Toyota celica or Hyundai coupe

mbbetter

I'm likely to buy either one or the other.

My main consideration is reliability and cost of ownership.

In my mind, they both look great and will do me very nicely. Any recomendations based on reliability rather than looks, drivability, etc. would be appreciated.

Probably looking at 80K+ on the clock and a budget of £2k

Cheers!

scooterb

I had a celica and found it gr8 to drive, never had a thing go wrong with it just the usually tyres breaks and servicing, one of the m8's had a coupe and always said he needed to get a car without a drinking problem haha as far as I can remember her didn't have any major problems mechanical as well, but I did prefer the drive and handling of the celica and I think he did as well.
The celica 1zzfe and the 2zzge are very good engines both will take a hard life so 80k with some history should be good

gilbert_and_sullivan

Reliability/durability there isn't a great deal to choose between them, both, if looked after, will give long trouble free service.

Coupe does have a small problem you should consider, make sure the front brake discs are in very good condition, they are fitted from behind the hub not simply attached to the outside of the hub as normal.
Not only is changing the discs then a major operation, often meaning removing the suspension struts complete to get the hubs pushed off and back on the stub axle...but pressing those hubs off usually destroys all or most of the front wheel bearings in the process.
This is probably worth investigating more on a Hyundai forum.

All this means that replacing front discs on a Coupe will normally cost upwards of £350 depending who does the work.

Little or no reason to get the 2.7 Coupe, its little faster than a good 2 litre, but there is something quite addictive about V engines..;)

The only other thing, i'm not sure if either or both have cambelts, might be worth pricing up the cost to change each, tasks like this is often where Toyota score well, usually made to be maintained fairly easily.

jaydeeuk1

The celica will be chain driven, same engine as the wifes MR2, although you can get the 180bhp models which are pretty quick. No idea if it suffers the dreaded 'precat' issue that the Mr2 does, but something to look for (very rare though, but catastrophic and will require engine rebuild) I really liked the look of the 3rd gen coupe when it was released, and can be found for well under £2k. The v6 is heavy and thirst, you can't chuck it in to corners like you can with the 2.0l. 1.6 was slow as hell, not sure why they released that, would have made more sense as a diesel. Check gearbox on the celica, make sure it shifts ok, no crunching etc, its the only weakpoint.


Edit - If I had more money than sense though, I'd get a Fiat coupe 2.0l turbo, still look amazing even today and will only ever appreciate in value in years to come.

TherealMandM

I have a vvtli190 celica on a 01 plate (before it was renamed to a T-Sport), 111k miles on the clock and just had its first clutch change, average about 33mpg on short trips to work 11miles ish and the lift is a lot of fun taking the engine up to over 8k rpm. the engines are very solid and dont fail easily.

They are chain driven and I have never heard of any pre cat issue so that must be mr2 related. I am on the owners club so all the common problems are listed.

the pre face lift 140's have issues with oil and should be avoided if poss. the pre face lift 190 is a different engine and doesnt suffer with oil but do suffer from worn lift bolts the design was changed in face lift models they are only about £2 to replace. both facelift models have no other notable faults.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Handy to know the Celicas are chain drive, is this the same engine as Toyota slipped in the Corolla T Sport before it gained a supercharger?

I'm quite surprised its chain cam, seeing as so many Toyota engines have belt drive, good news for our OP though.

Limey

Yup, the Corolla and Celica T-Sports both have the 2ZZ fitted.

I don't know much about the the Hyundais, but as mentioned pre facelift Celicas may have a few issues if not properly maintained. There was a recall on the early 2ZZ lift bolt issue so a good number should have been replaced. Most new owners on the Celica Club do them anyway as it's a cheap and easy bit of preventative maintenance (unless they snap when removing them).

Only other thing that I could add re the Celicas is the brake calipers can get seized up, seems it's quite common with them. The Toyota design of the rear caliper sliders is not ideal and I find they need a yearly clean up and regrease to keep them working to their full potential.

Would take a Celica over a Hyundai Coupe any day.

Indout96

Celica all the way, I had mine for 8 years, my daughters has had hers for 5 years now (120k miles) both no problems.
There are 2 main issues to look out for dependant on which engine.
VVti (140) oval pistons, this was only really on pre facelift models (pre 2003) which caused them to drink oil - not a problem on all - mine was 2002 and never had problems
VVtLi (190) snapped lift bolts, they cost pennies but to get one drilled out and replaced is not cheap, get them done if not already changed.

EdGasket

Hyundai coupe has a cambelt which needs changing every 6 years/60,000 according to manufacturer but i would do it every 4 years to be safe. I think the brake disc issue only affected earlier models up to 2000/2001? After which they just come off like any other disc.

almillar

I faced this choice and bought the Celica. As above, the 190 engine is far better, but if you don't like the sound of revving your car to 6,200-8,200RPM, don't bother, just get the 140. And as above, it's a really good idea to replace the lift bolts if you buy a 190, just so you know they're not going to mangle your engine.
Hyundai Coupe has 1.6, 2.0 and 3.2(?) V6 engines. None are as sophisticated as the Toyota. The Coupe will be moderately more practical maybe, and more comfortable, and might even be better build quality (the Gen 7 Celica went on a SERIOUS diet), but the Celica is a better drive, every day.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

for parts availability and price of service items and minor suspension items the Toyota comes in just under what the same would cost on a Hyundai coupe.


I don't favor the Hyundai coupe mate had a gen3 and after 79k required new gearbox bearings. (he mentioned something about it being a porche designed gearbox)? but I dont pay much attention to the hyundai).
Then the headgasket went at 85k and 1.5k repair bill scared the crap out of him.

Toyota celica I reckon comes out on top for the two.