Toyota Celica 1.8

Let's be honest. The car is timeless to look at. The speak lines and bonnet intake are a bit special for a car of this value.

I owned my celica 140 for 3 years and never became bored of looking at it. It was thoroughly reliable, I never had any issues with the reported 'oil burning problem' and only had to shell out for an Aircon pump, which I bought second hand. The rest was just routine servicing and consumables such as pads and tyres.

The boot is huge with the seats down and is very deceptive for a car in this class, swallowing large loads easily.

The ride is firm but informative and it really grips through corners, making the handling extremely fun.

The engine note is quite something when reved above 5000rpm, and adds to the thrill of driving the car.

However, the performance is not that fast. The lack if low down pull, or torque, is woeful. At higher revs the performance improves, but I can't stress enough how hard you have to work the car to achieve the sensation of speed. You would have to pretty much drive around like a boy racer, hammering the gears.

Overtaking on a motorway is an effort as you constantly have to change gear. There is no in gear pace.

MPG'S are good for a car of this age, but if you want to drive it fast or hard they will drop off drastically and hit your wallet hard.

If only the car performed how it looked. If you are considering one of these cars then I suggest you get the 190. The 140hp engine just makes this car pointless as it's not a true sports car as such and offers little else apart from cornering and a big boot. The rear seats are a waste of time and space.

The front spoiler attracts stone chips, something chronic and the tracking persisted gets knocked out at the slightest whiff of a pot hole.

What other car can give this performance, handle like its on a Scalectrix track, be more reliable than an annual rise in fuel, look clasically mondern and still have plenty of room for the clubs. I get about 30 to 35 mpg when I drive like a pussee, but consumption increases rapidly when i throttle it.

My only gripe is that I drive the 140 bhp and in hindesight the 180 bhp would have suited my driving style better. My wife has the primary car but had I not been so persistant when it came to chopping in the polo I could have easily fallen into the trap of Mr Average with a ford.

I own a 1.8 VVTI 140 bhp 2000 model in Red with Sport and Premium pack which has just done 140.000 miles. This is by far the best car I have owned. Fuel economy is good for the type of car it is. Handling is awesome, it's quick and fun to drive. Still a massive head turner for a car that is 10 years old! never broken down and always started. I have had to replace Air Flow Sensor after a year of owning it and sunroof gutters have got clogged and started to rust and paint is quite thin as the drivers wing and bonnet has little flacking of lacquer (any tips to stop this spreading?) Overall a great car to own and I love it.

GOOD POINTS

Looks awesome, cheap to maintain, was very reliable apart from needed a new batt every year (cos its an import). Get people saying it looks like the batmobile.

BAD POINTS

Only thing that needed changing was wheel bearing, batt, tyres.

Biggest bad points is engine seem to lack power.

Id recommand the GT or GT4.

6th Gen Celica 1.8 st in teal blue, love it to bits , looks great, wasn't sure at first, but i've really grown to like its looks. This car is my bit of fun for the weekend. Great driving position, very low and sporty.

This is the best car I have driven for handling, and always makes me grin. Performance is good, as long as you rev like hell and use the gearbox well, which i personally like, and the engine seems at ease with high revs.

Fuel is very good considering..

All in all a well made reliable sporty car.

The Toyota Celica 1.8 looks great IMO. Nice performance, especially in 190. Practical, everyday car as long as not used as a family wagon. Fantastic reliability Have owned both 140 & 190 (GT) models. The side skirts and spoiler on the GT look amazing IMO and really make the car.

There is quite a difference in the 140 & 190 as the 190 has shorter gears (more acceleration less MPG) and above 6100rpm, the surge form the lift is great fun. I way prefer the 190 model i own now but the 140 was also a fantastic car.

I would higly recommend these to anyone who might be considering one.

I have an '02 140bhp model, bought only a few weeks ago, & I love it already. It turns heads, is stuffed with goodies (with sport/premium pack), is quite quick, & offers tons of carrying capacity with fold-down rear seats. I've managed to achieve a respectable 36mpg, pretty good for a sports car; also, it won't break down, because it's a Toyota.

Visibility is a bit restricted & you can't see the end of the bonnet, with the low-slung seat, but that's just a minor gripe. The cabin's rather boomy, & it could have done with more soundproofing, again a minor irritation.

Overall, this is a fantastic car, which makes me smile every time I use it.

I have a 1991 toyota celica base model for sale with 160,000 miles. I loved it. I have both cv joints replaced and the place didn't fill the trans all the way up so the trans is going out.

The Toyota Celica 1.8 has reasonable performance but it is necessary to rev the engines hard and this does not suit everyone's driving style.

Beautiful car and very reliable, I did have a duff ECM, but it didn't cause any real problems day to day and Toyota swapped it out immediately. It has a decent hatchback and boot space is fine for most applications. Interior space is generally OK for three, though rear headroom is limited. I've yet to get anybody to sit behind the driver, legroom there when I drive is zero. Mine has the leather front seats which are very comfortable and the vinyl rear which is very practical, but looks a bit tacky. I wanted a bit of performance, so selected the 190 version and have never regretted it, the gearing's a bit shorter than the 140 so fuel consumption may not be quite as good, but driven sensibly low thirties MPG should be easily attainable. On the plus side when you feel like driving like a loon the option is there and when you get the hang of keeping that VVTLi on song it do go quite nicely thank you, though unsurprisingly there is a price for this as the consumption of go go juice tends to increase.

Some reviewers here and elsewhere have made adverse comments about ride comfort, I suspect that the common factor is 17" rims. People using 15" steels or 16" alloys seem to have fewer problems comfort wise. Toyota alloys however are rubbish, despite much TLC mine corroded all to hell and after three years looked really scabby, it's also something you can see on some Lexus and really lets down the cars appearance. Toyota wanted £1200 to replace just the wheels with an identical set, I wasn't interested and went for a set of Dotz Brands Hatch with Kumho KU31 tyres fitted for £630 all in. Looks miles better and I'll put money on them lasting longer. Jacks up the insurance a few quid, bit nowhere near enough to warrant sticking with Toyota's option.

I love this car and have no idea why Toyota chose to drop it without a replacement in the works, apparently a new Supra is due out later this year, but for how much?