1989 Toyota Cressida 3.0L TWIN CAM

Summary:

The FIRST Lexus!! Excellent car for the money!!

Faults:

I must say I have never had any serious problems.

Power antenna stopped working-took 20 min to replace...

General Comments:

This car is a TANK, let me just say that.

The Cressida is one of the best car's Toyota ever produced.

It's the best kept secret in the automotive industry and has always been a sleeper hit among Toyota fans.

You will be lucky to spot 1 or 2 Cressida's per year... thay are that hard to find. They are not your normal everyday car... they are a true collectors item in my opinion.

TOTAL LUXURY is standard in the Cressida. This car was way ahead of it's time. Some standard features on the Cressida are still not even in today's new cars... and this was 16 YEARS AGO!!

The car simply drives like a dream. You can go 90 mph on the highway and not even realize it.

It's spacious, quiet, comfortable, and extremely smooth out on the road.

I have reached 197,000 miles on my Cressida and it still drives like day one. FANTASTIC!!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th November, 2005

6th Nov 2005, 11:32

Response:

1. No, Toyota didn't stop producing them for 13 years, they simply designed a premuim lineup called 'Lexus'

2. The cars were offered in more limited #'s as opposed to the current Lexus lineup.

7th Nov 2005, 15:44

I owned a 1990 Cressida for quite a few years. I think what the reviewer is stating is that a lot of the features on the Cressida were standard equiptment included with the car, as opposed to additional options. My '90 Cressida had heated mirrors, ABS, traction control, adjustable height, "sport" mode selector for the transmission, and a Panasonic cd player-STANDARD.

You will be lucky to buy a new vehicle even today with HALF of those features, or will end up paying extra in the final price.

1989 Toyota Cressida

Summary:

Awesome! Best purchase I have made

Faults:

New shocks put in, engine has heavy sweats, coolant systems malfunctions all happened in the last 10000Km.

General Comments:

Great car! It is very comfortable and there were no major problems until the last couple of years. I can't believe that it has lasted this long. There isn't even any body rust!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th July, 2005

1989 Toyota Cressida MX83 Inline 6 with turbo

Summary:

Excellent luxury and value for a 16 year old car!!!

Faults:

The headlights like to burn out a lot. I can't find out what the problem is. I usually have to replace a headlight bulb every few months.

Sunroof motor only works half the time, you must help it the other half to get it open.

Interior dome light has been burned out since I bought the car off my brother. I never replaced it...

General Comments:

Could the Cressida be the best car ever built? YES, IT IS!! Toyota engineered this car to PERFECTION!!

I bought my Cressida off of my brother who wanted a new Avalon. I bought it off him in Summer 2002 with 103k miles on the odometer. He drove the car very hard and obviously abused it much of its life. Even with 103k miles, the car ran like brand new off the lot. I have put 70k more miles on it in 3 years and NEVER had a single problem!!

The car now has over 175,000 miles, and I still use it as my daily driver. No reason for a new car!!

The engine looks very clean, and whispers along at high speeds.

The 7MGE engine is legendary, and a real work of art.

And quiet? It endangers your driving licence because 80mph feels like 30 and it is easy for a minute's inattention to result in a big speeding fine.

It is uncannily smooth and quiet and linked to the electronic automatic gearbox provides a silent, magic carpet ride that has to be experienced to be believed. It is so quiet that you may have to restrain passengers from opening the door at 30 mph - they think you are coasting to a stop. Quiet? It's so quiet that you can chat to your passengers as they're getting in and start it without them noticing. Then you can suddenly put it in D and move off - this never fails to impress!

The stereo has to be the best I have ever heard. It is a surround-sound 7 speaker HIFI with all the gizmos, including a subwoofer built-in to the bodywork, and the car is so quiet even at 50mph that you can hear the last bars of the Largo from Dvorak's 5th - you know where the basses play those low chords on the wood of their bows. This is a seriously cool setup - owners have been known just to sit in their car in the garage and listen to their favourite CD in the multichanger. It sounds sad until you have heard it for yourself, and then you understand.

Yes, I WILL own another Cressida. Even though they have not been manufactured since 1990, I will hunt down and pay any amount of money for a good contition Cressida. This car has changed my opinion of how well a car can actually be built. I plan on driving a Cressida for the rest of my life... people simply do not understand the level of value and luxury that comes from owning this piece of automotive history.

I found out that "TOYOTA" actually means the highest level of perfection that can be achieved. In a little bit of Cressida trivia, looking on the door hatches reveals this Japanese "symbol" for perfection.

I can't argue with that...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd June, 2005

30th Apr 2009, 22:26

A magnificently written review on a car that truly lives up to the slogan that Lexus, the brand the Cressida inspired, uses today- "The Pursuit of Perfection". I think the Cressida's already there; certainly as close as anyone's going to get. I gotta get me one of these...