So...we come to the Toyota Celica
GTS...1.8 liter, 16-valve 4 cylinder, 180bHP, umm...130 lb-ft
torque (:P), 6 spd transmission, great feeling steering wheel,
leather sport seats, sunroof, VVTL-i, silver painted goodness.
Standard safety features
include the usual: 5 mph bumpers, Side impact door beams, ABS
on all four, two front and side airbags for driver and passenger,
retractors on the seatbelts...all the stuff that just should be
on cars these days. It's a Toyota in the strictest sense. And
after you drive it you'll remember that old 80's commercialism..."I
love what you do for me..." and you'll jump in the air too. With
the Celica GTS you get classic Toyota reliability, quality and
the excitement of a small capable sports coupe.
Ok my first contact with the
Celica GTS was when I sat down in the seat. This particular
Celica had the leather package. The leather is of decent quality...Lexus
like actually, and the seats are very supportive. They were
designed with spirited driving in mind and hold one well during
hard cornering, yet are comfortable for longer drives. I do
tend to think that the cloth-adorned seats might hold one
a little better though. The driving position was quite good.
The Celica has an upright, alert driving position, which I
have found quite lacking in other Toyotas that I've driven.
The magnificently sculpted steering wheel fits the hand like
that of much more expensive exotic sports car...and that inspires
confidence. From the race inspired aluminum pedals to the
low cowl front view, this car was ready to go. So was I.
I grabbed the short throw 6 speed
shifter and put it into first. The clutch engagement was smooth
and easy and got the car moving at a pace on par with a Tercel
or Corolla. Visibility was pretty good, all except for the nagging
blockage by the rear spoiler. Now the rear spoiler is something
of a head scratcher. I'm not too sure one way or the other if
it does anything other than alters the car's appearance. The Toyota
guy said he thought it was purely cosmetic and that all it did
functionally was add weight. I personally think it looks fine
from the outside with it, but without the spoiler the Celica has
a more sleek and purposeful look. I guess that's just one of those
things that you either do or you don't want it. My call would
be that if it doesn't contribute to the performance of the car
and it hinders visibility...then leave it off. Back to driving
it... Ok now we're tooling along in traffic and the Celica is
just happy and quiet. Taking potholes and bumps without any drama
and just basically being a good little Toyota. Now it was time
to see how much of a performer this thing really was. I was guided
to an area where we believed there to exist some nice twisty roads
with a few off camber bends here and there. Once we pulled onto
the road that would take us to our "proving grounds" traffic disappeared
and it was time to see how the pedal felt when put to the proverbial
metal.
I gave the throttle a quick blip
and shifted down to second and laid into the gas. What I got wasn't
quite what I had built up in my mind to receive from Toyota's
newest sports car creation. There was moderate acceleration gradually
building as the tach rose to near 6000 RPM. Nothing too exciting,
but we were gaining speed. Then somewhere between 6K and 7K (I
wasn't paying attention) something violent happened. What the
heck was this? The engine catapulted the car forward as I hit
what seemed to be a sudden magical wall where the turbo charger
lived. This car is normally aspirated though and what felt like
a small turbo spooling was Toyota's VVTL-I taking over. VVTL-I
stands for Variable Valve Timing and Lift with intelligence. By
constantly varying intake valve timing it is designed to help
the engine maintain low-end torque and high-end power efficiently.
Once you hit the line where
the VVTL-I takes over (6000-RPM) high lift cams take over
to improve breathing and power. So what you get is a surge
of power and fury right up to the 7600 RPM red mark. This
feels pretty cool. Although I don't think it's quite as
efficient for high-spirited driving as Honda's version
(VTEC) it does prove useful. But the gearing of this car
and how Toyota has developed the VVTL-I engine in the
Celica GTS leaves something to be desired. When you shift,
you are no longer in the power band; you have to wait
again for the gradual rise to that sweet spot where you
will once again be catapulted ahead of the pack and on
to those corners.
Which is where we are now, those
corners. Now with my limited experience with this car I might
not be giving it the full fair remarks that it deserves. So let
me explain...The Celica GTS is capable in every sense of the word.
It seems like it would be just as much at home at the Auto cross
as it is tooling around town quickly. The car is balanced well
and the steering response is excellent. There is good feel for
what the car is doing and is about to do, so there really aren't
that many surprises. Save one...ultimate understeer. The Celica
GTS goes where it's pointed and it turns sharp, but it doesn't
stay on that line too well. I don't know whether to chalk it up
to design or tires and weight transfer, but this thing understeers
very easily. To correct you do have to back off quite a bit to
get it back into line. At the same time it's not uncontrollable
and you can feel it coming a mile away. This car is set up to
understeer, and understandably so considering the type of driving
it inspires and the target market for the car. Understeer is when
you point the vehicle in question in one direction and due to
whatever factor might cause it, the car goes straight or out of
line and wide where it should be turning in tightly. Of course
there are ways to counter this exaggerated action of not going
where I wanted it. I left the handbrake alone and just let the
car settle a little and pulled it through with more throttle when
the line was back. Then I was off to the next curve and while
going uphill the car gripped well and we pulled through to the
next chicane with no noticeable protest from the car. There were
a few more instances of terribly unwanted understeer but other
than those quirks I deem the Celica GTS a nice handling little
sports coupe. For the most part it went where directed and there
wasn't too much body roll, and the engine was responsive and lively.
Although I do wish that I was in the VVTL-I more than not. You
have to rev the engine high and hard to get use out of the VVTL-I,
but when you do, it rewards you with a satisfying end to the gear
selected.
During every day
driving the Celica GTS has power when needed but there isn't
much torque to speak of so there is only a fair amount of
power available for highway passing before you are forced
to drop a gear to get to business. I've already read horror
stories about people mis-shifting the tight 6 speed transmission
and damaging the engine pretty badly. And as far as functionality
goes, the hatch will hold groceries and other small things
that you want to throw in there. The back seats are survivable,
but I wouldn't put humans back there unless you really don't
like them too much.
They are better suited for bags,
jackets, and boxes. The interior hardware is impressively well
put together and doesn't look or feel cheap. You get quite a lot
for your money, and there is always that long laundry list of
options that Toyota offers for you to make your Celica GT/GTS
as comfortable or raceable as possible. If you like the look of
the new Celica you have already gotten over the first hump. As
a drivers car the Celica GTS succeeds for the most part and despite
the tendency to understeer through 50% of the high speed turns
thrown at it (remember though that most won't give it even 7/10ths),
it is a very good handling and quick car. You definitely get what
you pay for here and are likely to be very happy with Toyota's
newest Celica. So in conclusion, I give it thumbs up. In a picky
purist sense I do think there are some issues to be addressed
in the power band and rear visibility areas, and to some degree
the cornering ability of the car. But for the more experienced,
those issues might be met by after market parts and if so the
Celica GTS is a great platform to build on. If you are just the
average person looking for a sporty coupe with great looks, driveability,
value, and reliability give the Toyota Celica GTS a good hard
look. It definitely will make you jump...
