1993 Toyota Soarer 4.0 GT review from Australia and New Zealand

Since this car was bought second hand as a grey "import" there was surprisingly little wrong with it.

1.Electric raising parking guide broken,

2.Trim clips broken by person doing compliancing (easily replaced).

3. Key-less entry on key broken.

We got this car in amazing condition, and are extremely happy with it an absolute bargain at $20,400 AUS that's about $11,000US. Plus we were lucky not to get a "grey" import that hadn't been smoked in or had anything added, it was factory original.

Performance: The 4.0L Quadcam 32v V8 is silky smooth and easy to drive around without going above 2000rpm. Don't let this fool you when pushing the accelerator down you'll feel yourself being pushed into the seat. The 4spd transmission is as smooth as the engine with almost undetectable gear change. The transmission also comes with two power modes and overdrive.

Handling: The car is designed as a luxury car and hence the suspension is too soft and there's too much body movement for sports driving. The JZZ twin turbo Soarer of the same year is the one to buy if you want sports driving.

The 4.0 GT (UZZ30) takes corner without fuss sort of like a giant cat very smooth and fluid. Body roll does become noticeable fairly quickly. The steering is light and very direct if only giving very little road feedback, but the car feels quite nimble for its size and it is a large car for a coupe.

Miscellaneous good points:

Its very quiet, smooth and very very comfortable. Plenty of power and torque very well appointed with more options than comparable Lexus Sc400 (basically the same car) The options vary from car to car so if you're buying check which ones it actually has. Unlike the Twin turbo model, the same engine and transmission in this car is in the Lexus LS400 which was officially sold here in Australia making mechanical parts easier to source.

Now the bad:

Being a large engine fuel economy is nothing fantastic, about 14km/L, and hence the reason for the 78 litre fuel tank. And the car was designed to run on the higher octane Unleaded, so filling with cheaper will only lower fuel economy and gunge up the system.

The doors are very heavy, this can be a good thing in terms of accidents, but it does make things annoying if you get in and out a lot.

These cars regularly suffered from headlight condensation, in the UZZ30, UZZ31 and UZZ32. I have seen very few that don't at least have one headlight like this, unless they've been sealed.

Being a "grey" import in Australia, the insurance is harder to find and more expensive (less than the turbo models however) and for some reason cheaper as a Toyota Soarer than as a Lexus SC400 even though they are almost identical.

Even though it has "manual central locking controlled by a switch in side, if you simply lock with the key both door locks do not lock, they would if the central locking button on the key worked.

For some safety feature which escapes me, after you start driving, after a short distance the door locks lock, this means each time you get out you have to unlock the doors and makes rescue in the event of an accident more difficult.

The Radio is tuned to very narrow bandwidths suitable for maybe Japan and Europe, but useless in Australia, but it has tape and cd so can't complain.

Features on our UZZ30

This car came with Power steering, mirrors, windows, parking guide (broken), power seats, Electronic Instrument cluster, power folding mirrors, intergrated aeriel, premium Nakamichi soundsystem with 12 CD stacker, Leather door trim, LCD dimmer on rearview mirror, climate control, cruise control, trip computer, selectable overdrive, power/normal transmission modes, keyless entry (broken) The doors cannot be locked with the keys in the ignition and a warning chime sounds when opening the door with keys in ignition.

Twin exhausts and ABS.

Features we didn't have, but wanted and available on other models:

An electric adjustment of the steering column with two memory positions (also for the driver's seat position and external mirrors.

Electronic traction control system,

4WS (Available on the UZZ32 only) withactively controlled hydraulic suspension anti yaw sensor controlled four-wheel steering.

Features available, but didn't want:

Dual Airbags, GPS (useless outside japan), EMV (as with GPS), Tv system (as with GPS), Leather seats, Spoiler, rear wiper, gold badging (ugh), 16inch wheels, 15s are more durable and help climbing hills.

Points to watch out for when buying a Soarer in Australia.

Most Important!!

The digital odometer can easily be changed to read a wrong reading, in our case the car looked and drove like a genuine 48,000km. But I did see another forsale saying 11,000km, but looked and drove more like 111,000km even the dealer said this was most likely the case. (an honest 2nd hand dealer O.O)

1.Twin Turbo 6cylinder

The 1UZ-FE V8 and its transmission are the same ones in the Lexus LS400 of the same year, these were officially imported into Australia so parts and service are available. The Turbo 1JZ-GTE is the fastest, but parts are more expensive to get as they are not supported by Toyota/Lexus Australia.

2. Leather Seats

Japanese normally don't treat their cars very well or are left unused, the leather suffers badly and isn't as durable as cloth.

3. Electro Multivision screen (EMV)

The colour touch screen controls the Audio/aircon/ventilation controls

This has a habit of dieing after a few years and many Soarers are missing these or are in need of repair. These can be repaired, but cost a lot of money and you can't control the features controlled by it manually if it doesn't work. Also you don't want to have to decifer Japanese Kanji.

4. TV system

Japanese NTSC system doesn't work in Australia, cannot be switched.

5. GPS Navigation

Calibrated for Japan only, cannot get systems for Australia.

6. Adjustable ride height. (TEMS)

Test driven car with functioning system, made very little difference. Expensive to repair.

7. Spoiler & Wiper

It ruins the smooth look of the car, but a rear wiper is always useful.

8.Electric sunroof

Make sure this works properly.

9. 4 wheel steering (UZZ32 only)

Have this checked out properly by a competent mechanic. The UZZ32 also had an anti yaw control which can be expensive to repair.

10. Keyless Entry (locking button on key)

After looking at many of these Soarers its hard to find one where the keyless entry works.

Engine: 4.0L V8 DOHC/per bank 32v with Computer controlled Fi (1UZ-FE) Horsepower: 257 bhp @ 5400 rpm Torque: 260 ft-lb @ 4600 rpm

0-100 km/h: ~6.8 sec

Top Speed: 187 km/h (Limited) ~ 254 km/hr (unlimited)

Fuel Efficiency Cty: 7.2 L/100 km (at 60km/h)

Transmission: 4 spd ECT Auto with two modes

Brakes Frt/rear: vented disc / disc ABS Suspension: double wishbone / multicontrol double wishbone

Curb Weight: 1640 kg (3616.2 lb) Length: 4860 mm (191.5 in)

Width: 1790 mm (70.5 in)

Height: 1340 mm (52.8 in)

Wheelbase: 2690 mm (105.9 in)

Track: 1525 / 1520mm (60.1 / 59.8 in) Wheels: ~ 5.5J x 15

Tires: Michelin Energy 215/60 R15 96H.