Faults:

Although it did NOT need it, from May 21 to July 8, 2005, it got an engine rebuild at 129,457 miles on the odometer.

I had been hoarding HKS parts since 1987-1990, and the case has been machined to permit installing the HKS Stroker Kit (81mm bore x 83mm stroke); it also has HKS F.I. camshafts to go with this kit, HKS cam gears, heavy duty clutch and pressure plate, light flywheel, Koyo hi-cap radiator, Injen intake system; see my blog at

http://1985ae86hatchback.blogspot.com so I don't have to cut this short.

This car has been THE most reliable, and fun to drive vehicle I've ever owned. I've owned a Mercury Montego with a 302cid; a Ford Pinto (I'm ashamed to confess - there was a contrived gas "shortage" on!), a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle, a 1975 Volkswagen Super-Beetle, a 1967 Porsche 912 (modified with a big-bore kit. It was tearfully sold to Jess Hord of the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, CO due to an insistent ex) and a Rambler 550, with a 327cid engine and Cadillac transmission - the 2nd BEST vehicle I've ever owned, and it lasted until 222,000+ miles were on the clock before it met its untimely end near Pensacola, FL at the hands of an out-of-control trailer.

I still own my 1985 Toyota Corolla GTS Liftback/Sprinter 1600 GT Liftback, and will drive it until I can't drive any more. I LOVE this little car, and care for it as if it were a high-priced super sports car. It deserves it!

General Comments:

What can one say but "a thing of beauty is a joy forever".

This IS the car made to be passed on from one generation to the next if people weren't so busy smashing them up against walls, light posts and other vehicles!

You do ride a bit higher up than in my old Porsche, "Zuffie", and there is a bit more body lean than in the Porsche as well, but they both have that familiar and endearing tendency to slide sideways if you take your foot off the gas at high speeds while taking a turn. But, that's what the drift crowd likes, though: controlled oversteer.

I'm a big guy, 6 feet tall, muscular build, 225 lbs, and there is more than ample leg and shoulder room. The seat isn't even all the way back. It is also a "work-horse". With the rear seat down, it almost has as much room as "station wagons" in its class. Did I say, I LOVED this little car? LOL.

General Comments:

This car had incredibly comfortable seats, & was very smooth riding.

It stuck to the road unbelievably well, being full time four wheel drive, & could get around greasy tar-seal corners in the wet like nothing else. The 4WD also helped it handle brilliantly in thick gravel, making it a very safe car.

However, in being safe, it was very boring to drive. It gave a very dull, but comfortable ride, while at the same time chewing through petrol.

The performance was very much similar to two wheel drive cars with much smaller, & much more economical engines. On average, I managed roughly 10L/100km of city driving, emptying the 40L petrol tank relatively quickly.