Faults:

One rubber seal popped out, replaced under warranty.

Nothing else apart from normal wear and tear.

General Comments:

Not a real sports car, but a seriously fun car.

Looks (in my opinion) much nicer than the new model, and is actually slightly bigger with more room in the back.

Low driving position, good road feel (especially with the 16" wheels on the SR model).

Accelerates nicely, decent top speed.

SR model comes with various extras such as CD player, spoiler, body kit etc.

I'm only changing mine because we have a baby now! (and I'm sticking with Toyota).

Faults:

Warped brake discs

6th Gear wearing out?

General Comments:

Have done over 30,000 miles motorway miles (mainly) in 12 months and it has performed utterly reliably.

Superb handling, very comfortable over long distances, nice gear change, big boot for class, good economy, reasonable insurance, OK servicing costs.

However, performance isn't great below 4000rpm and the engine does sound strained at higher revs.

Also high pitch whistle in 6th gear at high motorway speeds. Suspect wear, but will be covered by warranty if it goes totally.

Cabin nice & snug with a great low-down reclined driving position though a bit drab in colour.

Faults:

Still no problems at present, other than dealer lost my alloy wheel locking wheel nut key... I only realised after 6 months (yeah, I know...) so had to buy a new one. Still, only a tenner!

General Comments:

I bought this car as a replacement to my '91 Astra SXi as I fancied something with a little more 'cool' about it. The Celica mk6 certainly still is a great looking car, I and personally prefer it to the more angular mk7.

The first thing that hit me was that it was actually not as quick as my Astra... bit of a shame. It is a fantastic cruiser however, and to be fair will beat the bog standard boy-racer fiesta's etc... thank goodness!

0-60 time is about 9.5 seconds which IS respectable, I just wish I had been able to afford the insurance on a 2.0GT when I bought. Still, group 12 insurance is very good considering what similar car premiums would fetch with your insurer! Having said this, after fitting 17" League Tantrum alloys my premium has increased by £100 per year... still, not the cars fault.

Inside is very Japanese - plasticy and not too exciting, but it is functional and comfortable - I love the low seating position.

On the whole I would recommend one of these cars to anyone on an average budget, who'd like a great looking, refined, and very reliable car. Would certainly buy again when I find a good looking GT... or maybe GT4 :-D.