Which Toyota should I get?

[Tidy]

Hi, I currently drive a Peugeot 207 GT 150 THP and it has cost me over £1000 since January. I'm struggling to maintain it and really want to sell it and go on the opposite end of the reliability spectrum. 

I'm looking for a relatively fast Toyota that is under £3500 and reliable? I was like at the Corolla T Sport and Auris SR180 but have heard that the Auris can form lots of squeaks inside the cabin and also needs carbon cleaning (which I had done to my 207 last month) and engine not as a reliable as corolla (?)

Does anyone have any recommendations for cars I can look at that are reliable, I'm used to a lot of features so would be nice to have them but not important. I just really want a car I don't have to constantly save money for because it's breaking every week.

Hope you can help 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota Corolla T-Sport

Toyota Yaris 1.8SR

Toyota Auris T180/SR (note the 2.0 and 2.2 litre diesel can suffer from head gasket issues, so 1.6 petrol possibly)

[type_r_baby]

Yaris T Sport could also be a decent budget car

[Cyker]

The Corolla T-Sport was very popular on here for a number of years; Had a 1.8VVTi unit so a decently powerful engine. Their owners wouldn't shut up about 'how awesome it feels when you hit lift' , lift being the second valve timing, so I imagine they're quite fun to drive. Reliability seemed pretty good, never saw many issues with the exception of a lot of them snapping the lift bolts which controlled the second valve timing, presumably because they kept revving them up and down to feel the valve timing switch over.

Another potential possibility in that vein is the super-charged Corolla Compressor - Someone was selling one hear a while back, but they're quite hard to find. They sound awesome but I don't think I've even seen one IRL, let alone had a go in one! Probably thirsty as heck tho'.

 

The Auris SR180 hasn't enjoyed as much popularity; It's a diesel engine so it has spades of torque, but most of the people who've owned one here just complain about the abysmal mpg. It does have the progressive house-towing pull that only a big diesel engine can provide, and is very comfy and nice to drive, although not as nice as the Corolla it replaced was IMHO. I'll also add the caveat that unless you're going to be using it for mostly long-distance driving, I'd avoid it as, like any diesel EURO4 or higher, it'll develop problems if it's mainly driven sedately around town.

 

The Yaris Mk2 SR (1.8VVTi) and the Yaris Mk1 T-Sport (1.5VVTi) are both the sport versions of the Yaris, with lower profile tyres and stiffer suspension; I haven't driven the Mk2, but on paper it's got more HP and torque than the Mk1 despite somehow having a slower 0-60. From what I've read, the handling isn't great and it feels kinda sluggish, probably because of the extra weight of the Mk2 platform. I have driven the Mk1 T-Sport tho' and it's a lot of fun; Might be a bit underpowered compared to what you're coming from, but its light weight works very well with that 1.5L engine and it's nicely responsive to acceleration and braking. The handling is not as good as, say, the sportier Fords, but it feels pretty nimble and has a nice positive turn-in into corners, although it has the same tendency to understeer that all Mk1 Yarisussesesus have if in sustained turns so you need to put decent tyres on it if you're going to hoon about in it.

Reliability of both is high; Not read much in the way of problems on here.

But really, if we're talking sporty Toyotas, I think you might want to look at the Supra and Celica! I've not driven a Supra, but the later gen Celica is great fun to drive and is surprisingly cheap to insure despite being a 1.8 litre sports car! They were popular cars so should be able to find a cheap one in decent nick without too much trouble. Handling's much better than any of the cars listed above, which are just lightly sportified normal cars, and the Supra's were RWD if you want to scratch that GT86 itch without spending the money!

 

[mickburkesnr]

+1 for the Celica

[YarisHybrid2016]

Yarisussesesus