Test drive: Toyota Celica 5th generation (T180)

The Toyota Celica has been gone for ten years now but after a production run of 35 years and seven different generations no wonder it is still one of the most iconic cars Toyota has ever produced.

I've recently driven the fifth generation Celica which in my view is also the prettiest of them all. When I got the opportunity to drive it I didn't think of the drive as a road test and that's why the pictures are pretty bad, well, they suck. But even though I still have some thoughts on it so here we go.

Toyota Celica 2.0 GT-i 16 in Black

This particular gen 5 Celica was the mid range 2.0 litre GT-i 16. The entry level was a 1.6 litre and the top of the range was the rally bred, turbocharged four-wheel drive GT-Four, which today may even be considered a classic. The 2.0 four cylinder is naturally aspirated as they usually were in the early 90's. It produced 156 horsepower through the front wheels which hurled the car to a reasonable 0-100 km/h time of 8 seconds dead. The car I drove was from 1993 but it had a tip top engine, gearbox and a completely new clutch. Which meant that it still had all that power left. The engine revved happily and the acceleration was sporty as it should be. The 2.0 litre engine is just powerful enough to make the car feel as special as it looks. The Toyota engine is reliable but what lets it down is a gearbox that wears out quite quickly. So that is what to look out for if you're thinking of buying one.

As you can see the age has taken its toll on the "organic" body.

The first generations of the Celica were quite angular, there were really no space for anything else than straight lines. But with the fourth gen Celica a change was made not only from rear wheel drive to front wheel drive but to also accommodate for some curvature in the styling. This was taken to whole new level with the fifth gen were the styling was called Super Round Organic Styling. Yeesh, that's some A-level design nomenclature. This style of design was highly debated and was and still is a love or hate look. This caused some problems though which are immediately apparent when you try to sit in the rear. It's not what you'd call... what's the opposite of claustrophobic? This quality is promptly forgotten when you remember this car has pop-up headlights. Which is the best exterior quality a car can have, end of discussion.

It does have a saucer-like shape to it

When the pillarless door is opened you notice a very driver centered interior, there's really nothing for the passenger to do. This particular Celica had working air conditioning which was nice. What I found to be the most interesting feature was that the steering wheel moved up when you took the key out of the ignition, and obviously moved down when the key was inserted in the ignition. This was for an easier exit from the car. It's a nice touch but the car or the seating position is not that low that the steering wheel needs to make room. But maybe I'm just short...

Everything in here worked even after 23 years, a plus for Toyota there.

As a conclusion, I think the 5th generation Celica has aged very well. Because it's front wheel drive it has also escaped the boy-racer image. This means anyone can own one. Now that Toyota brought back the affordable drift car in the GT86 and rumors are flying around the name Supra resurfacing how about a third comeback in the name of Celica.