1997 Toyota Starlet Reflect F 4E FE

Summary:

A great, reliable around town-er

Faults:

Front seats have no side support, and what remains of the driver's side foam support has come away from the steel frame.

Distributor cap inside terminals require oxide removal every 10,000 Kms to ensure good spark transmission, improve starting, and general engine running.

Just your standard battery changes.

General Comments:

Overall a typical reliable Japanese import Toyota car.

Very good around town-er, but can be a little skittish on the motorways at speed. To improve the ride and handling, get rid of the skinny tyres and put on 175mm width tyres. Makes a huge difference.

Change your oil regularly, at least once a year.

As a Japanese import, the car is not well tuned to 91 octane for NZ. Use 95 or 98, and you will get a much better fuel economy and power. I currently use the Ethanol bio fuel, with great results.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th September, 2010

7th Jan 2013, 20:29

I have a Toyota Starlet 1997. I bought it used with 142K on the meter.

The car is manual and it is slow in take offs (I mean much slower than cars around at the signals). The gear shifting takes time, which makes it slow, like from 1st up to 3rd gear. If you want a quick take off, you have to change gears very quickly to reach 40 Kmph. The car required only unleaded fuel (there's a sticker behind the fuel door, which clearly says that the car requires unleaded fuel). I used bio fuel i.e. Ethanol (E10); the performance feels a little bit different, but it just harms the engine. You will notice the engine oil burns, and in some situations you will have to top-up very often. I am now using unleaded fuel.

The car is pretty slow on the hills; it makes the driver feel awkward.

The car doesn't have any safety add ons, the suspension are hard, and the ride is noisy.

It's good for the students, as a second car, and as a first car to learn in. It's a car with a body, engine and A/C; nothing else. It's good for the Asian market, not for a country where you need more horsepower and powerful engines to drive freely.

But overall it's not bad. You can drive it as rough as you can; it won't die. It has near to no maintenance.

You may install a good sound system to avoid to road noise.

1996 Toyota Starlet Life 1.3 petrol

Summary:

Toyota keeps going and going and going on

Faults:

Normal wear and tear, battery replacement.

Driver's seat foam has give way, but I am a big guy, so may not be a problem with smaller people.

Speedo cable seems to come loose and record a higher speed than you're actually traveling. This settles down after a few stops and starts at traffic lights; it is an intermittent problem.

General Comments:

Famous Toyota reliability; out lived the nearest competitor, the Hyundai Excel. This thing would keep on going with regular maintenance. But alas, I feel it is time for a new car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th August, 2010

1993 Toyota Starlet GT EP82 4EFTE

Summary:

Very reliable and very quick for what it is

Faults:

At around 160 000 kilometres, the water pump needed replacing.

I've currently got a slight oil leak from around the top end of the motor, but haven't as yet taken to have it fixed.

If I idle stationary for 10 minutes, the car starts to blow smoke - but I think this is due to a modification I've done to the car. (Or possibly something as simple as a dirty air-filter)

Hand brake tends to lose tension easily.

One of rear seat belts not functioning properly.

General Comments:

This car has been very good to me for the past 4 years that I've had it. I'm a bit slack when it comes to maintenance, so the fact that the only problems I've have been a slight oil leak and a wrecked water pump is amazing.

I've given the Starlet a very hard time while having it, and it's taken the 'abuse' extraordinarily well. Then again, I have never adjusted the boost or done many major modifications to it either. So it's regular Toyota reliability, through and through.

The only time the car hasn't started when I wanted it to was when the battery was flat. No other faults have prevented the car from starting.

All in all - a very good car. It's not the quickest car on the road, but it is very good for what it is. Also, given that it is is a reasonably quick turbo, the fuel consumption is still very good. So while a stock GT won't beat a GT-R, you'll only be spending a 1/4 as much on petrol.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th January, 2009