Faults:

Clutch and battery replaced.

Brake discs, and front shocks.

Slight coolant leak.

Armrest broke. Original radio is dead.

Passenger electric window slow moving.

Cam-belt changed. The car has also had regular oil changes.

General Comments:

Bought this Starlet as a cheap runabout from a friend a few years ago. Knew it was rare nowadays, but being Toyota it would be reliable (not a patch of rust, car was garaged from new!), but didn't know much about these cars. Totally original condition - rare from a Japanese tuner culture car. When I think of 1990's hatchbacks I always think of a Honda Civic or something, as they were a more popular sight on the road.

SR model is sporty, but not the fastest model, I believe that is the "Glanza V" model (which I only know about from playing Gran Turismo as a teen), but the SR is nippy enough and economical. Mine is silver, with the SR badging colorful on the side of the car, really stands out. Looks more 1990's than casually watching an episode of Friends on a big TV, sitting with a PC running Windows 95. I still think it is a smart looking modern enough little car though. Inside is pretty dull and you have a weird pattern on the seats; not much to brighten up the grey interior, but it is all functional and laid out well.

To drive the ride is a little bouncy, but the car handles OK. Good enough for shorter journeys, but a bit cramped for a long haul; but I would have confidence in taking a long drive in it, it has been reliable for a car over 20 years old, with nothing more than the expected parts replaced. Seats are comfortable enough. 1.3 petrol engine does around 40 mpg taking it easy. Feels fast enough, but only has around 80 horse power I think, enough for this size of car.

All in all, I like it, surprised to learn they stopped making them in 1999, so I have one of the last cars. Don't think it will ever be a serious collectors item or worth a significant amount of money, but I plan to hang on to this reliable little car as long as possible, kept as second car to play around with, and will try to keep it in good condition and original.

Faults:

Faulty driver's side door light switch (light would not turn off when the door closed) - fixed with a five cent coin taped to the door to push it in further.

General Comments:

This car is so cheap to run! From service parts, tyres and fuel economy; definitely for the lower income individual!

It's a bit small on the inside, not ideal for a taller person, but controls are in easy reach.

3 speed automatic is quite gutless and makes the engine work hard, especially when taking off at traffic lights (requires your foot to floor), but can maintain higher speeds... when it reaches them. A 5 speed manual transmission would better suit the 4E-FE engine within.

Air conditioning blows nice and cold.

Overall, if you're looking for a cheap, reliable little runabout for the shops or around backstreets, then the Starlet is definitely worth looking at!

Faults:

The distributor cap points were corroded and stopped the car from starting one day, but I just cleaned them and it started first turn of the key.

The aftermarket exhaust backbox fell apart, so needed to be changed.

The radiator sprung a leak, so I replaced it with a 2nd hand unit.

And that's it!!!

General Comments:

In standard trim, they're pretty poor in all areas, but mine had Recaro seats with modified rails to suit my driving position, TRD suspension, Cusco strut braces, Whiteline anti roll bars, Mintex brake pads and HEL braided brake lines.

Engine mods were an Apexi catback RX7 topmount and Apexi front mounted air filter, and boost raised to 0.8 bar.

This thing handled like it was on rails, and went like stink

I could easily put a lot of bigger cars to shame on the straights or in the bends.

These cars have so much potential, it's unbelievable.