should make the guys jealous and get the girls to turn their heads. I wanted the perfect car. What I ended up test-driving was a small four-door family car more apt for my grandmother’s grocery runs than a wild night of street racing and ladying. Being a realist with a tight budget, and remembering that I have a girlfriend who will get very mad if I did any type of ladying, I went for the drive any way.
When I opened the door I was greeted with a dashboard crafted out of only the finest petroleum based plastics. The steering wheel and gear lever were composed of textured plastic and the seat was draped with the most decedent cloth available for a small budget car. The windows operated swiftly with the turn of a handle and the locks popped up when prompted by a finger. As I proceeded to take the car out of its parking stall, I was shocked at the smooth feeling coming from the steering wheel. This car had power steering! Teeming with excitement, I took the car for a drive.
As I motored off, the wonderful marriage between clutch and gearbox began to shine. The clutch was magnificent, achieving the very fine line of being able to feel the clutch engage and disengage without becoming harsh and hard to drive or light and hard to know what is actually going on. All the while, a wonderfully mechanical feeling was transmitted through the gearbox. Each shift was fast with precision, yet still alive. The gearbox was one of the nicest I have ever felt (well, except for a 1976 triumph Spitfire gearbox, which is another review). In all honesty, the gearbox and clutch were magical and gave me great confidence. I began to compress the velositor to the firewall. Instantly, the small 1.5 liter single overhead cam (the motor is a “3EE” if any one cares) loved to rev going as high as 40 km/hour in first gear, 70 in second and 100 in third! I was blown away. The exhaust even sounded good. If I was going slowly I heard only a whimper from the engine, but as soon as I started going towards the red line the car howled as if it was a truly high performance sports compact. It’s not, but it felt like it.
Loaded with confidence in this ugly duckling, I headed straight for a curve. With my foot buried deep in the firewall I geared down from third to second, expecting the car to just simply whisk around the corner as if it were on rails. Then it happened. Understeer. For those of you who do not know, understeer is when a car goes in a straight line when cornering at its limits. Hard on the brakes, I coaxed the car to make the turn, missing a divider by mere feet. Trying to quell my racing heart, I slowly drove away thinking that I must have made a hash of the corner. I try another corner. Understeer again. The whole body of the car rolled from side to side, once again bringing me extremely close to an expensive trip to the body shop and not for scented body lotions. Clearly this car was and is not designed to take corners!
Disappointed at the poor handling of the car I drove home, dreaming of the day when I would be able to drive a car meant for taking a corner, where man and machine are truly one, working and living together in perfect driving nirvana. I know now this Tercel simply will not bring me to the automotive bliss I was desperately searching for, but I must be strong. I must look past the horrid shortcomings in the Tercel’s chase and marvel at the trunk space, which is substantial. I must focus on the simple, yet effective, four-door entry system. I must zero-in on the gas mileage, which is good (30-40 miles a Gallon), while not forgetting Toyota’s bomb proof reliability, which has stood the test of time.
This car really has everything I need. It is simple, reliable, cheap to run and easy to use. The clutch is great, the engine is amazing and the suspension, while it might be comfortable, it can handle a corner as well as I can handle a math test. It can perform well, yet when it comes time for the car to perform it falls flat. Overall, this is a great car because it offers outstanding reliability, has great fast mileage and has a drive train that makes me excited just writing about it. Now if only my girlfriend liked the car…