1991 Toyota Soarer 1JZ-GTE review from Australia and New Zealand

Nothing apart from addressing the following service items:

Timing belt and camshaft seals accessories belt

Front lower bushes and steering rack bushes.

As with all soarers of this age and kilometres, a "100,000km" service needed to be performed. The service items above are about all that is needed however, it is a pretty costly service. About $800-$1000 (50% labour) for the belts and camshaft seals. About $600 for lower bushes (25% labour). The seals in the turbo's start wearing around the 100,000km mark. To rebuild turbo's is a very expensive job and would cost around $2500.

Apart from those few things the Soarer offers the best value for money. The price when new was over $100,000 and you can buy a nice Soarer now for around $13,000 - $15,000. Take your time looking for a nice example of this car. Fuel economy is good when you just want to cruise around. Highway driving is fantastic. The Soarer is a very comfortable car and the stock sound system is very impressive.

The performance of the car is also very nice - the twin turbo's operate simultaneously to give the feeling of driving a large engine car. At first, most people underestimate the Soarer as it does not look like a car that could deliver respectable performance - it does impress people.

The engine is very reliable and is the same used in the Supra. This engine was designed by Toyota to kill the GTR engine. The Soarer engine outperforms the Skyline GTS-T engine and you will pay less for a Soarer.

Car can be enjoyed in stock form or slight modifications such as nice 18 - 19" wheels and a good lowering job will make the car look really nice.

When buying a Soarer look for things like a little bit of smoke when first starting (indicates worn turbo seals). Heavy steering indicates worn steering rack bushes. Also look at the inside of the front tires. If it is worn more on the inside then this indicates that the lower bushes need to be replaced. Make sure you become familiar with the electronics and are able to test all aspects of electronics for faults.