1989 Toyota Supra Turbo review from North America

At 77,000 miles, the head gasket blew, causing my engine to overheat.

The stereo wiring burned out 2 days after I got the car from my mechanic.

It is a salvage title, so I expected some problems, but even so, the plastic underbody tray mysteriously fell off the car.

Coolant lines replaced at 83,000.

Rear seats worn terribly due to years of sun damage.

The gray cabin is augmented by all black dials, giving the car a great performance look.

The vehicle handles beautifully, but the progressive power steering can be difficult to handle at low speed. But once you get going, the car feels like a go-kart.

I did buy the car as a salvage, and have only had minor problems since the engine change. I have kept a close eye on the engine, since overheating is a major problem for these Supras, and have kept up with continuous oil changes and liquid flushes. It is an all around wonderful car, but the back seat should be deleted, or made larger.

The quietness of the cabin with the T-top on is impeccable, and hard to believe that it is a 1989. T-top off is louder, obviously, but wind draft is not too bad.

I have yet to put performance parts on my car, worrying if the ride, which is hard when the Toyota Electronically Modulated Suspension (T.E.M.S.) is in sport mode, would suffer if I changed the springs/shock assembly. As of this writing the car is virtually all stock, except for the new stereo.

I never liked Toyota much, but respect their vehicles, and particularly like only the MKIII generation Supras. I applaud the look of it, very 80's American, with the fastback look and flip up head-lights, very Firebird like.

You have to do maintenance often, but the extra elbow grease (I do maintenance myself) involved is well worth the driving pleasure.