Asking as I haven't had anything to do with them and also because my daughter is interested in one. Not looking for a "racing car" but a good all round every day reliable vehicle. The one she's looking at has the 7A-FE 1.8 litre engine and is automatic. Some Corolla's of around the same year also used the 7A-FE engine!
phillip.weston,
May 5, 6:34am
those ones are the lean burn engines which apparently are horribly slow and you need to full throttle it to get anywhere negating the effects of the lean burn economy.
ema1,
May 5, 6:48am
Thanks Phil
dasfi,
May 5, 9:54am
We own a 1997 2.0L 3s-Fe engine, its pretty good on gas and goes well, not a race car but has power to overtake and also up hills, has cost us nothing other than usual servicing
thejazzpianoma,
May 5, 12:47pm
Don't get taken in by the exterior looks. You can just get so very much more vehicle for the money than what the Caldina offers. They are a very average car, people just get over excited about them because of their supposed reliability. Thing is there are plenty of other very reliable cars cars in the price range that are actually properly nice cars to drive and travel in with better safety, power/economy etc.
amyfromthenaki,
May 5, 7:42pm
It's just the old Corona Station Wagon. You won't go far wrong if you check it out like you should any used car.
(Unless it's the GT-T Caldina, in which case, it's the 4wd turbo Celica rally car hiding in a Corona wagon bodyshell. But you can tell those by all the air intakes and the "look-at-me" accessories.)
phillip.weston,
May 5, 7:54pm
What exterior looks! Other than the GT-T, which looks like it's hyped up on steroids, the Caldina range is fairly bland - I bet this 1.8 is riding on steel wheels which look like they belong more at home on a Hilux than a Caldina.
_peas,
May 5, 9:39pm
I like the subtle kit of the G, GT and GT-T models actually(GT-T only has a bonnet scoop as extra over the other two).Aggressive looking front with the black bezel lights too.My cousin owned the 1.8 and as stated slow and actually kinda thirsty, possibly because of having to work the engine too hard to get it to move (its the 7A-FE out of a mid 90's Corolla. a smaller and lighter car).I have been waiting for a GT now for a while but they are overpriced and continue to be turned in with low or no bids.
apollo77,
May 5, 9:45pm
Go for it mate. Power. may be a little down on racy models but your daughter wont even notice.( nor would I for that matter). they are super reliable and wont let her down. will go foreva. If it hasnt done a killzillion kms then it'll be a good buy . Good luck .
_peas,
May 5, 9:45pm
You're right about the reliability as well.They are just as susceptible as other makes.Specifically the GT-T's crack manifolds (pre facelift anyway), the rocker covers leak (common 3S fault) and the solder in the dash is purported to be below average which leads to electrical problems though I never had these issues in mine.
What would you recommend Jazz!$5K ~180-200hp wagon and isn't going to cost a bomb to fix!Golf Variant! (Kinda boxy for my taste) Haha I may have opened the floodgates here!
_peas,
May 5, 9:47pm
If it has done a zillion km's it will be an even better buy!Depreciation shoudl have hit almost rock bottom and theres bugger all to go wrong with the base model.7A engine 2WD. Perishing rubber is your worst enemy in that case.
thejazzpianoma,
May 5, 11:21pm
You are quite right, I was working on the assumption being a young person that we were talking G or GT. Should have clarified.
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 17, 1:09am
Are we talking about a wagon for you peas or the original poster!
If its the original poster it would depend on what they are looking for in a car and whether they need auto/manual.
As it stands we don't really know enough about what they are looking for to suggest the best car for the job in my opinion. They may not even necessarily want a wagon as such which would widen the net.
That way I can choose best from my vast selection of canned worms!
ema1 if you are interested in my thoughts if you could post roughly how many km's it will do in a week, what sort of running i.e trips, city or both. What is important i.e safety, extreme economy etc. Whether a manual transmission is an option, does it need to be a wagon or will a car do and what sort of size is needed. And most importantly what the actual budget is.
There are some serious bargains around in the price range of that Caldina, I am happy to suggest a few.
I will be out tonight so you may need to hang in until tomorrow before I can get back to you.
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