Faults:
* A/C died in March 2006. Apparently a plug in the wire harness worked loose, error during prepurchase installation in Australia. A/C died again during November 2006. What apparently happened is that the first time the A/C died, they put more refrigerant in when it wasn't required, so it caused problems when the weather heated up again. Had to get the car back to a dealer twice in November to get the problem rectified, I basically had to tell them repeatedly to change the refrigerant, which they did, and that has solved the problem. I felt that from these experiences that Toyota needs to look at their after-market service BADLY!!
*General squeaks and rattles, these come and go, whilst they first arose at 1000km, I just live with them, I got used to it. Everything still works...
*side of driver's contoured sports bucket seat is wearing badly. Have installed throw-over seat covers to stop this.
*instrument panel lens that covers the speedometer etc. is badly scratched from cleaning. Will address at 40,000km service.
General Comments:
*OK on fuel - 10L/100km around town, 6.8 or so on highway.
*Interior was a little drab so I got some parts painted silver a la the Levin trim grade.
*Handles well, has high dynamic limits, due to good tyres. Ride could be better, though, nothing like, say, a focus. Steering 'feel' is a bit wooden, but basically OK.
*White paint masks minor scratches well.
*Engine performance good for its intended purpose, though needs the boot down up hills and when overtaking. Exhaust note mildly entertaining.
*Transmission well matched to engine, fairly smooth, better than my brothers Mazda 323 Astina.
*Huge boot, my 185cm brother fits in the back.
*Looks better now that I colour coded certain black trim parts and mudflaps.
*Easy to get in and out of, kinda high off the ground for a small car. Good ground clearance for unsealed roads.
*Plenty of storage space.
*I thought the stereo was of poor quality. Changed for an aftermarket system, much better.
10th Jan 2009, 03:06
I completely agree, mine has a rattle type noise every now and then from somewhere behind the dash, that appeared some time after 1000km, I have searched high and low but cannot find (and I'm a mechanic...), now have what sounds like a noisy suspension spring from front left, but I'm learning to live with it :)
The vehicle is very easy to work on, I haven't needed to do the clutch yet, but your normal service items are really easy to do.
I found with city driving I generally get 10L per 100km, but I tend to accelerate a little hard at times ;), my best on highway (driving from just south of Brisbane to Sydney, I live in Sydney) I got 815km from 48 litres (for the curious, that's the movie world exit to F3 south bound, which is just south of Newcastle), which equates to 5.88L per 100km. Also this reminds me, my fuel light comes on when I still have at least 15L of fuel still in take, I have found that I can get the needle to the middle horizontal line on the "E", I wouldn't risk it any further than that.
Also induction/Eng revving noise is great on accelerating esp hard, but for better noise, drill a few holes (a few holes using a 38mm hole saw) in the air-box BEFORE THE AIR-FILTER (or to put it more simply, in the plastic below the airfilter, not in the filter, or in the plastic above it, and not in the rubber), or maybe try a POD filter (I haven't done that... yet). Eng (standard) noise is a bit high on highway, but you get used to it, also that's why it was a CD player isn't it?
But other than that, the car has been very reliable, I'm only now replacing a globe (the one that illuminates the rear window defogger), and it's the only non-service item I've replaced, and I have had the car from new, since about June 2005.