1986 Toyota Cressida review from Australia and New Zealand

Worn Clutch (partly my fault really - see below).

I bought this car to travel around New Zealand in the Summer of 2003. It was a bargain at NZ$1600 having had one previous owner and relatively light use.

During our stay in NZ we used this car heavily yet it stood up to everything we threw at it, including toasting the clutch on a hill start on the "world's steepest hill" in Dunedin.

Considering the type of car we were looking for (a cheap wreck that would get us around) this was a luxury. For a 1986 car it had all extras (electric windows/air conditioning/Power steering/electric mirrors) that we seriously weren't looking for, but were an added bonus.

Performance wise it wasn't a very nippy car, but out on the open road it always had more than enough oomph for overtaking and a speeding ticket or two. Pick up in fourth was particular fun - it seemed to enjoy breaking the speed limit!

The shocks were slightly worn, so handling was a bit average, although power steering meant that it was easily able to cope with NZ's windy roads.

In short I loved this car. It carried us around NZ in comfort and managed over 500km on a toasted clutch (to my relief we made it back to a populated area to get it fixed!). I seriously contemplated importing it back to the UK, but I couldn't afford it. We managed to sell it (with a new clutch) for no loss, which was great.

I really miss our "Cressy!"