The Toyota Celica GT - Sports Car That Doesn't Break The Bank!! (Toyota Celica (pre 1994))

Member Name: jimcoburn

Product:	Toyota Celica (pre 1994)
Date:	09/01/08 (98 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fast, attractive, reasonable fuel consumption, spacious, inexpensive

Disadvantages: parts may be expensive to replace, insurance could be high for younger drivers

The Toyota Celica I will be specifically covering in this review, is the 1989 (G Reg) Non-Turbo GT Model. (ST183)

Looks - Well firstly the car is a very sporty little number, it is a 2 door coupe with sleek styling, a fairly long bonnet, and the front arches kind of stick out to the sides i think, almost like biceps!

The car is similarly styled to the GT-Four (The Turbo Version) but lacks the bonnet vents, and more attractively styled front bumper of its peer.

Interior - Depending on the colour of the car you buy, you will either end up with a grey, black or blue interior. Personally i ended up with the blue one (having bought a white car) which i wasn't overly pleased with aesthetically, the black interior is much more attractive

The Interior of the car is very comfortable, and although it is a sporty coupe, i managed to fit a fold up futon sofa bed in the back of mine when i readjusted the rear seats, so it is practical as well as sporty.

The Boot is absolutely enormous, large enough for a 6 foot man to curl up in (tried and tested) and there is generous leg room in the front and back (depending on the size of your driver)

Performance - The car has a 2 litre 16 valve engine, pushing 158 bhp as standard, and the car is definitely good for speeds in excess of 125 mph. I am more than certain with uprated parts the car would go way beyond that.

The car is basically a front wheel drive version of the SW20 MR2 (MKII) The cars share the same 158bhp 3SGE engine (3SGTE being the turbo version) and the interior and dash setup is very similar also.

Fuel Economy - At worst the celica was giving around 26 miles per gallon, i mean when it was really really being driven hard.

Generally you can expect to return a good 30-33mpg i would say, which is comparable to that of a 1.8 Mondeo for instance.

Insurance is not awfully high on this car, if my memory serves me it is insurance group 13 and i (being 22 at the time) with no NCB was paying around £630 on my own.

Overall if you'd like a nice sporty looking car without delving too far into the turbo powered insurance crippling world of japanese sports cars, you could certainly do worse than give the Celica GT a try, i sold mine to a friend, and when i get in for a lift i still smile every time.

Summary: Overall very nice and a pleasure to drive. Highly reccomended!!

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