The model I’m describing here is a ‘K’ reg 1993 5th generation, 2.0 16v GTI, 3SGE engined front wheel drive version of this wonderful car; it has 154 BHP on tap and is in a non turbo form. The reason for the GT4 coming about with its 200 odd HP output is because there was too much power for just a 2 wheel drive car to handle, torque steering and wheel spin being major drawbacks to power being put down on the road. So split into 4 wheel drive (GT4) evened out the power, thus enabling major upgrades in performance to be had by this body design.
The Celica range harks back to the early 70’s and is still being sold today in its latest form, so they surly got something right in the design of this car; the model range has a great pedigree and I’ve always loved Jap’ sportscars! My previous experience in the Toyota range was a 1986 3.0 Supra (3-MGE) non turbo. I find the two cars similar in many ways but, this one is smaller, lighter and handles a whole lot better than my old beauty that suffered the ravages of the metal moth, and ended up as a 1.5 ton metal cube! , even in my trade (motor mechanic) there’s a time to call it a day on expenses.
First impressions.
Looking at the shape and pleasing curves of this vehicle will have you growing ever more pleased with your choice of obtaining this car, it grows on you big time, and to me it kind of reminds me of a shoe shape. I look at it at and want to drive it, fast! It is low; it sits just right and is hard to find fault if viewed from any angle.
The clean lines that flow around the body are classic sports car design, and in my opinion blast most of the new car shapes out of the water, what with the trend for geometric lines and shapes to add interest to their egg or boxed shaped computer aided designed rubbish for the masses, aka things like the Ford focus, all mid range sized cars like your new Vectra’s and Mundaneos, that all look the same to me (cant tell um apart) and the new egg shaped Civic, taking this line to its lowest ebb in car design, the spaz cars that are the Suzuki Wagon R , Kia, Agila and similar mobility
oriented boxes on wheels for the over 70’s @ 30mph max lovers. (For god’s sake …GET OUT OF MY WAY!!) Get off and milk it why don’t you.
Have you seen what the computers have come up with for the new Micra … haha! What a pile of poo that looks, what happened to the arse end? You get the idea. (if you’re as mad as I am!)
Give me something different, something that’s now not a regular sight on the roads, this old Celica fits the bill for me, only seen 5 others like the one I own, and about 50 new Civic’s every time I travel across Swindon (where I unfortunately reside). But, as they build the things here this probably explains why I see so many of um, the top sporty ones are god damn fast too, got ripped big time the other day by a VVTI S type or R type or what ever type it was … No matter, I own mine and you prolly still paying for yours as you’re working for Honda and have to give up your life for them and do daft exercises for them in the morning before you start work! (I know because I did a temp job there once) Shot away they are, would rather drill my head than work there again.
Where is your individuality now? Even the new BM’s are taking on a computer aided look, I like them less the more new models they bring out.
I personally look to the past, as I don’t need or want to keep up with the Jones’s. In particular I look to the early to mid 90’s when humans still had an input into how things should be made, and also built much better and more reliable cars, the fact that cars like this Celica are still here, being bought and driven by the likes of a grumpy old git like me says a lot for my way of thinking, how many new cars have you seen on the back of AA breakdown trucks? Or lying dormant at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere because a lump of crap covered the end of the crank sensor? …Or maybe the computer that controls the ashtray sensed that you had switched brands?
For me well, I cant see how delicate computer parts can survive for very long in such a harsh environment just imagine sticking 4 wheels on your desktop computer and sending it off down the road for a hard drive and it being shaken to death, rained on, heated, cooled and generally abused? Yeah, you guessed it; its going to break down isn’t it. For Christ’s sake my desktop breaks down just sat here wrapped in cotton wool and not even moving an inch, just my personal way of looking at it, and yes I know this Celica is ECU managed, but I think there are limits on how many computers they think they can stuff in a new car now and still keep it reliable, don’t recon in ten years time the new ones now will still be drivable or as reliable as this car is now. Har har! I laugh at you in your new broken down car as I blast past you and enjoy some high speed tight bends! This old car loves them and will still be going strong for many years to come.
Interior.
Anyway, I digress as per usual, getting into the car is a stoop down and slide in experience, mainly if you care about it, to avoid damage to the fabric on the driver’s side seat bolster, something time will tell in this dept’ as fat arsed previous owners will have worn away the fabric till threadbare, as this one is. The front bucket seats fit snugly around your body (electronically squeezed in on the GT4 & Supra) The seating position, I find is a bit on the low side from what I’ve been used to for a clear view over the bonnet, me being (a short ass) of medium height 5’ 8”
The steering wheel has adjustment for the up and down placement but not the in and out position, the seat is adjustable for leg length, tilt for the back, head rest position (3 clicks) and a minimal amount for height. Generally though, a good comfortable fit can be found.
The dash arrangement is good for the driver, the dials and switch functions being laid out nicely for easy operation and a clear view, at night these will take on a nice green glow, the brightness of which is adjustable. The wiper adjustments are well catered for, the fronts can be set off by pulling the stalk toward you, clicking down one notch will set them to intermittent (delay time adjustable) 2nd position = normal speed & 3rd fast wipe. The rear is operated by turning the same stalk, wash and wipe in the same axis. On this one there is a battery charge dial, on the GT4 this will be boost pressure dial for the turbo. Blanks of plastic inserts will fill holes that on the GT4 would normally occupy switch functions for the electric seats, cruise control, and probably some other stuff I wish I had in this one! Of course, should you wish to, these upgrades can be had from the second hand market or ebay for little expense to greatly improve the basic spec’
The flowing lines of the dash will please the driver’s eye and give a confident feeling while driving. Visibility is pretty good all round and no problems have been found in sighting the vehicle into tight parking spaces or traffic junctions & high speed motorway driving awareness of other road users providing the door mirrors have been set correctly.
Others I have spoken to have said they found the interior claustrophobic and tight? Me, well I just love it, makes me feel more like part of the car. I will say though that it can become quite painful on the ears after a long drive, road, tyre & exhaust drone will be a gripe to some in the first week of owning the vehicle, if like me, you will soon adjust to this and will become normal. Depends what sort of car you’ve been used to driving. I’ve gone from a Mercedes S class to this Celica, so is a profound change in noise levels! Although the Merc’ was the dogs in a lot of ways… it was no fun to drive… there is a limit to how much luxury a man can take you
Pictures of Toyota Celica 2.0
Side view.
know! Got fed up with swanking around town and people giving me the bird! Now I love driving again and have remembered how to go round corners fast, and love mixing it up with the boy plebs out there, something I could never do in the Mercedes.
The fabrics used inside are of good quality; the plastic items and trim fittings are pretty good too and can see no real problems in their long service life. From my own experience an opinion with these cars, 1993 onwards saw some big upgrades in the sound systems fitted as standard, the head units being (yawn) pretty boring, but the speakers fitted (6) including tweeters, are of a quality that most will ignore as being rubbish, but give them a try before junking them as you may be very surprised. I’ve got a 180 watt head unit pumping some high dB bass levels through these standard speakers and found no distortion at all, strange feelings in the ribs and eyeball sight distortion a consequence of the level of power being pumped out as standard! I love it as; I’m still young at heart and can pose with the windows down, shades on blasting out the deep bass sounds of Earth wind & fire hehe! (re-mixed of course!)
Should you want to strip out the centre console to replace the sound system you’ll find it a very easy and logical task to get into the depths of where you want to go, just keep your eyes open and look for the screws, obvious snap in point fixings and you should be Ok to complete the task. The head unit space will accommodate a double DIN set up should you want to fit one. In the back the seats look inviting, but will be a tight squeeze for two adults, 2 kids will be fine though. Flick a leaver on the driver’s side floor and the rear tailgate + the fuel filler flap will pop open, the boot area is quite good I find for even a pretty hefty weeks shopping (rare for me!) both back seats also fold flat should you want to carry some bigger loads. Under the rear boot carpet will find (hopefully) a full sized alloy spare wheel, to the sides of the boot area you can find a set of original Toyota tools wrapped in a case and a jack incase of a puncture.
The engine will always fire up straight away, if it doesn’t this will be unusual and indicate a rare fault, and should have you worried. The engines are bullet proof, so provided they’ve been regularly serviced (and cam belted every 60K) they should go on for over 200K + miles without any need to worry, remember fresh oil is the lifeblood of all engines, so don’t neglect this, especially with the turbo versions, and while we’re on the turbo side of things, if you have a GT4 don’t just turn the engine off after a blast, leave it running on tick over for at least a min (or get a turbo timer) to let the turbo slow down as it is oil fed from the engine, cutting the power too soon will have the turbo still spinning with no oil feed! Thus starving the center bearing and leading to premature failure of the turbo. Also you can save a bit now on servicing or pay 5 times as much later on in major engine damage.
Pay attention to the cooling system too as premature radiator failure is not un common on these cars, always make sure of a strong and clean mix of antifreeze/coolant to protect, lubricate the water pump and keep the internals of the engine corrosion free, avoiding too the possibility of head gasket problems. Recommended spark plugs are platinum tipped that are expensive but will last a long time, (30k miles) cheaper NGK BCPR6EY-11’s can be used also with no problems but will need changing at regular service intervals. The engine takes 4.5 ltrs of good quality 10w / 40 oil preferably thinner and synthetic if mileages are low, but as mine has 160K on the clock I think 10/40 is par for the course (thinner grades on high mileage worn engines possibly leaking past valve seals causing higher oil consumption & burning, blue smoke).
The standard air filter is of a high flow material similar to the K&N type and will keep the performance up to scratch by breathing fully, but more horses can be found by using a full K&N kit, especially the ones that keep the intake air cool leading to a better oxygen mix with more power as a result. De-cat pipes can also be fitted probably gaining another 10 BHP approx’ £45 from ebay (but I never said that did I) Fuel filter replacement is very important (accessed from the engine bay and tres fiddly to fit) to keep a steady idle speed, top performance and fuel economy. Many poor running problems are down to a dirty fuel supply, and many cases of rough running can be solved by adding a “fuel injector cleaner” to the fuel tank, before shelling out hundreds of pounds in diagnostic tests, always good to try this cheap fix first.
On the road.
First drives of the car will have you wondering where the corners are, but this will soon disappear from your mind and become natural, your brain will soon wrap around it in a short time, soon all seems perfectly natural. Driving off for the first time will impress upon you the free revving and quick acceleration of the engine, the excellent gearbox is close and positive, clutch light and easy, brakes powerful to the touch and inspiring confidence. The suspension is taught, and as standard strut braces are fitted across both front top suspension mounts, thus eliminating most body roll and any out of shape problems when cornering hard into bends, as the chassis is much stiffer. Steering is very light and positive, the car can be squirted into tight turns and mini roundabouts without any a problems and little body roll, but the turning circle I find is not very good, most 3 point turn situations could turn into a 4 pointer in my experience when the space is limited.
The suspension set up is quite hard so uneven road surfaces will transmit a fair amount of noise back into the cabin, any major knocking sounds will be down to worn anti roll bar link arms I suspect. The trade off against squidey soft ride comfort is superb road holding in tight bends that may well see off many lesser sprung cars should you want to have “a bit of a go” in the twisty bits! Many times as you may know, its not all about the amount of thrust you have under the bonnet, great in a straight line, but the bends will soon weed out the best drivers and the fastest cars!
A recent round trip to Wales, favoring the bendy up and down route via Ross, Hereford, Brecon etc had me enjoying every mile this car ate up… maybe you know that feeling where you and the car are one and in perfect control, the more you do it the better the feeling, fast and precise; a joy to drive is probably the best way to sum this car up,.
I personally feel that if it had another 50 bhp to play with it’d be the dogs but, the only way to get this is to upgrade to a GT4. These cars as you know demand much higher prices and to my way of thinking can only be more un-reliable due to the extra stresses forced on the engine by the extra power.
For now this car is a peach to own and drive, I am very happy with it, well recommended to anyone thinking of buying one, I recon it will last forever if you look after it! The next car I’m going buy after this one will be the car in front… another Celica!
Cheers for the read. (will put some pics of it up shortly)
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