2001 Toyota Celica VVTI 1.8 (140)

Summary:

Why have a rep-mobile when you can drive something far better looking for the same kind of money

Faults:

Nil.

General Comments:

As the main family car this has proved to be surprisingly practical and versatile taking into account it's sporty profile.

It performs reasonably when the six speed manual box is worked, but has recently left me embarrassed trailing in the wake of such machinery as the BMW 330d and Volvo V70 XC. You should be wary of this before entering into a duel with such mundane looking hardware.

On the plus side, the Volvo XC could not live with the Celica round the twisty bits as the ride, handling and grip are fantastic.

Negatives are the poor quality of the paint which suffers far too easily from stone chips. The wear rate of the standard Yokohama rubber is alarming and one or two interior rattles are annoying.

Overall, a good value, practical coupe with modest performance and striking looks.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th January, 2002

18th Sep 2002, 05:52

I guess if you don't want to be left in the wake of a 330d you have to get the 190. 140 seems a bit low for a sports coupe seeing as most family 1.8/2.0L cars are near this figure anyway. The extra 50 hp of the 190 will make a big difference. Its not a bad thing to be left behind by a 330d anyway, I drive a 320d and that has a lot of low end torque.

2001 Toyota Celica 190 1.8 vvtli

Summary:

Not the ultimate driving machine, but a thoroughly capable coupe with performance to spare

Faults:

Front tyres are starting to show wear after only 1800 miles.

General Comments:

This car can be driven sedately and smoothly, but it's a real tiger once you reach the 6200rpm mark. I'd imagine once I get to grips with keeping her `on the boil' she'll leave most things behind.

However this car is not for everybody; the driving position is semi-horizontal, the rear seats are cramped, and the 17" alloys mean you feel every bump on the road.

There is also a lot of road noise from the Pirelli P0s that came on the car.

The Celica 190 turns heads everywhere it goes and handles great for a FWD, just be prepared for the torque steer every time you approach the power band.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th November, 2001

6th Oct 2005, 04:32

Has the gearbox failed yet? Or the suspension gone out of alignment all by itself? Or the wheels gone oval?

Mine (bought new and serviced on the button by the main dealer every time) was a disaster, and spent a total of 4 weeks in the (excellent) dealership in its first two years. I was almost grateful when it got stolen! The engine was fine, but pretty much everything else broke, failed, fell off, became misaligned or went haywire in some way.

The worrying part was that all of the repairs involved fitting uprated or modified parts, including the gearbox! This tells me not only was the car not developed thoroughly, but that lots of other people had suffered similar problems to me.

After this I will never buy a car from the first year of production. I'm sure I could go out and buy a new 190 today that would be absolutely fine, but that's due to the unpaid development work carried out by the first lot of owners. It's the last time I'm going to be one of those!

A happy RX-8 owner (carefully bought a year after the model was first launched!)