1991 Toyota Celica GT 2.0i 16v 3S-GE

Summary:

Looks great, goes even better!

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong yet, and being a Toyota hopefully nothing will go wrong!

So far I've changed the oil and filter, air filter etc.

General Comments:

I bought this car from an auction simply because it stood out from all the other cars on the lot waiting to go through. I never intended to buy a Celica as I thought the running costs and insurance would be too high. I was wrong, I'm paying only £86 per year over what my Nissan Sunny was, and the economy from the DOHC engine seems great. The ride is quite hard, but I never expected it to be like a Jag in that respect, but handles great.

This is the 158bhp version which seems more than capable of hauling the car along at a swift pace.

My only gripe, is that its not really ideal for a DIY mechanic, serviceable items could be better located, and theres not a lot of room under the bonnet. The parts are not readily available in motor factors, and usually need to be ordered, or obtained from the dealer. Being a Toyota however should mean that parts won't need replacing that often!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th February, 2003

13th May 2003, 11:47

The Toyota Celica is not a hard car to fix. If you have somewhat a good knowledge about what you are doing, then it isn't hard. I have a '91 GT-S and I do everything by myself and I'm only 17. But yeah keep those Celicas rollin! Peace.

8th Jul 2003, 10:12

Just an addition to my original entry, car now has 117,000 miles, all I've done since is changed cam belt and fuel filter (not in the easiest place!!) Car really is superb, goes and handles really well, general feeling of solidity throughout car, super reliable, and very good fuel consumption (just returned from a weekend away to Edinburgh from South Wales, 900 mile round trip, and averaged 41 mpg!) Didn't even bother arranging breakdown cover as I'm so confident in its reliability!

1991 Toyota Celica GTi-16 2.0 litre, 16-valve

Summary:

A great entry-level sports coupe

Faults:

The radiator leaked badly, which was replaced.

Passenger-side front wheel bearing badly worn, which was replaced, but this also led to an Anti-lock breaks sensor replacement.

Occasionally doesn't (warm) start - yet to be fixed (I'm told this is a common problem).

General Comments:

This is an extremely well built car as you would expect from Toyota.

Apart from the faults listed the car has been fairly reliable.

The acceleration is not as good as I expected for a 158 horse power car, but once it revs over 4000 rpm, the power really comes in to give excellent top-end performance, but I would recommend the GT-Four which is MUCH faster.

Handling not too bad as standard, but lowering the suspension would probably improve things a lot.

Not as much fun to drive as my old 130 bhp Vauxhall Cavalier, especially on "B" roads.

Not designed for rear passengers unless under 5 feet tall with short legs!

Fuel economy not brilliant, but you'd expect that from this sort of car.

Pop-up headlights are cool!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th February, 2002