Toyota Range

[Corolla_liftback]

hi dont know if anybody else has mensioned it on here, but i was watching 5th gear last week and the bloke with long hair had a really good point, because the toyota range is really boring. All they currently have is boring saloons and the rav4, whats happened to the MR2 and the celica? Does anybody know if they have

any plans for a new models of them?

And also why have they dropped the t sport brand, i though thats one of the best bits about my yaris, the little red t sport Badge lol. its wierd to think they used to produce cars like the supra, mr2 t bar, celica gt4 and corolla gti16 etc....

its about time they stopped makeing lukewarm hot versions of the standard model like the new 1.8 dual vvti yaris sr whats slower than the 1.5 t sport and most other 1600cc warm hatches.

They should get some balls and dump a 200bhp lump in a yaris and reintroduce the "T-Sport" brand!!! thanks for listening to me winge, just had to get it out in the open...

[Baby Yari]

Your spot on there mate!!

Thing is, with the way the world is going at the mo, most people don't really go for performance, bhp, speed, etc do they any more. The market is now more geared towards fuel consumption, emmisions, tax bands, etc.

Motoring is now getting really expensive and the fat cats in the governments are all after our hard earned cash!

[T600]

It's the new eco friendly image. Don't expect to see it change any time soon, or even ever.

If you want a performance Toyota then you'll need to look at the Lexus brand.

Or else pick up one of the old models. Corolla and Celica VVTLi cars, and MK3 MR2s are going for bargain prices these days, and you can get a warranty on them up to 7 years old IIRC. Far better value than any new car I know of.

Or pick up a 90s Celica, Supra or MR2 for not much money at all; most of them have years of life left in them. Yes you'll spend a bit more on servicing and running costs, but depreciation will be negligible and you can get a very quick, reliable car for next to nothing compared to the price of a new car.

[Mat-O]

I suppose they are all looking into eco friendly, but on the other hand is we look at cars such as the Corsa VXR, Renaultsport Clio (I know it's no 255, but it's not bad), Mini Cooper S and Fiesta ST, all of which are nicer than the new SR, I'd take my T-Sport over it in fact, as the new one just doesn't appear as sporty some how, it's too similar to the standard ones.

[.Chris]

Its weird though coz honda and nissan have gone down the eco route (honda even more so then toyota), but still bang out their type-r's and gtr's!!!

[Fumasa]

Lexus has recently introduced to the world a new IS which is supose to out performe a BMW M5 its called the IS-F. Now i know its not a toyota... but thats what the brand is shooting for when it come to performance.

[Fumasa]

[edwardio]

I agree the Toyota range is boring at the moment and I'm sure it won't be too long before that changes. We've all seen the new 'Supra' if that's what it's going to be, which is a Hybrid. So if that works out well for Toyota I'm sure other models will follow.

What Toyota are doing is quite good for them. They've dropped their performance cars (Supra, Celica & MR2), so just have the basic range. Now we're all talking about it, so what it's producing is interest and a wanting for those cars back. Thereofre when they are relauched or new model lauched, we're all going to be going down to our local Mr.T, to test drive them and sign on the dotted line for that new sporty car!!

We all want what we can't have!!

[rallybunny]

Was having this conversation a while back with my hubby, about Jap cars in general. It's kind of why we've ended up with the 350z - there's not a lot out there that was within our price range that was "new" in age, as well as being new to us (coming from an R34 GTT before). All the "ultimate" Jap cars, such as the Skyline and Supra are getting on a bit now, like 10 years +, and we wanted something a bit newer. Having the same problem now I'm looking to change my car, nothing really appeals, although I'm pushing for a DC5. :D

[Chris81]

Having the same problem now I'm looking to change my car, nothing really appeals, although I'm pushing for a DC5. :D

Buy one! The DC5 is absolutely brilliant. Or maybe a JDM Civic FD2.

On the theme of Toyota's boring line up. We can't totally blame the environment and emissions. Other manufacturers are trotting out hot hatches like no tomorrow. Yeah we're all more concerned with emissions, tax, price of petrol etc but the trend now seems to be towards turbocharging smaller engines, like the Cooper S, Pug 207 and Corsa VXR, the latter of which is a performance bargain - will return mpg in the low 30s but is still a match for much more expensive hot hatches. The new Yaris SR in comparison is a bit of a joke.

[kangzy]

Have none of you guys heard of the new Celica gt4 and celica gt which should be in production in 2010?

Its supposedly the new celica gen 7 shape with Subaru lump inside!!!

that is goin to be a beast

check it out theres an article in max power! unfortunately i believe its only import only!!!

[edwardio]

I read something about that but, then I heard that Lexus might be having those instead. That might be wrong, as I've said it's what I had been told buy someone.

[johnny01]

I read something about that but, then I heard that Lexus might be having those instead. That might be wrong, as I've said it's what I had been told buy someone.

A Toyota dealership told me that the new Toyota sports car will be badged as a Lexus, and probably with a price tag to suit. They didn't have any details about it yet but I would be surprised if it *was* a Gen 7 shape (in the sense that this is an 'old' shape and not very Lexus-ish) and also they have some fabulous engines of their own they could slot in...

Curiously, don't know whether anyone else has noticed, but in the pic above absolutely no-one is looking at that car...

[Chris81]

Curiously, don't know whether anyone else has noticed, but in the pic above absolutely no-one is looking at that car...

Maybe the Dodge stand had a topless bird on!

[johnny01]

:lol:

[Yaris SR Kid]

I think the New ISF will be a hoot but its not what you call a hot hatch, i understand why car makers are going all eco but they can still bash out there top of the range jobies!

It seems like toyota has gone downhill and most other makes, vauxhall/ford and gone uphill, in the race for fast cars, were as even 5 years ago it was other way around!

Very dissapointing toyota :(

[Tuned_Up_T-Sport]

I really agree with this post, but you've got to think about it from the point of view of the manufacturer, they have to go with the demographic, and at the moment like said, everyone is interested in "green" mobiles, I think after i'm fed up with the Yaris (if ever ) i'm gonna go old skool, fancy a glanza, R33 Gts-t, Scooby, or maybe even a GT-4 its just the age of these cars which is off putting.

[johnny01]

It's a tough one, this one...

I also agree with this thread and can see both sides - my first car was a Celica GT and they've always remained my favourite model so I was heart-broken when the model run finished, along with all the other 'fast and sexy' cars in the range. Toyota have however always been adept at reading the market incredibly well, they have a knack of pre-empting by a number of years changes that will be seen to have made either sound economic sense or be 'forced' on them, such as green issues and the environment. Having previously worked in finance for a number of years I can detect when things start to get nervous, and the world is getting nervous indeed...

I love the Celica I have, it's gorgeous, goes well, but it doesn't make sound economic or financial sense to me anymore, not at the moment. I looked at a new Yaris D4-D - OK a Celica it ain't, but it goes well enough, runs on fumes, costs s*d all to insure and tax and would save me a small fortune. I can't afford to spend the major part of my earnings keeping a car running when household shopping bills, gas and electric and just about everything else is going up at a rate far outstripping so called 'inflation' and certainly the average pay rise.

Downsizing is rife at the moment and there are a few examples of it lately on this forum in respect of cars. It's just the way it is - it's happened before and it'll happen again. Toyota are just doing it on a much larger manufacturing scale, in order to survive. They've done it before. Yes, quality may not be as subjectively high as it used to be but that's the same for every other manufacturer too. Everyone is feeling the pinch. Yes, subjectively boring they may be, but as Tuned_Up_T-Sport also suggested, demographics dictate what people want, and people want boring, safe, economical cars at the moment. Not everyone, but enough to change things for the time being...

another short post by me ....

[cabcurtains]

The harsh truth of this is the money, i work for Honda and i have seen most of our interesting cars removed from the range or not imported by Honda UK. This is all down to the profit per unit of the low volume models. As has been said in an early post the new car models are to similar to the existing models eg new Yaris SR, unfortunatley they always will be because if it requires a lot of expensive changes they wont do it. Not sure if Toyota UK work this way but i think they will, and as they become even more of a volume brand the low volume niche models have less chance of appearing in the UK.

Sad really, bring back the Supra and GT4's etc they would spice the showroom up! ;)