1985 Toyota Tercel DX 4WD Station wagon review from North America

Rear axle bearing needed replacing.

Mechanical fuel pump leaked, requiring replacement.

Had to replace both half-axles.

Rust is creeping around the edges of the wheel wells.

There's no such thing as an old Tercel. Sure it may have an engine that at it's most optimistic, possesses 62 to 65 HP. However, it possesses reasonable acceleration, even for the 3-speed automatic I own.

The 4WD system works like a champ on these things. Push a button on the shifter and it'll go into 4WD. Push the button again, and it'll come out of 4WD. And the vehicle is perfectly balanced (50/50) so you can actually feel the vehicle gain traction when it goes into 4WD. Not like some other vehicles, where it's debatable whether the 4WD system is actually giving you any additional traction. And even though it' an automatic, I'd take it to places some big beefy SUVs would fear to tread.

Finally, they're a breeze to maintain, and they'll run on a minimum of maintenance. I'm approaching 240K, but I think the car has at least another 30-50K left in it.