Sit tight, ladies and gentlemen, and buckle your eyeballs, because it's time for...
BAP_Shockz's Car of the Week Experience!
This week's car,
the Toyota Caldina GT-FOUR '02!
After the affair with the rich kids and my friend's Zonda, I haven't had much to do in the past couple of weeks. The Piazza was starting to bore me, and I needed a little bit of excitement. So imagine my delight, when a good friend of mine asked me to join him on a short ride up and down a mountain pass. He had just bought a new car for family use, and he wanted my opinion on it. What car, you may ask?
Well, this one.
Let's get the mechanical stuff out of the way. It has the same engine as the Celica GT-FOUR, the 2.0-litre turbocharged 3S-GTE, which is in it's 4th and final generation in this car. In this version, it puts out a nice 260hp. It has 4WD, like the Celica. You could say that the Caldina is the wagon version of the Celica, and you wouldn't be too far off, at least in this trim level. It's a wee bit heavier than the Celica, but has more power and torque. The most important bit, however, is the weight distribution. Compared to the 59:41 distribution in the Celica, making it more front heavy, the Caldina has a 57:43 distribution. What this means is that less weight is put on the front wheels under braking, making turn-in easier, and therefore having less understeer than the Celica.
It shows too, the Caldina feels easier to turn, and can power out of corners better than the Celica. It's not to say there isn't any understeer though, only less of it. The city streets seem weirdly empty on our way to the pass, so it seemed like a good time to stretch the car's legs a little.
The pass we went to was pretty far away, so we stayed at a hotel overnight, before leaving the next day. When we got there however, it was quite the sight. He gave me the wheel, and I let the car rip.
The suspension setup was pretty stiff, and the car had a few problems with exiting corners (although that's probably just me), but otherwise, it drove perfectly well. I think we spent up to a good 3-4 hours just driving up and down the pass, and it was one hell of a time.
What do I think of this car? It's definitely a step up from the Celica. Maybe it's because the Caldina actually felt like a sporty wagon, while the Celica tried to be a sports car, but failed. It's quite the car. I like it. Sleeper for me. (Y)
Overall score: 7/10