1992 Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD Carlos Sainz from UK and Ireland - Comments

Windscreen washer pump failed for three weeks, and then magically started working again. Nothing else has ever gone wrong!

A very reliable, and very fast performance car.

The car crosses country quicker than any other car I've driven (bar an Impreza).

Steering feel is great, as is the feeling through the seat of how the car is behaving.

However, the sensations of driving are somewhat dulled in comparison with other performance cars (911, 205 GTi, Caterham etc). Driving is about sensations, so I'm changing it.

The other reason I'm changing it, is, whilst it is very very reliable, it's just too thirsty on fuel (22mpg and 26 on motorways), and it eats its way through a set of tyres (£400) every year, and needs servicing every 6000 miles (3 times a year for me!!!). Backstreet garages cannot cope with the complexity of the car, so this means main dealer prices.

Very comfortable and very reliable. I can think of no other car more suitable for reliable ownership to transport its driver around the country at high speed in complete comfort.

Personally, I'm going to go for something cheaper to run, that's still a lot of fun. A Mk1 MR2 is now on my wish list whilst I save for my dream car... a Caterham 7.

Brilliant from a guy whose last car was a AX GT LOL.

I have a GT-Four and I think trying to compare the handling to a 911 or Caterham is a bit harsh. The handling is good, just a little understeer, an uprated antiroll bar makes it great.

Plus the car is endlessly upgradable in engine and chassis.

And 99% of 2litre turbo engines are not complex.

To say that backstreet garages cannot cope with the complexity of the car is unfair. Firstly there is nothing more complex than any other car in a celica. Secondly I am a technician for a well known dealer and I find that in general the skill level of dealership technicians is below that of a good backstreet garage mechanic with some exceptions. If you use a dealership and get ripped off then its your own fault.

Steering feel is great, very reliable, very comfortable. Let me add: solid & predictable handling, excellent braking, nice looking, powerful & torquey turbo engine, very practical liftback trunk & folding rear seat, the image of World Rally Champions. ST185 GT-Four is the best Celica ever, even though it's heavy and parts are expensive.

That's interesting about the washer fluid pump. When I bought my 91 Celica convertible off a Chevy used car lot 2 yrs. ago the only thing that didn't work (other than the A/C) was that pump. I rode around for 18 months never trying it again and had resigned myself to fixing it one of these days. Then out of the blue I tried it again and the rest as they say is history. Now if only the A/C would do the same.