1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 review from North America

Exhaust manifold gasket blown and two exhaust bolts cracked.

Battery went bad.

Rear seat backs a little worn.

Sunroof trim gets damp in heavy rain.

Rust around sunroof.

Crank and cam seals went bad.

Had to replace front rotors and rear shoes.

15" crack in windshield.

Bad radiator fan sensor.

This is my dream car!

I bought it for $500 and have put in about $700 in it fixing the problems above, but after these repairs it should run for years.

The car has great traction with the 4 wheel drive, but is underpower. It has never failed to start and is very dependable

despite being under power its pretty quick off the line with the manual trans.

I love the ample headroom and cargo space, when driving it feels like your riding in a jeep because of the upright seat position and excellent visibility.

The car handles really well and is good in traffic,

dispite being a very small car there is an incredible amount of legroom in the back even though the seat feels like your sitting on a hammock.

It is an ugly duckling and people even laugh and joke my car, but when they ride in it they soon fall in love wih it. Recently I was riding with a friend to his house when he pointed out a hole in his lawn I should avoid because his van got stuck there, the Tercel went over it with ease and later drove right over his ditch, my friend's opinion of the car did a 360!! he couldn't believe that my little car was that capable. The ONLY thing I don't like about it that it is carberatedd, I have to pump the gas to get it started.

If Toyota released this car today with fuel injection and a little more power I think allot of SUV drivers would turn their Excursions for the Tercel wagon.