1986 Toyota Tercel 4WD wagon review from North America

The front seats have worn badly, the vinyl is cracked and torn. Some cheap seat covers solved that problem.

I replaced the timing belt at 165,000 km and the gas tank at 172,000km.

The front fenders rusted out (too much salt in our eastern Canadian climate).

My car is an automatic and underpowered is an understatement, however, this little car is the most dependable automobile I have ever driven. Cold and/or wet temperatures don't seem to bother it at all, it will start first time every time.

The 4WD option works quite well, snow and ice are no problem and the car works even better in the mud than it does in the snow.

The car was poorly maintained (it had the original timing belt when I purchased it) but wasn't abused. Since I've owned it all I've done (other than a gas tank) is regular maintenance.

Fuel mileage is good (25mpg city / 27mpg highway) however the engine works too hard at 100kph to get great highway mileage.

I've always been a fan of large North American cars, but this little thing has won my heart.