toyota celica 1.8 review

Picture courtesy of Jacob Alvarez.

Average Ratings
Performance	8.8/10
Practicality	7.8/10
Reliability	8.9/10
Value for Money	8.3/10
Reviewer Rating	8.8/10
Overall Rating	8.6/10

91% Recommended29 out of 32 Reviews

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expert review of Toyota Celica 1.8

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By CarlosW on 11th Feb 2005

CarlosW's Ratings
Year Manufactured	1990
Length of ownership	3 Years
Performance	9/10
Practicality	8/10
Reliability	9/10
Value for money	10/10
Overall value	9/10
CarlosW's recommendation

Good Points

A fast, quality drive as standard,
A car that turns heads for all the right reasons even at 15 years old.

Bad Points

The cost of repairs,
Finding a mechanic capable of doing the work,
Shallow boot on gt4.

General Comments

I have owned a GT-Four Jap spec Toyota Celica Sports car, for just over 3 years. What an incredible car. It oozes quality from the moment you get inside. Having driven a GT-R & a GT-Four, I will say right now, for performance and control, go for the GT-Four.
It handles far better as a four wheel drive, although the strange size of wheel/tyre that comes with them, will tend to produce tyre roll under hard cornering, aswell as slight under-steer. Changing to after market wheels will sort this.
They drive significantly better (smoother & more responsive) with a dump valve. They also run low boost as standard (About 5 PSI, the rest is blead away by a solonoid valve) a simple boost controller or relief valve can bring this up to 12-13 psi and still be under the fuel cut setting. (i.e. safe for the engine) What a difference this makes!
I have spent around £400 on basic engine upgrades, and have been running just over 290bhp comfortably.
PARTS AREN'T CHEAP!! When it does go wrong, be prepared for qualified people saying "i don't know, i can't get it, i don't know how to fix it, never worked on one of those."
Jap parts are slightly different from UK too, from things like brake pads to head gaskets, so try to find a confident mechanic and start dating his sister, it will save you money.
It is also cheaper to buy upgardes rather than standard replacements. Toyota standard front discs £285, Black diamond Drilled and grooved £200(massive improvement in stopping power), & it's the same with everything, so look around.
That said, I've had few proplems compared to the miles I've covered. It's the kind of car that, even if you keep it standard it looks the part, and has the performance to suprise anyone who's not in the know. Buy One!