1989 Toyota Soarer MZ21 LTD review from Australia and New Zealand
"High performance and well equipped at a low price"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Blown head gasket.
Airbag suspension leaked, replaced with spring suspension.
Starter problems.
General comments?
Fast car and fun to drive.
Good interior with leather electric seats (6way) with power lumbar adjustment and size adjustment, power windows, cruise, electric tilt adjustable steering wheel (with memory when the key is inserted), power mirrors.
Features such as the TV and GPS Satellite Navigation are great for a sub-$10,000 car, but are unfortunately useless in Australia.
Would probably feel different if I was not mechanically minded and able to do my own repairs. The blown head gasket was fixed for well under $200, but quotes were going for around $3000 to fix it due to most garages never working on one of these cars before. Suspension work was quoted at about $1300, but I completed it myself for about $500.
Spare engine parts are readily available from Toyota as the engine was used in the locally available Supra.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1989 |
| First year of ownership | 2000 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.0 turbo Automatic |
| Performance marks | 9 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 7 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 110000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 130000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Holden Commodore |
| Date of Entry | 19th June, 2001 |