RA40 Celica - 2 week review

It’s been two and a bit weeks since I bought my first car - a 1980 Toyota Celica. In that time, this 36 year old Toyota has impressed me, scared me, and (almost) left me stranded 150km from home.
When you get in this car and drive it, you quickly become aware of the lack of driver assists - steering is rather heavy, due to a lack of power assistance. (Strangely, it is actually very easy to park, maybe moreso than my Dad’s Hyundai Getz).The first time I took the Celica on a mountain road, I didn’t know what to expect. I thought that there would be acres of body roll, and I wouldn’t really be able to go much faster around corners that in the family Holden Commodore. But that’s where it surprised me. I was taking the same, at times, more speed around the corners than I would in the Commodore, and the car wasn’t anywhere near its limits. It may not handle as well as something like an MX-5, and there is still a bit of body roll, but it certainly is a load of fun.
In the rain, you have to be really careful. A few days ago, I tried driving around a roundabout in the wet at what I thought was a sensible speed. But the instant I tried to turn off, the rear end simply let go. Fortunately, I was able to bring it back under control without spinning, but it was at that moment that I realised just how demanding driving this car is.

In terms of reliability, the Celica is near-faultless. Mechanically, it hasn’t had a single issue, apart from a small coolant leak caused by a badly-installed thermostat gasket. Where I have had an issue, though, is with the headlights. I parked my car by the side of the road with perfectly functional headlights. But when I came back to the car and flicked the switch back on, nothing happened. This wouldn’t have been so bad, except I was 150km from home. Fortunately, I was able to get roadside-assistance, and they bridged a wire from the headlight fuse to the battery, giving me lights to get my car home. The problem turned out to be a faulty headlight switch.
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with my car, even with its slight issues. My only complaint is the 3 speed auto, which will be replaced with a 5-speed manual early this year. Driving this car is totally different to anything else I’ve experienced, and I love it. It’s just as comfortable cruising the city streets as it is racing around a mountain road.

So why did I chose this car? It has no driver assits, making it more engaging, and challenging, to drive. But it also doesn’t have a lot of power, which makes it fun, rather than scary. However, what really drew me towards these cars was the looks. Before I saw one in person, I hadn’t really paid any attention to these cars. But the simple elegance of the late 70s/early 80s styling hooked me on this generation of Celica - and I don’t regret buying mine one bit.