Celica - curiosity on opinions.

ash_scotland88

ash_scotland88

ash_scotland88

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So the Celica keeps popping up a possibility for a car for myself, in my what feels like non stop search for a 172.
But what are your guys opinions of the car?
This would be the 7th Gen. I take it the 190bhp model is the one to go for and they seem quite economical.
The only real downside for me are the backseat. Can't imagine that I would have 2+poeple in it a lot, but for the odd times I do I don't think it would be a nice experience.


My guess is that a 172 is still the best "hot" car for £2k.
 
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I've only had trouble once having someone in the back seat, but he was quite tall. I generally get the girls (usually shorter) to sit in the back. For me, it's cosy but not cramped, because it's only 2 instead of 3. Never had anyone ride in the back more than half an hour though and neither have I, so I don't know what long term comfort it like.
 
I had the GT version which is just the 190 T-Sport in a fancy frock. I loved the car as it really stood out but that would've been due to big wing on the back but you could also get the kit added if you wanted.

The 190 is economical if you keep it out of lift (think of it as a tame version of v-tec) and you really have to work the car hard to get it to shift. Some people love that though so don't so bear that in mind. I never had any issue with people in the back of mine either.
 
I had the 140bhp version for 18months or so a few years back. Wish I had gone for the 190 version (was thinking about treating myself to a t-sport when i finish uni :D). The back seats arnt too bad, but I wouldnt want to put anybody in them for extended periods of time.
It was utterly bombproof for the time that I had it, with absolutly nothing going wrong in 20k miles. Although I did look after her well and service her often. I cant see the 190 being any less reliable.
 
Avoid any early 140s (pre-facelift) and your good, when i got mine i was wishing id got the 190 but in all honesty i dont think its necessary, because the gain is at the top end its only really going to make a difference when your revving the nuts off it.

You have to keep them in the high revs to get the benefit of the vvt engine, which practically means nearly bouncing off the limiter if you want to shift up without dropping out of it. Alternately its perfectly doable to drive and stay away from the vvt zone completely if you want to save fuel

Given the money right now, i wouldnt buy the car even though i love mine. You cant drive particularly quick anymore and money would be better spent on something with creature comforts, the celica has leather seats and thats about it. You get good road feedback but that also results in a pretty hard ride if your not on nice smooth motorway tarmac.

Id say get a car with better comfort overall, with winter coming id say a heated windscreen or you will be scraping ice off the windows but also the boot struts cant hold up the boot lid if theres snow or enough ice on the hatch (usually comes down on your head while trying to get your shopping out), better ride, better seats (long trips arent good for my back and i once made the mistake of falling asleep in them for couple of hours), the built in stereo lacks modern features like iphone/mp3 capability, and id kill for cruise control... in short this is a car that is definately showing its age
 
190 with the sport kit from when I was looking.

Still really liek the idea of one but looking back I don't think at the time I was looking I could've really afforded to run or insure one :(
 
I'm 6ft 5 and I have had a full amount of people in my Celica on a couple of occasions, from my perspective it was very cramped, however you can fit people in the back quite well as the seats are quite deep.

I’ve got the facelift 140 and as I barely use my car ~2/4k miles a year it is fine for me, I have driven the 190 and it is nice, however I couldn’t justify the additional insurance and tax for a car I barely use.
 
n3vrmind said:
Avoid any early 140s (pre-facelift) and your good, when i got mine i was wishing id got the 190 but in all honesty i dont think its necessary, because the gain is at the top end its only really going to make a difference when your revving the nuts off it.

You have to keep them in the high revs to get the benefit of the vvt engine, which practically means nearly bouncing off the limiter if you want to shift up without dropping out of it. Alternately its perfectly doable to drive and stay away from the vvt zone completely if you want to save fuel

Given the money right now, i wouldnt buy the car even though i love mine. You cant drive particularly quick anymore and money would be better spent on something with creature comforts, the celica has leather seats and thats about it. You get good road feedback but that also results in a pretty hard ride if your not on nice smooth motorway tarmac.

Id say get a car with better comfort overall, with winter coming id say a heated windscreen or you will be scraping ice off the windows but also the boot struts cant hold up the boot lid if theres snow or enough ice on the hatch (usually comes down on your head while trying to get your shopping out), better ride, better seats (long trips arent good for my back and i once made the mistake of falling asleep in them for couple of hours), the built in stereo lacks modern features like iphone/mp3 capability, and id kill for cruise control... in short this is a car that is definately showing its age
Click to expand...


Thanks everyone.
Just quoted this for a very informative review of the car!
 
Saying get the 140 because you can't drive fast anymore these days is a bit daft, the 190 is still only luke warm anyway! I looked at these when I had my 200bhp mk2 mondeo but it was a downgrade in all but looks really!

My gf commented on the test drive on the lack.of rear headrests :p not that the car has much torque to push your head back anyway :p

My thoughts: great engine, in the Elise! celica is too heavy for the lack of grunt, I didnt like anything about it! Get the clio
 
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