Toyota Celica News

For the first 10 years it was aimed more at the cafe cruiser market than at buyers of full-on sportscars. However, the most recent model, introduced in November 2000, is a hotter Celica than before but it wasn't a sales success so perhaps the cruiser image was the correct one all along. Celica also suffered from the move away from buyer interest in coupes in recent times. So much so that after struggling on for quite a while with ever dwindling sales it quietly slipped from the new-car market in March 2006.This decline in sales is good news for used-car buyers because re-sale values have suffered and you can pick up a pretty good second hand Celica for significantly less than it would have cost only three or four years ago.Celica is well-built and carries the traditional Toyota reliability. Under the skin it's a relatively simple design sharing many of its components with more mundane cars. But on the surface it has the sort of looks trendy buyers of all ages just love.Two Celica body types are offered; a three-door hatchback (Toyota calls it a liftback) and a two-door coupe.The liftback has dominated in recent years as the practical nature of the vehicle appeals to those who use a Celica as their sole means of transport.Rear seat room is more suited to small children than teenagers or adults. Get the kids to try the back seat during your road test. And make sure they also check it for outwards visibility. Claustrophobia may bring on argumentative boredom and car sickness.Handling in the older models is good and the Celica will generally please all but the hardest drivers in the way it performs. The 2000 Celica is much sharper on the road, with quick turn in and good feedback through the steering. It achieves this with little loss in ride comfort compared with the previous generation cars. The turbocharged rally-based Toyota Celica GT-Four is also a hot performer, and is far more expensive than the rest of the range. It was sold from 1990 to 1992, then again in a limited production run in 1994 as the GT-Four Group A Rallye, a full-on sports machine. It appeals very much to the serious driver.Celica repairs are relatively easy if you know your way around a car. There are Toyota dealers in just about any area of significance within Australia, but not many in the remote bush will carry parts for Celicas. Parts are generally reasonably priced.However, service and repairs on the GT-Four should be left to professionals as it's a very specialised machine.Insurance on the standard Toyota Celica is relatively low (for a sports coupe, that is) but the GT-Four will cost big dollars to insure because of its turbo engine and sporting nature.Under the bonnetIn the standard Celica the engine was a 2.2 litre unit until the size dropped to 1.8 litres with the year 2000 model, the latter carrying a lot of high-tech features to lift its power to considerably more than the older engine.The downside of the 1.8 litre is that you don't get a great deal of power or torque at lower engine speeds so you have to work at keeping it on the boil.Which is fine for the keen driver but those simply looking for a visually attractive car may find it all a bit much after a while.The Celica GT-Four turbo engine is a complex 2 litre unit with plenty of torque at most revs.It's at its happiest when worked hard but turbo lag can be frustrating at times.Transmission options are five-speed manual and four-speed automatic in the standard models. The hot GT-Four comes only as a five-speed manual.Danger signsCheck that the engine starts promptly, idles smoothly, accelerates without hesitation and doesn't smoke from the exhaust tailpipe. The latter is likely to be at its worst when you accelerate hard after the engine has been idling for a while.Automatic transmissions which are slow to go into drive or reverse from neutral or park may be worn out.Also feel for harsh changes and for changes which probably weren't necessary.If the gear change in a manual car is sloppy or too tight there could be problems. During the test drive do a couple of fast down changes from third to second and feel for baulking and listen for crunching. Both indicate an overhaul is due, though it may only be a clutch adjustment problem. Make sure the brakes operate without too much effort and pull the car up cleanly without one wheel locking before the others.If ABS is fitted you should feel for a pulsing through the brake pedal on very hard applications.Feel for a car which wanders to one side. It may have been incorrectly repaired or it could have front wheel alignment problems. 

Did we also mention sideways, scary and sensational? Probably not but, then again, the Corolla we are talking about is nothing like the $20,990 showroom success you will find at your local Toyota dealer.This one has true supercar performance, speed on any surface and the ability to tame the toughest roads and rivals in the Australian Rally Championship. It also costs about $150,000.The hand-built Corolla has carried Simon and Sue Evans to an unbeaten string of wins this year on their way to back-to-back successes in the championship. It has also delivered a second straight manufacturers' title to Toyota and its rally boss, Neal Bates.Officially, the car is called a Group N(P) Corolla. Unofficially, it is a Celica GT-4 stuffed inside a Corolla body.To turn the Corolla from a sensible small car into an outrageous rally champion, Bates and his Canberra-based engineering team returned to the days when Toyota ruled rallying and snitched the go-fast stuff from the Celica, its turbocharged 2.0-litre engine and the basics of its all-wheel-drive system and five-speed manual gearbox.It took a lot more tweaking, with local developments in the electronics, driveline, brakes and suspension.But the Bates team came up with a car to go head to head with the Subaru Impreza WRX and Mitsubishi Lancer in rallying.There is only one way to really see how it goes, and that is to strap yourself into the TRD Toyota team's spare car; identical to the Evans Corolla; for an inside look at the recent NGK Rally of Melbourne.This is the final round of the 2007 title series and is run on high-speed gravel roads in the Yarra Valley.There are two days of competition, with 48 crack crews. There are the two serious TRD Corollas driven by Evans and Bates, two Ford Fiesta entries for Michael Guest and Darren Windus, and a raft of privateers led by Spencer Lowndes in a Lancer.The Corolla experience begins two days before the Friday start at Docklands with a quick sprint at a TRD test day. The Corolla fits perfectly, as you'd expect from a custom-made carbon fibre bucket seat, fully adjustable steering wheel and five-point safety belts.The turbo engine lights up from very low revs, the all-wheel-drive system fires the car between corners, and it rides over rough roads as if they are freeway-smooth bitumen.Evans is wickedly quick. Bates is fast in an all-new Corolla; with new body, non-turbo engine and special gearbox. He is developing it for a full-on attack next year. When the rally begins on the special stage near Yarra Glen, the fast guys are gone and we; myself and co-driver Anne Gigney; are back in the pack.It feels as if the Corolla is courting disaster, sliding sideways at more than 130km/h and dancing through all sorts of corners and firing up-and-down on narrow forest tracks.But the TRD terror is never threatened. Evans is going at least two seconds quicker for every kilometre, so the guest car is barely working. Just like driving the Corolla ARC.It is clearly a Corolla but, just like a V8 Supercar, the mechanical changes mean it is only the body that stays the same. Everything else is upgraded and more responsive and far, far more enjoyable.The Corolla is supercar-quick in a straight line, has mighty brakes and grippy Michelin tyres, and turns as if it is driving on bitumen. Until you tickle the throttle and set it sideways. Shortcomings? It is obviously noisy beyond anything acceptable in a regular road car. It is hot and dusty, with no airconditioning, no luggage space and seats that grip great but are not very comfortable.It is also thirsty. It sucks $3-a-litre Elf racing fuel like a hungry V8.But the Corolla ARC proves what can be done with smart minds, focused thinking and a TRD Toyota parts bin that makes a mundane car into something very special.  

Do you have to accept your fate, or are there steps you can take to reduce what you spend on fuel? Fortunately, some simple changes to your driving habits can save you as much as a third of your monthly fuel costs. First, consider if your car is worth keeping; if it’s an older, fuel-inefficient car, the potential savings from changing how you drive may not amount to much. You might also consider whether it makes sense to convert your engine to LPG. However, for most car owners a simpler first step will be to change your driving habits. We sometimes forget that an under inflated tyre can decrease fuel efficiency as well as our safety. Check and top-up your tyre pressure to the manufacturer’s recommendations fortnightly and it will actually save you fuel. If it’s time for new tyres, you might want to consider Eco tyres which are designed to increase fuel efficiency. Before you even get into your car, make sure you preplan your trip, since planning means you’re less likely to get lost and waste petrol or getting side-tracked for that matter. If you can help it, try to avoid driving during peak hour. When the roads are congested, it means continuous stopping and slow driving, which means your car is consuming more petrol, compared to an off-peak run. Don’t leave your engine running when you first start up your car, as excessive idling will drain fuel. Once the engine is running it is best to drive off straight away however you should drive gently till the engine reaches its usual operating temperature. Driving with your windows and sunroof open plays a part in decreasing fuel efficiency. The amount of fuel wastage is far more than putting the air conditioner on, especially when you are cursing on the motorway. Remember the air conditioner decreases fuel so try not to use it too much. You may not realise that having a heavy foot and braking heavily can significantly increase your fuel consumption. Accelerate and brake more gently, you must take notice of the red light ahead and begin to slow the car down to a stop rather than braking when you are 50 metres away. Weighing down your car with a trailer or adding wind resistance with roof racks, big side mirrors or large spoilers will all increase your car’s fuel consumption. Extra weight can lessen your efficiency by approximately ”2% for every 45kg,” Nikki Watkins from Moneywise claims. So next time you jump into your car for a drive make sure you remove any extra baggage that may be in the boot or the backseat. Driving with the correct gear is another way of lowering fuel consumption. The Royal Automobile Club (RAC) says you should always drive in the highest gear possible without straining the engine, you should also think ahead, so you can drop gears gradually which will allow you to brake gradually. The RAC claims that this will increase fuel efficiency by up to a third. The type of car you drive also affects how much you will be spending at the bowser. For example a Ford Falcon XR6 with aV6 engine will cost you anywhere between $80 to $100 for a full tank compared to a 1.8L Toyota Celica which would cost you $50 for a full tank. While you are being more fuel-efficient minded don’t forget to make use of special offers such as the petrol discount receipts, and don’t forget to take advantage of more fuel efficient fuel mixes for instance, Shell’s recently announced New Fuel Economy Formula. Shell is hoping to set a good example for the fuel industry and to provide a more economical option for motorists. Shell’s new mix will be the same price as ordinary petrol, but the company claims it offers more kilometers to the liter. The new formula was recently tested by an Australian couple John and Helen Taylor; they previously set the world record for driving around the world with only 24 tanks of petrol. The couple drove a distance of 18,000km per year an average run for the Australian motorist. The Taylors managed to average 13.3km per liter, and along the way, they also managed to make an annual saving of approximately $450. Shell says the new formula fuel will gradually be introduced at Shell service stations nationwide, including Coles Express.

I'm old enough to remember being captivated by a television ad for Toyota cars. You may remember. It started with a young person and a Corolla, moved through the Celica and Corona, to the Cressida and then the gentlemanly Crown – all to Sinatra's weepy strains of It Was A Very Good Year. For Toyota, every year was a good year. And it still is, especially if you're a bloke out to catch a bird in a Celica like the 1970s advertisement implied was possible. The problem is that today's Celica is bought by more women than men, so in the ensuing 30 years perhaps the roles have changed and it's the ladies doing the luring. Bring it on! And indeed, bring on more of the cars like Celica. Virtually forgotten on the present car market – and isn't that a huge change from the 1970s? – the Celica presents as a racy coupe with more body creases than Charles Bronson. The look is clean, with those creases inspiring movement even when the car is sitting at the kerb. Despite its slimline side windows and steeply raked front and rear glass, the cabin is roomy for two adults and even allows two children in the rear. Front-wheel-drive gives a bit more boot space than the pre-1986 rear-drive models, though it's hardly huge. In reality, the singles or couples who buy a Celica probably place cargo-carrying low on the priority list. Instead, they're into style, a bit of performance and an element of exclusivity. In its latest guise, the Celica actually runs hard and delivers high standards of roadholding. Most earlier Celicas only earned the title ¿hot¿ when they were left under a Perth summer sun for a few hours. Performance generally swung from dismal to embarrassing. Thanks to a high-revving 1.8-litre engine driving the front wheels through a six-speed gearbox – and auto is optional – the car now gets up and barks. I wheeled one around Nannup and Busselton (in WA) for the Forest Rally and, on the open roads, it went like stink and thrived on cruising. Even the suspension was compliant enough to make the occupants arrive unfazed, while the depth of sound deadening kept the cab hushed enough for conversation. There's nothing outlandish about the oily bits under the body. Its engine is purpose-built for this car – though lately also shoehorned into the Corolla Sportivo – and has a fetish for revving hard up against the 8000rpm redline. Toyota makes two Celica models – SX and ZR – with only spoilers and extra equipment separating the two. The more recent Celica model is the limited-edition TTR version that adds more gear at a discount price, effectively making the SX into a ZR for less than retail prices. Additional gear includes 16-inch alloys, alloy-look pedals, TTR badges, airconditioning and ABS. Toyota says there's $3800 of extra value stuffed into a coupe that sells for $39,998. It's a nice car but much naughtier than any of its predecessors.