2001 Toyota Celica Vvti 140bhp from UK and Ireland - Comments

False alarms from car alarm. Cured by a trip to dealer who advised me against keeping coins near the sensors, and also reduced sensitivity of interior sensor.

In the 140 bhp guise the car is still a complete hoot to drive. The gearchange has a lovely chunky feel to it, and a short gearstick with a small throw. The steering is beautifully weighted and gives excellent feedback of what’s going on with the front wheels. The car drives very tightly through bends with no bodyroll, and just begs to be driven enthusiastically.

On a more practical note, the insurance is not bad at group 13 – as a 29 year old with full no claims this sets me back £620 (fully comp, Oxfordshire). Driven sedately the car is economical on fuel as well – when running it in I managed about 37 - 38 mpg keeping below 70 mph on runs. Now I generally get around 31-32 mpg which includes an element of daily city driving.

Sorry to be dull, but the boot is also a really useful size (much larger than the ‘family car’ Ford Focus!).

On the downside, the seat recline adjustment is annoying to use and has no memory when accessing the back seats. The bulk of the dashboard also looks like cheap plastic, although to be fair, it is very solid. When a car looks so great and is such fun to drive, who cares though?

With my exuberant driving style I got through the original Yokohama tyres on the front in 10,800 miles. The tyre dealer suggested using more expensive Goodyear Eagle F1s as replacements which have lasted longer. At 21,000 they have around 2.5mm of tread left. The pair of Goodyears cost me £226.79 – Yokohamas would have been around 30 quid cheaper.

Even the entry-level model (which I have) comes pretty well kitted out, with good-looking 16in alloys, air con, ABS, EBD, front fogs, 4 airbags, single slot CD player etc etc.

The car also feels very well built – the doors are very heavy and solid and almost any other car will feel flimsy in comparison. As a three door car visibility is good too, with the B pillar far enough back to never block your view. Visibility out of the back isn’t bad, but you will have to learn where the front of the car is when parking, as the bonnet slopes out of view.

In summary, the car is fantastic to drive and is an incredibly viable everyday car for singletons and couples. For Mondeo money you can have something that is great fun to drive, not too expensive to run, and hopefully should keep its value better. It certainly looks an awful lot better too!

What a great review! How about an update now that you've had the car for a while longer?

My wife and I are buying a Japanese coupe and settled on this - the don't like the shape of the Honda Prelude, the Generation 6 Celica has a dreary interior and the Hyundai Coupe is a bit of a mishmash.

I was suprised at your insurance quote - please could you tell em who insured you? Thank you and happy driving!

Regarding the insurance costs, I've had a 140bhp Celica for over a year, live in the North East (SR6), I'm 50 years old and pay £365 through Direct Line.

I have just bought a celica vvti (140bhp) and I am a 21 year old male from wiltshire with 0 no claims and a driving conviction (SP50 - speeding on a motorway (as if no-one else does grr.) I got a quote of £1150 from Norwich union direct which I thought was pretty good all things considered.

If your car then it isn't the base model as you state. The base model has cloth interior and no air con. Premium pack adds leather and a/c, sport pack adds spoiler, 17inch wheels etc, Dynamic pack adds side skirts etc.

I'm almost 33 and have just bought one - awaiting delivery of 2003 model (140bhp). Paid extra £85 for insurance after upgrading from 1.4 16v Polo. Also had a quote for £406. Clean license and live just outside Glasgow.

I'm 19 and I am looking into buying this car, a 2001 model. Excelent review! Cheapest insurance I've found for me with 2 years noclaims, driving for two years, and my father included as a second named driver is £1495 from Direct Line. Anyone any suggestions on cheap insurance providers for students?

Thanks Chris.

The original reviewer's insurance quote sounds rather high.

I am 33 and have full no claims and pay £418 a year (including protected no claims) for my Mazda MX-6 which is group 16 insurance.

I am 21 years old,1 years no claims and pay £757 with direct line. I have the 02 140bhp with premium dynamic pack (spoiler,17 inch alloys, skirts and 10 disc sony changer. Wouldn't av the 190bhp, to much on fuel n to high insurance,140bhp is the best celica.

I am 30, 6 years no claims. 18 inch wheels and full premium pack and pay £350 a year.

Good review!

Insurance costs are varying so much. At 29 with full no claims and 3 points for speeding I insured a Honda Integra Type R dc2 197bhp (japanese import takes it from group 18 to group 19 insurance) for £530 quid in Devon, then a group 17 Audi S3 for £400.

I am 23 and have a 140 Sportpack, which I pay £540 fully comp with the NFU. I live in the Lake District; great car, quick enough and very very good on fuel.

I've just put down a deposit on one of these, a 2000 model. The best insurance quote I got was for £206 (I'm 33 years old).

I have a 2001 190VVTLI and I'm 22 years old with no convictions or NCB and fully comp, just me, it costs £900 for the year, Direct Line were the best on prices for me.

And to reply to the person saying the 140bhp is the best version, I strongly disagree. It just depends on your circumstances, the 190 is the more fun drive and 'lift' is great, but obviously the 140 is better on fuel (about 5mpg better for the same sort of trips) and lower costs generally. I don't do many miles so for me it was a no brainer, plus the early 190's come out very cheap to insure for some reason.

They certainly are suprisingly cheap on insurance (and fuel), I recently replaced my boring Nissan Almera 1.5 SE with a Celica VVTi 140 with premium pack and spoiler etc. I am 36 with 5 years no claims and live in Bedfordshire. The insurance on the Nissan set me back £278 fully comp, while the Celica is £370 fully comp. Well worth the extra ;-).