Researching picking up something for a new DD and the Celica seems like an intriguing choice. Any thoughts from fellow car nuts on these years?
PaulC
Researching picking up something for a new DD and the Celica seems like an intriguing choice. Any thoughts from fellow car nuts on these years?
PaulC
One of my favorite FWD cars as-delivered. Id type more but then id be late for work. 
Attention please: paging 92halftrac...please pick up a courtesy house phone...
Yeah, here's my thought:
Buy one.
One of the best FWD cars ever made.
Later models had drive by wire. Avoid those if you can. Earlier models (00-01, MAYBE 02, don't remember) had higher redlines and were easy to keep in "lift."
Earlier models also had weak shift forks from what the internet says and were sometimes prone to "money shifts" if you shifted like a gorilla. Don't shift like a gorilla and it's fine. If you DO shift like a gorilla, people have logged over 12,000rpms due to the money shift with fairly minimal damage.
There's some talk of oil starvation under extended high lateral Gs. IF that worries you (and for a DD, it should never worry you), get a Moroso pan.
Other than that, they're awesome cars. Decent MPG, i love the interior, they handle incredibly well, and they're pretty damn quick "on the cam."
They also respond well to bolt-ons. Intake/header/exhaust and a tune via PFC will have you screaming. Add an aftermarket intake manifold (was found to be the big bottleneck) for HUGE gains and around 220WHP without touching the head or bottom end.
I think they're a relative bargain when you look in that general class/time period of hot hatches. Think 99% of ITR performance (and more after you throw a little money at it) for 33% of the price.
Though I have not owned one, I think they would make just about the perfect commuter.
All the reliability and most of the efficiency of a Corolla, wrapped in a sportier package with the usefulness of a hatchback.
I was considering one for dd duty, but they cost a fair bit more to run than the regular gt according to fueleconomy.gov. I know they aren't nearly as fun, but for me 98% of its use would be commuting so the extra 25% in fuel costs makes it a no go.
mw wrote: I was considering one for dd duty, but they cost a fair bit more to run than the regular gt according to fueleconomy.gov. I know they aren't nearly as fun, but for me 98% of its use would be commuting so the extra 25% in fuel costs makes it a no go.
Not calling you a liar, that site may say that, but there's no way there's that much of a difference in cost. The GTS doesn't do that badly, and the GT doesn't do that well. I'd be surprised to see more than a 3-4mpg difference combined.
You do go from 27mpg combined to 23mpg combined and then from regular to premium gas. That does actually make it a 24% increase in gas cost assuming $4.00 for regular and $4.20 for premium per gallon.
But more to the point, now I want a Celica GTS for a daily driver.
D'oh forgot about premium gas. I was going just off mileage and wasn't able to figure it out. 
Great cars, I almost bought one once.
Would love to get one someday.
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