Toyota Avensis / Corona

Toyota launched the new Avensis in late 1997 as a successor to the European Carina, which was a close sister of Japan's Corona. Obviously many components of these two cars are still interchangeable.  

The basic layout is still all MacPherson struts in each corners. Wheelbase grew 50mm thus enable more cabin comfort. Engines including 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0, all are economical units, especially the 1.8 lean burn engine offers class-leading fuel consumption even better than Mitsubishi Carisma GDI. Improved sound insulation and vibration-absorbing structure raise refinement.  

Toyota claims the Avensis is vastly improved on driver appeal. Maybe their standards are relatively modest, european testers still criticize for lack of steering precision and feedback while generates excessive body roll. Undoubtedly, its handling becomes better than its predecessor, but it is still bias strongly towards family man/woman car, this is further proved by its soft ride. 
 

The above report was last updated in 1998. All Rights Reserved.
 

Caldina GT-T : estate or rally car ?

There are several hot estates in Japan, the most notably is my favourite Subaru Legacy GTB, then Mitsubishi Legnum VR4 is also another well-known alternative. However, Toyota also has its own weapon, Caldina. From its appearance, you can easily discover its relationship with Corona, however, in the running gear it is more like a derivative of the rally-purpose Celica GT4 - the same 260hp two litres turbocharged four, driving all four wheels permanently. Obviously this is the fastest way to create a hot estate.  

Transmission could be selected between a 4 speed automatic or the button-operated semi-auto called "Super ECT", which had been applied to Lexus GS400. Early impression of Caldina is more civilised than Subaru Legacy GTB in terms of power delivery and handling, but the ride is harder than Legnum VR4. Styling is the worst among them. 
 

The above report was last updated in 1998. All Rights Reserved.

Specifications

Model
Avensis 1.8
Corona 2.0 D-4
Caldina GT-T
Layout
Front-engined, Fwd
Front-engined, Fwd
Front-engined, 4wd.
Dimensions (mm)
L / W / H / WB: 
4490 / 1710 / 1425 / 2580
L / W / H / WB: 
4600 / 1695 / 1410 / 2580
L / W / H / WB: 
4575 / 1695 / 1495 / 2580
Engine
Inline-4, dohc, 4v/cyl, lean burn.
Inline-4, dohc, 4v/cyl, direct-injection
Inline-4, dohc, 4v/cyl, turbo.
Capacity
1762 c.c.
1998 c.c.
1998 c.c.
Power
108 hp
145 hp
260 hp
Torque
114 lbft
144 lbft
239 lbft
Transmission
5M
4A
4A with manual mode
Suspensions
All: strut
Tyres
185/65 R14
N/A
N/A
Weight
1249 kg
1200 kg
1470 kg
Top speed
119 mph*
N/A
N/A
0-60 mph
11.6 sec*
N/A
N/A
0-100 mph
N/A
N/A
N/A
 
* Tested by Autocar
 

Copyright© 1997-2009 by Mark Wan @ AutoZine