(first posted 3/24/2014) “Will you take a picture of me with the car?” taunted the local teen, walking home from school with some of his cohorts. As much as I’d have preferred to, I couldn’t stifle laughter at this joke made at my expense. There was no ignoring it: taking glamor shots of a car like this really is the height of dorkiness (and not in the hot-nerd way).
Toyota’s Tercel was sold for nineteen years and lasted through five distinct body styles, refreshed more often than its larger siblings on a rapid four-year cycle. While its popularity faded in its final years, after the baby boomers and Gen Xers who made it popular moved on to bigger models, this shoebox was an institution of Japanese motoring in North America for its first ten years on the market.
This final generation car must have been quite challenging to bring to market. Decontenting was the order of the day for Japanese manufacturers, and even cars like the LS400 and Q45 weren’t immune. Still built in Japan and serving as Toyota’s cheapest car, designing the Tercel must have been an unrewarding task. To that end, it hung onto the chassis architecture ushered in with the 1987 model, when the longitudinal engine layout and rear semi trailing arms were replaced with a transverse layout and dead beam axle. Two redesigns later–on a four year cycle–this freshly renewed car found itself competing in a very different macroeconomic context, with a strong Yen and cheap oil. Even at a time when interest rates were lowering and credit was opening up, a low price was still more of a draw than economy and bringing it to dealers under $10,000 was crucial.
Regardless of all the effort its makers went through to bring such a car to buyers, the practices of Toyota dealers who slathered every piece of golf plated badging, vinyl graphics and adhesive wood trim they could get away with inflated the price. There were multiple instances in which this sort of arrogance pushed my parents into Mitsubishi and Nissan showrooms and it’s surprising more people didn’t react the same way. Either Toyota’s reputation was too strong or people just knew quality when they saw it, but judging by all the late ’90s Corollas I see with spoilers and cracking, faded wood appliques sitting one centimeter above interior trim bezels, it was probably the former.
This car is either a 1995 and 1996, as indicated by its DX trim level designation, which was swapped for CE in 1997. For $1,000 more, the DX received such extravagant features as a fifth gear ratio, cloth seating surfaces, a passenger side mirror, trunk lining and the availability of a four-door body style. A radio wasn’t standard in many cheap cars in those days, and Toyota was especially stingy, so if you wanted to listen to Savage Garden or Sarah McLachlan on your way to work, it would cost you more than just your dignity. Like many lower level cars, ABS was begrudgingly made optional, but good luck finding a Tercel so equipped today.
Once fuel injection and sixteen valves were added to cars of this size and weight, the result was surprisingly fun, and, when combined with slowly increasing safety requirements, was free of the flimsy feel which used to characterize them. It worked very nicely; there was little to criticize in regards to the way the littlest Toyota conducted itself; with only four-speed (which still needed two shifts to get to sixty), a contemporary Car and Driver test saw it reach sixty in about nine seconds, despite needing two shifts to get there. And even on skinny 155/80R13 donuts, it achieved .75G on the skid pad.
The Tercel also carried forth Toyota’s odd practice of fitting a standard anti-roll bar in the rear while making a complementary item in front optional. A wise way for Toyota to cut costs was to rationalize platforms and that meant the Paseo’s twin-cam sixteen valve engine was revised for a broader torque curve and installed in the Tercel, making it one of the first cars with OBD-II. As with other small Toyotas of the period, this cut power (some car makers could do this without compromise). In cars like the Corolla and the 4-cyl Camry, performance was lacking compared to some competition and even though this wasn’t necessarily the case with the Tercel, it was becoming clear that maintaining quality would be impossible without either cutting equipment or postponing development.
There was still fun to be had in the domestic market, however, where the Tercel-based (and unfortunately named) Starlet Glanza was available with a multitude of accessories and a turbo engine. While the domestic market initially continued to produce fun cars in the absence of US demand, it is a lot less exciting these days, where homegrown enthusiasm is weaker than in years past. So we see that even in Japan, cars like this represented an old way of doing business.
This final Tercel, then, represents the essence of Japanese carmaking of the mid nineties. Quality was still the overarching concern and cutting corners was avoided where possible. Wowing customers with new tech or a lot of features for the money was no longer as viable, but solid dynamics and reliability were abundant. If you compare the final generation Tercel to contemporary cars higher up the food chain, say a Protege, Maxima or Prelude, you notice a similar trend, with high quality of assembly, traditional three-box proportions, and sometimes, poor value for money. There was a general sense of blandness; Japanese cars were still competent, but they were no longer ambitious.
The good thing for many Japanese car makers was that thorough, state-of-the-art engineering in the very late ’80s and early ’90s allowed them to make minimal revisions to new cars, exorcising the flaws of outgoing models while cutting costs. Still, these cars mark the end of an era, especially for Toyota. The nicely defined plastic moldings seen here and generous cloth-trim on the door panels would soon be gone and the switch in name from Tercel to Echo underscored the change the Japanese auto industry was going through. Most other models retained their names (with the exception of Mazda’s line-up), but like Toyota’s subcompact, many would become very tall, with low perceived quality and a lack of distinction.
It was around this time that VW began making a name for itself once again, with generous standard features and very well finished cars, although poor reliability shows it came at a price and today, it’s the Koreans and Ford who successfully peddle desirable mass-market cars (though quality is still lower than with the best rivals). When Japanese makes first became popular in the US, people liked to say that the era of fun motoring was over, and that cars weren’t built as well as they’d been previously. To many of us too young to remember the days of leaded, hi-octane performance, though, there’s a sense that the Japanese imports of the ’80s and ’90s represented a certain kind of automotive utopia. This bottom-feeder mid ’90s Toyota, as mundane as it is, is one of the last embodiments of this wholesome ethos. If there were some way I could communicate this succinctly to the bratty teenagers who saw me photographing this Tercel, they would understand why this is soon to be a classic.
I worked with a young woman in the early 90s who drove a Tercel, probably the generation before this one. I dont think she did much to maintain it and after just a few years it was followed by the blue cloud of death wherever it went. Of course, she bought another Toyota.
While I have a certain affinity for (vehicular) Japanese strippers, these Tercels just never put me in my happy place, for some reason.
Even if you co-worker was anal about maintenance on that Tercel, it still would have had the blue cloud. That generation was known for valve seal issues and they all would develop that blue smoke eventually.
The E block wasn’t the most ultra reliable Toyota engine and both it and the S-block (RAV4/Celica/Camry) can sometimes die before about 200k.
+1. I looked at a brand new stripper Tercel in 1993 to possibly replace my ’89 Omni, because it was the only new Toyota I could afford. After a short, quiet (no radio) test drive, I was meh. I went back to my Omni with the vinyl cloth bucket seats, AM/FM cassette, 5-speed, rear defrost, and peppy 2.2 liter and drove it another four years.
A Tercel is a Corolla without the charisma.
Just keep fillin it up with oil she’ll go forever
Yes it was a competent little vehicle. The 1490cc MPFI 16 valved Tercel VX of 1994 was a pleasantly spec’d little car and a definite step-up from the lesser 1300cc engined name variants sharing the same body shell (the Corolla11, the Moa, the Windy, the Sophia, and the Lime) all of which lacked a fourth or overdrive gear to the gearbox of the automatic versions. The Tercel VX was equipped with the pleasant 69kw longer stroked engine, the fourth gear overdrive ratio, a large tachometer as a balance to the same sized speedometer, power windows and electrically controlled and retracting side mirrors (a very nice feature). Seating was also of a higher quality to the 1300cc models’ the range of whom lacked most or all of the features mentioned above.
On the exterior of the Tercel VX hatchback there was a nicely designed body-coloured rear spoiler with an integral LED hi-stop strip light. This was a VX only feature.
For 1994 there was no airbag fitted, nor were there ABS brakes at that stage. This meant for a rather athletic fun little vehicle. It could handle moderate traffic light competition and spin up the steeper hills on the open road effortlessly. Economy was excellent and it didn’t require premium fuel. The rear set-up was rather basic with drum brakes and a beam axle however and spirited cornering didn’t feel that stable at least in the 3 door shorter wheelbase hatchback.
I owned one of these little vehicles in dark navy blue for nine years and will always remember it fondly. In the end I put less than 8,000kms on it and when it sold to a young girl at 39,900kms it made me a nice little profit even after eight years.. such is the still universal regard for the Toyota ‘Corolla’ of the era when Toyota’s reputation for quality, excellence, reliability, and safety was yet untarnished.. .. ..
There was a set of C&D reviews of basic cars in the ’90s–a ’95 Tercel DX, a ’96 Geo Metro and a ’97 Camry CE V6 with crank windows (!). That was when they had normal car reviews. They lamented that there was no right-side mirror.
0-60 in 9 flat with this Tercel? Faster than the CVPI and the LO5 Caprice of the time, off the line. Yes, the LT1 Caprice had come out and was quicker (7.7 seconds) but most PDs actually had slower-accelerating cars than this Tercel (at least those with the sticks).
Sorry Perry, but I cannot ever see this car being loved in the future and will never become a classic, must have.
However, I am impressed by their quality. A friend drives a 2007 toyota corolla and one day he was around my place and mentioned that the oil pressure light stayed on a tad too long that very morning.
He’s not too interested in cars and wouldn’t know the bonnet from the boot, so I took a look at the oil level dip stick.
I could not believe my eyes. There was no oil in the engine and the colour of the dip stick plastic surround indicated that he had been driving it for a considerable amount of time in this condition; it was cooked black.
I dumped 2 litres of fresh oil in the engine (all I had available); the dip stick now showing 1/4 full and off he went to have a good, long shout at his service garage. No harm done to the engine apparently….…amazing.
I have to agree on the Corolla. My mum has an 06 base spec hatch and it is a hoot of an innercity driver. I personally get preoccupied with the looks of a car, but everything else about it including the sound system impresses me. She keeps going on about buying an Alfa and I find myself telling her she doesn’t really need one.
I also get preoccupied with earlier cars, so I appreciate CC helping me to understand this period in automotive history. Whether its a classic or not is in the eyes of the owner or admirer. Cheers Perry.
I am on my 3rd 9th-Gen Corolla. It’s a great car, an ’07, with over 305,000 miles. Some rust but otherwise solid.
They’re built like Panthers and 9C1s, in a strange sense. Reliable and cheap. It’s a unibody, but it’s tough.
A female work colleague of mine did the self same thing!!
Her’s was a 1.3 Toyota Soleil AWD… she ran it out of BOTH oil AND water …and it seized (big indignant surprise here)
I explained to her the need to maintain a car engine at least once every 12 months but could tell it was in one ear and straight out the other (she is a nurse)
Amazingly, after a cool down and many litres of water and oil inserted (car, not nurse) IT RAN
It kept running for exactly 18 months
Then it just quietly passed away from a cracked head and a hydrauliced block
Instead of a semi-dignified funeral in the jaws of the local scrap yard compactor it was handed on to a kid who was going to re-engine the Soleil with a secondhand transaxle for it to enter into a new life as a boy racer’s AWD ‘donut ‘n burnout’ machine..
Do Toyota’s ever really die?
Hello Craig I’m the owner of 1996 Toyota Tercel model 4 speeds and I’m proud to say that my car is almost 400,000 miles I change the oil every 3 months and I never had any issues with my little Lamborghini I love my car. I drive that car from state to state without any problems. Proud of that model, I never going to sell it. Love my Lambo!!
Well, we tend to use the term “classic” rather differently around here.
On the other hand, I can see this car being well loved and regarded as a trusty companion. Tercels had that appeal, and Corollas used to.
Interesting about your friend’s car, the ZZ block is known for burning oil.
You know it’s durable when it holds up to this guy’s abuse:
Aaron Paul was the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car recently on Top Gear. They naturally talked about his car history and he had already owned some old Toyotas well before his Tercel wagon-driving sting on Breaking Bad. He wanted to keep/buy the red Tercel after the series was over but the producers wouldn’t let anyone take it.
That’s a shame. Imagine pulling up next to Pinkman sitting in his red Tercel wagon at a stoplight.
An aunt (father’s sister) got a Trecel in the mid 90s after her 2nd divorce. She had two growing boys but it was a coupe, simply because while the dealer stocked Trecel sedans and coupes, the coupe was the only one with an automatic. It had AC and automatic and not much else.
Just a competent little appliance of a car, which is all she really wanted.
I’m primarily about styling. I thought this Tercel was a step backwards. Pictured is the Tercel I’d want. Neighbor lady had one for years and it was a reliable, competent enough runabout.
I have a perverse fascination with entry-level transportation. I was a little jealous when my oldest boy bought a brand new Yaris when those first came out. Sure, it’s no Tercel, but it was still a fun little car.
I really enjoy the 5-door versions of these cars.
I like this version of the Toyota Tercel as well. Whether it’s a 4 door, or a 2 door, it looks better than the what came later, and way better looking than the Yaris.
I knew a stripper who had a Tercel….neither will become a collectable…
…at least both have got hooters
In looking at the photo of the dashboard, I think I found the inspiration for the dash of the new Dodge Dart!
When these cars first made their appearance, I thought they were very odd-looking – at least the 1991 version. But, hey, it had windows you could see out of! Too bad plain, gray interiors have been around that long. A friend had a 1997 Honda Civic that was almost a clone of the Tercel above – same colors inside and out.
The Tercel wagon we got in oz definitely qualifies as odd-looking.
I really like that little thing.
That was a Corolla elsewhere.
You mean a Sprinter (Sprinter Carib), moved to the Corolla chassis in 1987/1988.
Tercel wagon in the US.
We have one of this at home. 1996 model, we have had it since 2000. Used to be white, now is faded white with some primer and superficial rust spots. 310,000 miles purchased with 36,000. Recently had to replace the head gasket and repair the cylinder head. About $300.00 dollars between parts and resurfacing the cylinder head and one and a half day of work by my father in law and the car is back in business. The original automatic transmission died at about 250,000 miles. It was replaced with a $400.00 junkyard one by my brother in law. My wife really loves that car for some strange reason. Everytime I persuade her to finally get rid of the car and purchase a new or newish one, something happens, and the car stays. It used to be my daily driver, but I decided not to continue using it for my about 100 miles round trip to work. It’s her daily driver now so it’s living a more gentle life. She drives about 10 miles in her daily commute. Her daily commute used to be similar to mine but she now works near our home. I do miss the fuel economy of over 30 mpg in mixed driving. I am now using our Pathfinder so the difference is very noticeable. We also have a 2003 Mazda Tribute since new, with almost 280,000 miles and an almost dead transmission. Currently deciding what is going to be it’s final fate. Yes, we do keep our cars for a looong time but since my father in law and brother in law are both mechanics and I can do basic maintanance things, we mostly only pay for parts so it’s cheaper for us to repair our old cars.
I think the biggest issue that the last Gen Tercel faced was not outside competition but the fact it now competed with the Corolla due to the Tercel price increase. A well equipped Tercel was only a $1000 or $1500 cheaper then a decent equipped Corolla and I don’t know about you but If I could spare the extra $1000, I would get the Corolla that generation was a very nice one.
The small price spread between the Tercel and Corolla makes me think the Tercel is worthy of nomination for ‘Deadly Sin’ status. Seems like the Tercel was one of the first Toyotas where the pricing was so high and non-negotiable that it kept the other, less well-built but far cheaper competitors in the game (like the Ford Escort, which was a perennial top-ten best seller). While the Tercel had Toyota anvil-like reliability, it was otherwise a lame, mediocre small car that took a page from the GM playbook in the greedy way it relied on reputation to maintain a high MSRP.
A case in point was the Hawk ‘Limited Edition’ package available on these cars. It was an outrageous GM-like price gouge for a few pieces of port-installed equipment. All you got for something like $2300 was A/C, color-keyed bumpers, bodyside molding, AM/FM radio, a rear spoiler, cloth seats, ‘polycast’ wheels, and a couple of decals.
It’s funny, also, that the Corolla’s higher position on the food chain didn’t entitle it to hot tech or, before ’03, much extra space. Meanwhile, even Honda was able to make the Civic cheaper and, I think, just as bulletproof.
Still, there’s something very appealingly no-nonsense about the Tercel, something so orthodox and sober that they had to discontinue the name. I’m generally critical of Toyota, but the Tercel embodied a lot of the whole-grain goodness that was exchanged for caramelized sweetness beginning in the early ’90s (nowadays, more like corn syrup).
Yeah, truth be told, the Tercel was actually one of the high points of Toyota’s entry level products. The funky Echo and Yaris that followed weren’t nearly as sang-froid.
I’d go so far as to say the Tercel was Toyota’s version of the bullet-proof sixties’ slant-six/Torqueflite Plymouth Valiant. If Toyota had been so inclined, the basic shape of the Tercel was distinctive enough that they could have went the VW Beetle route and left the basic body of the Tercel intact, staying with only mechanical/engineering improvements.
Unfortunately, unlike the Valiant, there was a stiff premium to get a Tercel when they were new. For the same price, it was possible to get build quality nearly as good, but with a whole lot more equipment, from just about any of the Tercel’s competitors. Those expensive, low-content Tercel ‘Hawk’ packages sealed the deal. Imagine if Chrysler had tacked on a ‘performance’ package for the Valiant sedan that included a rear spoiler. Sheesh…
It’s a shame, too, because the Tercel had the potential to make it onto that rarified list of one of the best vehicles ever built, in the same, no-nonsense vein as other, über-practical, competent, relatively low-cost vehicles perfect for the time like the Model T and Chrysler minivan.
Amen about those “Hawk” packages. It was just a slightly nicer interior with a few cheesy hawk stickers on the exterior. i knew somebody in college that owned a Blackhawk Tercel and it was nothing special.
According to the brochure, the Hawk package was comprised of the following:
– Available in Super Red, Super White, or Satin Black Metallic.
– Oak cloth interior trim
– Bucket front seats (didn’t all Tercels have ‘bucket front seats’?)
– 60/40 split fold down rear seat
– CFC-free air conditioning
– Power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering
– Remote trunk and fuel-filler door releases
– Carpeted floor mats
– Deluxe AM/FM ETR with four speakers
– Digital clock
– Intermittent windshield wipers
– Exterior ‘Hawk’ badging
– Color-keyed bumpers
– Bodyside moldings
– P185/60R14 all-season tires on unique 14″ polycast wheels
– Color-keyed rear spoiler with integrated center stoplamp
The E120 Corolla was conceived after the Japanese economy had been in decline for more than five years and therefore ended up being decontented quite a bit to try to keep the price down. It was also the point where the Corolla lost its position as Japan’s best-selling car, initially IIRC to the Honda Fit.
I was thinking more along the lines of the E100 and E110 Corollas as a basis for comparison to this Tercel.
The E100 and E110 offered various high-tech pieces, just not in the States; most of the interesting stuff was limited to the AE101 and AE111 sporty versions, which in Japan could be had (depending on which model and generation you’re talking about) with Super Strut, electronic shock absorbers, 20-valve engines, and superchargers. The E120 dropped all of that and lost the independent rear suspension as well.
I think the Tercel ended up suffering more than the Corolla did from the strength of the yen in the ’90s. The eternal challenge of B-segment cars is that they’re little if any cheaper to manufacture than a C-segment model, but people expect them to be cheaper to buy.
Yes, I’m surprised it lasted this long.
The featured generation of Tercel I’ve seen in two flavors, one with a bulged tail and one more Kamm Effect and thus a little sharper; I prefer the latter and it’s one of the few bottom-feeders whose styling still turns my head today. Not sure I’d want to own one even with wheels/tires and I/H/E upgraded. I’ve also seen a variation with a name splashed on the side, maybe dealer-installed (but not interesting enough to actually remember exactly WHAT name).
A friend received a ’91 Tercel (generation before this one, but similar) as a college graduation present in 2002. It had been owned by an aunt, but became surplus to the aunt’s requirements, and was duly gifted on. It was the “deluxe” DX trim level, which got you such niceties as body-colored bumpers and composite headlamps, and equipped with air conditioning and automatic transmission. That’s about it though–still had manual crank windows and upholstery that felt as it it was woven from recycled plastic. Still, for such a low model on the totem pole, it did feel well put together. Light, and the opposite of fancy, but solid.
Unfortunately it ate its engine at about 60,000 miles. Broken wrist pin leading to ungoverened piston motion was identified as the culprit. The mechanics who tore it down posited that the original owner (not the aunt, as she got it secondhand) may have never changed the oil for the first 4 years of the car’s life, and the aunt’s maintenance was not beyond reproach either. (I’m seeing a pattern here–I wonder how many entry-level cars are in the end killed by lack of maintenance?)
The Tercel in question, though, lived on–her uncle was a mechanic and sourced a used replacement engine from Japan, installing it without charge. So about $800 later it was back on the road. It put in another few years of good service afterward and passed to another family member eventually. Might still be on the road. For their age, I do see a fair number of Tercels still about.
I always thought the Tercel was a nice car, much better than the ugly Yaris that replaced it. However, they seemed to disappear from the roads rather quickly. I can’t even remember that the last time I saw one. I suppose it’s because, as others mentioned, the type of person who buys this type of car is not very likely to take care of it. The same would probably apply to other cars of this generation and price range.
There was a Toyota Tercel variant only available in Indonesia and was made between 1999-02 it was called Toyota Soluna and it was only available as a Four Door Sedan body style.
That’s not bad looking.
Here is the Toyota Tercel Family Tree which of course included its Soluna variation and their eventual replacements the Echo, Vios and Yaris. The 1G Prius was included here only because it was heavily based from the Echo Platform while the Indian Domestic Market Etios (next to the 1G Prius) was actually a heavily redesigned Echo Sedan.
This is shown from a side view from 1991 Toyota Tercel 4 Door Sedan – on.
When I saw the picture, I was positive that the article was kind a teaser – like “there was supposed to be a Tercel in the empty parking place in front of that Green E46” 🙂
Oh well, I guess that new glasses are in order 🙁
It certainly appeared to be a two door coupe version of the 1990s edition Tercel with a rear spoiler.
There have been three Toyota Tercels that have come into my life over the past13 years. Two were the AL21 wagons, and the list one is a 1997 CE coupe.
The first wagon was a gift from my ex partner’s father..and it almost put me off Japanese cars forever. I spent a lot of money to bring it back to life, considering what it was….however, in the end it finally earned its keep by being used as a renovation work truck for over a year. It leaked oil and left an indelible impression on my driveway. The rear shocks leaked water and at one point in winter they froze solid, completely eliminating ANY suspension compliance.
Try driving over railroad tracks like that….even with a load, it lifted the rear right off the ground.
There had been lots of neglect on the donor’s part considering he had been a mechanic. Steering column universal join was worn, and eventually gave up, leaving considerable latitude for interpreting instruction to turn in one direction or another. A friend drove it like that and told me it was the scariest car he ever drove…having steering that had all the accuracy of a Kurdish goat herd. I have no idea how he knew that, but it actually fit the thing at the time.
The second one appeared one fine evening while I was out for a walk near a local park. It being the day before garbage pickup, trash was set out on the curb. There at curbside…with no license plates…was a clean, light metallic green AL21 wagon with a manual transmission in it. I deduced from its lack of rust holes that it had arrived from western Canada…and so I Iooked underneath it and saw painted metal, not slime, oil, rust and dirt.
Across the street was a woman who was out on her lawn doing Tai Chi exercises and generally improving the appearance of the neighbourhood, so I of course had to approach her and start a conversation. I suggested that her neighbours might be leaving the car out for garbage pick up..
She laughed and replied that they did want to sell it…so I gave my number and asked her to pass it along. She did.
Long story short, I got it for $125 as is….and drove it home. They’d done suspension work to it, changed transmission (putting in the wrong manual…it now had a 4 speed… while preparing to drive across the country from BC) and looked after it as well as they knew how.. It even had the owner’s manual with it and service records, too!
It took me no effort to get it through an e-test here in Ontario…and once I put on decent tires, it took only one light bulb change to get it through our safety check.
I drove that car for four years…and actually enjoyed it. Took it to Manitowoc, Wisconsin to get parts for another car, driving 2800 kilometres in +30 degrees C temperatures….with no A/C and no radio, alone…over a weekend. It never missed a beat.
Eventually, showing 326,000 kms on the clock, it was getting to be time to refurbish it. Rust was eating the left front fenders at the flares….and other areas were showing the strain. I had been collecting parts to revive it, since I had grown used to the economy of it, getting hold of a lower distance engine and a real 5 speed transmission in the process. It just took the right combination of available time and available money.
One day while I was considering my options, a friend gave me a Peugeot 505 wagon. Looking at the carrying capacity, my clogged driveway, the level of comfort in either car, the charisma effect of either, and the fact that a slightly shabby 98 Nissan Altima had already been added to the fleet, (the A/C worked on it), and after a long phone conversation with the shop teacher there, I chose to donate the AL21 to local high school for teaching purposes. I loaded all my parts into the rear section and drove it over to the school, telling him there was a spare powertrain yet to come over.
i guess he’d not understood what year the car was when we spoke. With a look of almost horror on his face, he told me the car was too old for the school to resell to cover costs when it was done. I had no choice but to drive it home. Then another Peugeot appeared, this time a 505 Turbo sedan, with only 90,000kms on it from new and full service history in files neatly kept. Lacking driveway space by now, and patience, I scrapped the Tercel wagon.
The Altima served well, was nowhere near as fuel efficient but was more comfortable, while I worked on the two Pugs. Then, I discovered a fuel vapour leak near the top of the tank beneath the car…just before winter was approaching.
Looking ahead to lying beneath my car in snow to remove and repair a gas tank in the driveway, I scanned local ads for a cheapo car to replace it with….and lo and behold, a 97 Tercel appeared.
From BC, Alberta and points westward of here, it had no rust…none. It had sat for a year in a student’s driveway and he was moving on. I got it for scrap metal price, on speculation I could replace the parts it needed and get it through scrutiny required….and if not I could scrap it lose nothing.
I had kept some brake parts from the AL21, and they fit, so I swapped them over a Saturday afternoon, changed the oil, put in fresh gas, and took it to an e-test…..which it passed right away. That was the major hurdle overcome. It need a windshield, so it got changed in the driveway..and it then passed safety check.
Literally within a few days of getting to that point with the Tercel, I took the Altima on a 600 kilometre long weekend drive at pretty good highways speeds. Next day on that holiday weekend, while I was sitting idling at a light I heard a ‘TINK!’, and it flamed out….never to start again.
Timing chain had let go, allowing a close meeting of valves and pistons. I scrapped it for $50 less than I had paid for it almost 50,000kims before.
I insured the Tercel and have been driving it for almost three years now, spartan little underachiever that it is. It ALWAYS starts easily, gives pretty good economy and although it DID leak oil when I got it, a few gaskets later it does not soil my driveway like BOTH the other Tercels did.
I have now put 67,000 kilometres on the thing. and with purchase price, windshield, brakes and tires, (who’d buy NEW tires for a car like this?) the total expenditure comes to about $900 over almost three years, not including gas or insurance.
And, every time I am out driving this car, I see AT LEAST 3 others in various states of cherished condition or neglected decay. In neither case do they send smoke signals as they go past. The last generation Tercels are still seen everywhere around here….despite the ravages of time, neglect, and winter road salt.
I have come to recognize these things as the automotive equivalent of the cockroach…and have decided that rather than work to exterminate them, I might as well just live with them.
These things are as inspiring as toilets but just as durable…and just as useful.
So, let us all bless their stubborn little mechanical hearts…use them and abuse them for all they are worth…rather like farm machinery…and look to other cars for enjoyment.
Great read, Perry. I’m a certifiable Toyota nut; finally sold my crashed 83 Tercel and got a 87 Corolla FX to replace it. I’ll have a CC up about it soon.
This car is decently styled. Actually a bit BMW in side profile, and maybe a bit generic as well.
The ’81 Tercel in another post today is the kind of car that repelled me from most anything Japanese in the ’80s. It has no style whatever, purely functional, it almost looks incomplete.
I kept waiting for someone to comment on the BMW styling, from the faint echo of a hoffmeister kink to the character line under the door handle. It was a poor man’s 3 series.
Does anyone remember the black, red, and white hawk editions? With alloys!
I don’t think they had alloys, just very ricey and cheap chrome hubcaps. LOL
+1 profile and contours at the rear reminds me of the shortbutt 316 we had here.
Yes, 3 series. It’s coincidental.
I once owned an 82 Toyota Corolla Tercel, a blue 2dr coupe… it was a 4spd, and ran mint… just very Spartan with an AM/FM radio, A/C(surprising) and not much else. lol
Anyone, remember the Tercel Blackhawk edition?……….
My boss got one of these to flip, it had a bad motor. He had it sold even before I had the engine out. This was when people weren’t used to $3 gas.
I put the engine in & fixed up a few things & off it went.
After my dad’s 1997 Grand Am became a victim of a highway hit and run we ended up purchasing a four door 1997 Tercel CE out of desperation with the limited insurance money and some of my funds. That was 6 years ago when the car originally had about 128,000 kms. At the time it was a barebones 10 year old car with an automatic transmission for $3495 Canadian (probably around $4300 after fees and taxes) with no ABS, no AC and not even a clock. It did however come with an aftermarket CD deck and I believe that the Canadian Tercel only has one drivers side airbag for safety. The interior is as spartan as you can get and with manual crank windows, manual drivers side mirror (that has to be adjusted by moving it with your fingers), no armrest and everything is so small including the gas pedal. For my 5’8″ height I find it too cramped for longer trips especially if I have back passengers. Having driven V6 Pontiacs prior to this I found the 93 horsepower very slow and underpowered as I would find myself getting tailgated more often in this vehicle. Although the car is not my style I thought that the vehicle proportions were just right compared to the taller more modern compact cars we have today and it does handle well. Lots of parts were replaced over the years such as the tires, gas tank, battery, starter motor, windshield, hand brake cable, brake pads, tie rod ends and assorted engine parts to keep it running. New tires can be found for $30 to $40 each before installation. The paint did held up well compared to more modern cars but the rust is starting to eat away at the body near the rear wheels from all the road salt and the engine oil has to be topped up from time to time. Currently it has about 240,000 kms and is still going. Its best features are that is was built in Japan and it is reliable.
A friend’s early 20’s, school teacher daughter had one of these. She was complaining about the Toyota dealer’s service department. Being in the car repair biz, I asked her what exactly was wrong. After 5 minutes of beating around the bush, she finally told me she wanted to be “Wined and Dined” when she took the car in.
I said I had the answer; trade the Tercel in on a Lexus LS400, you’ll be “Wined and Dined”; but it will cost you $1300 a month!
I recently bought a ’93 base Tercel coupe with a 4spd manual trans, manual steering and cold A/C to be used by my nephew as an everyday car. Ran like a top with 149K miles—needed a valve cover gasket and a clutch master cylinder, also installed a set of seat covers. Economical transportation for $1000 and still going strong….
Ah, so they used a hydraulic clutch. I would’ve guessed a cable unit for such a cheapie.
In January of 2002, we were settling into our new Alaska home. My wife ordered me to find her a car on my way to work. There was a dealer between our house in Wasilla and Anchorage which sold the cars that couldn’t be sold on the “normal” lot. I looked at the indoor showroom and was promptly drawn to the ugliest car there; an ’84 Tercel 2wd wagon. Someone had removed all the factory trim and replaced it with JC Whitney chrome. It even had initials on the doors. The original cream was covered in a pink paint job worthy of an eighth grader.
I called my wife and told her not to laugh, but I found a car that would work for her. It only had 44,000 miles. We drove it for four years! We sold it and would see the car parked at local sleaze bars and occasionally, the courthouse. I’d have another one in a minute. The only reason we sold it was that our daughter was getting her license and we wanted her in something safer. She ran away a few months later.
Having a rear anti-roll bar but not necessarily a front wasn’t necessarily uncommon for lightweight B- and C-segment cars. Other examples included the late ’60s Opel Kadett (and thus the Opel GT) and the Mk1/Mk2 Ford Fiesta. I think the rationale is that if the car’s overall curb weight is under about a metric ton and more than 60 percent of that weight is on the nose, the front springs are already going to be fairly stiff and therefore adding a front anti-roll bar is just going to yield excessive understeer. A lot of the reason small cars with struts even bother with the front bar at all is that the anti-roll bar does double duty triangulating both front control arms, which can be cheaper and tidier (packaging-wise) than a lower wishbone. (The Fiesta used a single leading link on each side instead, which also allowed fore-aft compression for better ride quality.)
In this market, it seemed uncommon. It was much more common to have one in front, but not in the rear. I’m sure Toyota’s set-up allowed for some tail-flinging fun on some models, though, because Consumer Reports bashed the ’98 Corolla/Prizm for “unpredicatable” handling.
I’ve never owned or driven a Geo Prism, but I have driven a Toyota Corolla, its nearly identical twin, and I don’t find it to be dangerous at all. Every vehicle has its handling and road holding limitations, but if you’re careful in how you drive the car, then you should be able to make it safely to your destination.
Yes, it’s more common for cheap cars to have a front bar and not a rear one, but the ubiquity of the front bar has a lot to do with the fact that it typically does double duty as a locating member.
The E110 Corolla was pretty docile in the versions sold here, but the earlier FWD models, particularly in the sportier versions (AE82, AE92) had a surprisingly propensity for lift-throttle oversteer, although those models did have rear anti-roll bars.
My roommate followed his ’83 Celica with a ’91 Tercel (had kids and a mortgage by then). He had the base model; only option was a/c. He loved that thing, putting well over 200k+ miles on it before inheriting his dad’s Jeep.
I too have a strange attraction to strippo models…there’s an understated beauty to what you’d figure to be base competence….
Our rental Corolla two years ago really impressed me – I pushed that thing through it’s paces and like a puppy it wanted me to scratch it’s belly. All it needed was a power seat and I could have taken it home….
Late to the party on this one, but have to comment because of the full CC effect on this car. It’s the same exact car except the one I found is a 96 non DX 4 speed stripper and same exact color as the one I found for my niece about a month ago to replace her fix me every 3 weeks 89 Jetta with 273k hard miles on it. Since I’m the lucky one to repair her car, I figure this should cut down on visits and phone calls a lot. I wanted to drive it for about a week to make sure all was well before turning it over to her, but after replacing the 2 bald front tires (used like new $80.00 installed, huge 15580R13), the three week limit on the Jetta had come up and the coolent tank was empty. I told her to fill it up and come get her Tercel. 2 days later the Tercel came in on a tow truck, I bypassed the clutch safety switch and now all is well. 40 MPG on hwy. Runs well, seems to have good power, at least compared to the Jetta. California car, no rust at all. Complete stripper, 2 door coupe 4 speed no right mirror, no rear defogger, no tach, no PS, no AC. Just an aftermarket Radio/CD. 157K T belt and clutch done at 110k. Perfect body and interior,cloth seats,dual airbags. I thought the Jetta had a blown headgasket, but the heater core is gone. Bypassed and it still runs ok. She gave me that car. From the comments it looks like it should be good to go for a long time. I sure hope so! 2k seems like a fair price, it seems to have been well maintained. I hope to hear a lot less from her in the future!
20k miles later and last month I had to replace the starter. Other then this, trouble free so far. The paint, especially the clearcoat is not holding up well.
She still has it, her son drives it now. Up to around 280k now, she says.
I haven’t worked on since the starter replacement. Don’t know exactly what’s been done over the years, but she says nothing major.
In late 2004 I came to own a 1995 Tercel DX Coupe just like this one. The Green paint was the lighter shade with a gray interior. I bought it with 88,000 Miles. I only used it for about a year and a half. It was very reliable and decent transportation. It was just very small for me at 6’5″. Never broke down on me. Only incident I can recall is some animal running out in front of me and I hit a curb and blew a tire. Thats more of a driver error/Murphy’s law sort of thing though.
Car did really good in the snow in Colorado winter time. Was interesting that at the time, my friend in Denver had a 1992 Paseo at the same time I had this Tercel. I could tell that the Paseo was a little more insulated and a more robust chassis and suspension. Ive had many experiences with Gen 4 Tercels and Paseos. The gen 5 feels decontented compared to the 1991-94 Models. The G4 Paseo absorbed more of the ragged roads than the G5 Tercel did. The 1.5 L 4-Cyl was decent, good on gas, mediocre on power with a/c running. Ok at freeway speeds but preferred the city driving to the freeway in that car.
Sold car in early 2006 with just over 108k on the odo. I put 20k on it in about a year and 3 months, sadly its size was just the breaking point for me. Wouldve lasted forever, im sure the woman I sold it to still has it. Not a bad car but I have enjoyed my Gen 3 Camry much more, if not just for the increase in size alone. If the Tercel had been an 88k Corolla when I bought it, i’d prob still have it.
Decent little car (The Tercel) if not very anonymous on the roads. 5th Gen Tercels seem to be very obscure in Denver and Salt Lake City. If I ever had the chance to purchase a decent 5th gen Sedan, I would seriously consider it. Small, but very likeable little cars. So easy to maintain and live with (If the size works for you). I also think that for being a seriously entry-level econobox (cloth seats, trip odometer, passenger mirror and clock made this car very well equipped at the time. Throw in a/c….forget about it), that the styling has remained somewhat up to date. Like many of Toyota’s more conservative designs, it has aged well for what it is.
I own a 1995 Tercel DX 4 door and it’s doing just great at 247,000 miles. I just came back from a trip to the Virgin Islands and was absolutely stunned at the number of cars I saw identical to my own. It’s like St. Thomas has become the “Planet of the Lost Tercels.” I found this site because I am looking for a part and thought I’d share that story with you. If I don’t see what I need online, I really will start phoning around in St. Thomas because I’m certain I can get it there — who knew, LOL?!
Here’s my 95. I have swapped the old 4 speed transmission with a 5 speed from a 94 Paseo. Short ram intake, Aftermarket muffler, Altezza taillights. The rims are from a 96 Acura Integra GSR.
I had a dark blue 96 Tercel 4 speed. I put 160,000 miles on it without any major problems. Drove it from Oregon to Iowa and back every year for 10 years, and would get 42 to 45 mpg hwy. Nice looking car, and far better than the ugly Echo and Yaris that replaced it. When are they going to start making good looking cars again ?
I own a 96 Tercel Standard that I use as my daily commuter, about 300 miles weekly. If someone dings it, it just compliments the car. If the Tercel needs service, I’m not worried cause it’s not gonna empty my wallet. I can make just about any service on the Tercel for under $100. Sure it sucks taking over 15 seconds to merge onto freeway traffic, but filling my 11 gallon tank once a week makes me all smiles.
This is my Tercel, owned and loved for 15 years. Custom at this point with a 5efe and 5speed tranny, Paseo wing, etc. Just bought a second a few days ago with AC to swap in. I love these cars so much they are adorable.
I rented a bunch of cars similar to this one when I crewed a sailboat in the mid-’90s. Most of them were right hand drive and driven places where they were so much nicer and newer than the private vehicles of the residents that they stuck out like new Porsches in my public high school’s parking lot. .
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I was still pretty obsessed with my German cars at the time, but the Tercels/Solunas/Starlets earned a grudging respect by refusing to succumb to the abuses put to them by twenty-something renters in places where many roads were only suggestions. If cars had been as off-road capable and unbreakable before WWII, there never would have been a Jeep or a Land Rover. I have certainly made more off-road return trips in rented front-wheel-drive Toyota and Isuzu sedans than I ever have in Wranglers, and a couple of times I passed stricken Land Rover 88s while doing it.
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My friend who is an engineer and uses good judgement off road has never caused me to walk back from an off-road adventure in his XJ Cherokee, but he is the exception to so many survival situations I’ve been in that were created by people who thought a Wrangler fool-proof.
Nice to see the nice stories from over the years, proving yet again that CC ethos of mundane cars holding bigger sway in our memories/emotions than most give them credit for.
I owned what might technically be the slowest variant of these final generation cars – a 1997 Paseo convertible with the automatic. It remains the only convertible I’ve ever owned and one of the most fun to drive cars I’ve had, especially for the $800 or so I paid for it. I didn’t feel it to be underpowered, rather, “peppy” was how a friend and I described it. To it’s credit it had the 4 speed automatic versus the three speed in many Tercels/Corollas and the conversion (carried out by ASC) only added some 200 pounds to the weight of the car. I was surprised to get many compliments on it as I have had nicer cars before and since that did not garner nearly as much attention.
That shade of green was the most common color for this car, and the best looking too IMHO. Had a workmate that traded her 1985 Starlet hatchback for one in 1995 and it still looked like new when she traded it a decade later.
True penalty boxes, but durable. There’s been a first generation Tercel still around in my neighborhood until just a couple of years ago.
Had a 1981 Tercel bought used summer 1981. Never a mechanical problem. While at a red light a handful of years later was rear ended by a Ford pickup who never hit his brakes. His bumper higher than the Tercel’s, pushing in the trunk and rear quarter panels. Have had 6 GM cars since then.
After the Toyota Tercel and Starlet ended productions, a long line of Toyota Yaris had taken over and as of now it is still one of the long lasting names in Toyota lore. It started out as a variation name for the Echo and now depending on which country it was imported to through a new design for the new decade with its chassis based on the Toyota Global New Platform similarly used by the current Prius Hybrid along with the newly redesigned Corolla and even the current Camry. I mentioned similar in concept not identical.
I own a 95 Tercel. It rocks 4 165/80R13 Mud Tires. I work across the street from the biggest ORV park in the Upper Michigan. It is well maintained and takes a f*cking beating every day of it’s life. It is very fun off road and the perfect size for two track and gravel roads. It has broken, but never left me stranded. I will probably keep it running forever because I can. These little cars ain’t no joke. I can regularly out perform expensive off road vehicles in a Toyota tercel. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!
I still have my 1991 Tercel 2dr 4 speed———-the only repairs——valve guide stems.——its got 300,000 miles on it still running strong!! No oil burning or leaks—–cold A/C 40mpg————-a daily reliable driver———-
I owe a Toyota Tercel 1997 with 117,784 miles. Sunroof ,cruise control., rims. I brought it brand new. Wonderful little car. Is in excellent condition
I just got one recently and is coming up on 200k, I’m 3rd owner and let me tell you this is a smooth running/driving car. I expected it to leak and burn liquids, but it’s really surprised me with no disappointments. It’s a fun lil 4spd, got me 41mpgs too with mixed driving. Paid just $500.00 for my blue 96 Tercel.