curve was much lower in the rev range than the Toyota engine.
Edited by Oakman on Saturday 16th December 15:21
I bought a pre facelift Jdm version of this the SS-II (with superstrut suspension and lsd) almost 2 years now and drive it daily. Over 200k kilometers, I’m the 9th owner and I love it. The steering, seating position and handling (has bc coilovers now too) are absolutely outstanding. Feels a lot faster than the speedometer tells you.
The interior plastics though.....
The interior plastics though.....
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