1992 Toyota Levin Apex 1.6 petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Pocket rocket

Faults:

The car is fantastic; the only thing I have had wrong so far is a blown brake light.

General Comments:

The car is wonderful to drive, but the transmission is a bit hard to get into gear.

It handles well, and the interior is OK, but not luxurious, and the seats are a bit uncomfortable.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th June, 2008

1994 Toyota Levin SJ Limited 1.6 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Pocket rocket

Faults:

Had to replace the rear shocks at 145,000km.

General Comments:

Seats aren't that comfortable; I use a overlaying seat cushion on the drivers seat as I found you got quite sore driving on long trips.

For a small engine, it can certainly rocket, and having a power/manual switch certainly helps to boost the power or to slow you down.

The built in drink holders are handy, but if you have the car in park, it's quite hard to fit drinks into it, and I have spilt drinks a few times when the lids have come off due to the lack of space between that and the gear stick.

The steering is very light, so makes for a great town car. It can give you trouble on tight corners on the open road if you're not careful, but I haven't had many problems there.

Has a big boot; you fit plenty of things in there. Just a tad annoying is the high lip of the boot.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 31st August, 2007

1997 Toyota Levin Trueno Bzr 1.6 20v twincam from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Unreal, love it

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car, but I did crack an alloy that had to be fixed!

General Comments:

Love the car think it looks unreal in white. I wash it almost every day and just look at it. I have have super lightweight alloys on it from Japan in pearl white with a blue rim and centre cap. It makes the car stand out!

Love the acceleration of the car, and it's not too bad on petrol either.

Everything you could want or need is in the cabin. Ice cold air con, cup holders and I love the electric folding mirrors!

The seats are awesome, and the super strut suspension sticks it to the road. However, the suspension is really hard, even at low speed.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th August, 2007

15th Aug 2008, 19:21

Love those levins!!

Imported a black AE111 Trueno BZR 1998 1.6 20v 6speed similar to the levins apart from front lights and rear lights.

Not registered yet due to SVA (waiting for the 10 year rule to apply) which will be in NOV 1998 meaning straight to MOT.

I did drive my Trueno back from the docks about 80 miles . All I can say is the quality of the car is more Lexus nothing like the earlier Toyotas nice and solid. The drive was surprisingly quick but very hard suspension (super strut), nothing else on the road that looks like it... awesome coupe!!! Can't wait to get it back on the road.

1993 Toyota Levin GT Apex 20v 1.6L 4A-GE from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Wolf in Sheep's clothing!!!

General Comments:

I've had my Levin GT Apex 20v now for about a month, and am quite satisfied with every feature.

Things I have noticed (from top of my head) are as follows:

Pros:

1. Cool looking car and quite rare here in Brisbane AUS (9/10 first Q asked is "What is it!?").

2. Quite fast when you rev it high! Although to get the power going you must approach redline in 1st, so that 2nd pulls and continues the acceleration (which is no prob to chirpie (skid) in the 1-2 gear change!), 2nd gear doesn't need as much revving to get power out of 3rd gear.

3. Gears are excellent! Approx: (1st-60Km/h, 2nd-100Km/h, 3rd-150ish, 4th and 5th yet to try >.<!)

4. Sturdy car, gotta turn sharp at high speed before you hear the tyres losing traction, & even then it sticks to the road!

5. Had timing belt changed and major service etc @ 75000K's, as being an import, I wasn't sure how close to 100K's it has really gone :S Could've gone another 5k - 10k before service, but it gives an indication of what to expect when buying one!

Cons:

1. I also have trouble focusing to my front right, especially when entering a roundabout, because the pillar is right in the way!

2. Power doesn't kick in early (but that's because it's a high revving engine).

3. There are random sounds from the rear (parcel shelf?, windscreen?) when you drive silently on an uneven road.

4. I have problems with speed bumps when the car has 2 - 4 occupants, where it sometimes scrapes (this is probably the exhaust piping, cos they are quite low, even though car is stock height!)

5. Fuel economy for me is quite poor? A lot of people say they get excellent economy, up to 600KM per tank, but I have my fuel light come on at 380, and by 430ish the fuel needle is under the E mark? This is on 98 octane (tank at the moment is on 100 octane + 5% ethanol, waiting to see the distance, but looks the same). I feel the economy is poor, and I wouldn't say that I have been driving the car hard to result in the low mileage!

Overall the car is brilliant! The Pros are more than enough to counterbalance the Cons, & I will be keeping this car for years to come! These are just some things above that I can think of worth mentioning to potential owners of these quite impressive vehicles!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th April, 2007

12th Mar 2008, 20:16

Just letting you know that the rattle coming from the back of the car at low speed most likely means your rear sway bar bushes are worn out. Doesn't cost much to fix at all.

21st Mar 2008, 02:48

I have a 4afe auto and love my car, but the best economy I can get is 450 km's per 50 litres. I have tried everything in the way of service etc, and at 54 years old, drive as lightly as possible. I have made a hobby out of trying to get more economy and less performance. Has anyone out there any ideas??

Ta.