Great car in the day
Fuel pump broke, interior falling apart, weak windscreen, tail lights losing colour, paint fading; keep it waxed.
Heat from the engine comes in, and air conditioning works sometimes.
Made by GM for Toyota, good engine, feels solid.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 29th April, 2010
Good solid workhorse
Bought it for $500 Au (it was a trade-in) so was expecting to have issues. Was pleasantly surprised that they were all minor:
Power steering high pressure hose.
Water pump bearing.
Oxygen sensor.
Crank angle sensor.
Thermostat.
To get it roadworthy was a lot cheaper than I expected - it cost me less than $2000 (including purchase price)
It is a great highway car - does about 11 litres per 100 kms even fully laden (station wagon) at 110-120 km/h, with a reasonable amount of power on tap. City is comfortable but fuel economy goes down...
Auto transmission is a bit clunky, but it has a great overdrive (torque lock converter)
As a Lexcen it has power mirrors which is a plus - all the electrics still work (rear demister etc)
She's a little bit unhappy about ethanol fuels.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 2nd October, 2008
A Modest yet Attractive Power-pack
Cracked radiator Core for the Air conditioning. Not major.
Boot rubbers leaking water into boot cabin, mainly on right side.
Windscreen wiper motors blew. Sometimes a very common problem 95% of the time with VN's and Lexcens, where a screw comes loose in the motor casing causing the motor to jam & the fuse to blow. However, this was not the case, the motor just died.
Very gutsy car. I have no complains on all round performance. It loves to kick off the mark and lives up to every corner of it's 3.8L power. She does not whine when forced to shake her thing!
It's holds well at high speed on freeways and the handling is smooth, however, quite forceful at times.
The economy is surprisingly slightly better than VN's as I get around 500-550Kms to the tank on open road & 450Kms in the city with a casual boot here and there.
If modified slightly yet modestly, it would achieve an attractive soft V8 note.
All round, a great buy that I will never look back on. I will be hanging onto this one for a long time! She is a performance capable car in an attractive yet modest body.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 15th April, 2003
A good looking vehicle that offers good motoring if regularly serviced
Oil leak - rear engine seal that reappeared 10,000 km after repair.
Drive train noise - A persistent whining sound that becomes worse in 3rd gear. Currently being checked.
Poor fuel economy - 14L/100k city (no lead-foot), good country 8/100.
Water leak in the boot - The rear side window rubber (between C & D pillars) was the culprit. Removing the interior trim around the window revealed the seal around the window/rubber had perished with age and was letting water in above the wheel well. Application of silicon fixed the problem.
Black rubber window seal (front passenger) - Located between the top of the interior door trim and the window glass separated from the door trim.
Water pump bearing - Became very noisy and was recently replaced.
Although it has a Toyota badge, the GMH characteristics cannot be taken away from this vehicle.
High Km when purchased. However it had been serviced IAW logbook and was a one owner.
The auto transmission and motor are still in good shape.
I have recently fitted FE2 suspension, low profile tyres and mags. This has improved suspension characteristics, especially when cornering.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 10th January, 2002
This car is simply a Holden commodore and really no relation to Toyota at all, much like the Holden Apollo and earlier model Astras.
In response to previous comment: Holden does not design Astras or Apollos, it is a part of GM motors and scabs them from the European manufacturers, much like Toyota did with the Lexcen.
8th Jul 2003, 18:56
The V6 with a big-bore kit makes a lovely V8-like sound.
OK sure, not *exactly* like a V8 but it can produce a deep tone and a satisfying rumble when blipping the throttle.