1991 Toyota Tercel from North America - Comments

When I first bought it from a neighbor the valve cover gaskets leaked oil enough to require that I fix it right away.

I have had problems with the door handles. One would think that such a reliable auto would have better than very breakable plastic parts inside the door that are mechanically used to lock and open the door.

The paint on the original rims has become spoiled and come off in places, making the wheels look shoddy.

Don't get the 4 speed manual if you drive out of town on the highway often. It gets pretty wound up at 60 mph.

I love the reliability of the drive train and the economy. Mine still has a good gray paint job going for it.

I really do agree with everything except for the 4 speed part. The best part of having a 4 speed is that you can go a lot higher in the rpm range compared to a 5 speed. but the bad part is that when you are hitting higher then 55 mph you tend to feel the car struggling. I own a 91 4 speed base model and I am able to hit 90 mph and the engine is only going 37rpm. so it is not that bad, but a fifth gear would be nice because at that rpm you could damage the engine by driving at such rpms. but then again, where are you going to drive 90 mph hours on end?

It seems that people know absolutely nothing. Having a 4 speed as compared to the 5 speed does not allow for higher rev driving, in fact it does the opposite. When going from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 3rd etc. there is more of a gap in a 4 speed than in a 5 speed. This means that the rpms will drop more in a 4 speed than in a 5 speed for every gear change. As far as final drive gear, a 5 will let you drop it down lower than the 4 speed, but if you like the higher revs you can leave it in 4th.

I think what the second commenter is saying is that for most highway driving the 4 speed is better than the 5 speed since the 4th gear on the 5 speed is geared lower than 4th on the 4 speed, so with the 5 speed you're either struggling in 5th or screaming in 4th at highway speeds. Around town, the 5 speed may be better though.