Thanks to cars like the Toyota Celica, buying a decent sports coupe is suddenly a lot easier, even on a pin-sized budget.
The main idea here was to first present the type of car we’d all want (like the rear-wheel drive GT86), and then offer a way cheaper alternative, one that won’t necessarily mean you’re sacrificing driving pleasure, comfort or practicality.
This is where the 7th and last generation Celica comes in, a car that went into production back in 1999, and from the get-go, Toyota focused on making it as light as possible, which in the end worked out well.
Between its 1.8-liter unit with 140 HP and its other 1.8-liter, but with 192 HP, you can imagine which of them would have been more enjoyable to explore. On top of that, the front-wheel drive Celica only weighed about 1,200 kg (2,650 lbs), which actually makes it lighter than the modern-day GT86.
Speaking of this “friendly” comparison, the Celica isn’t just lighter than the GT86, it’s also more roomy and more practical. Plus, according to Car Throttle, their interiors are similar quality-wise, so you could argue that for a starter car, your first entry into the used sports coupe world, the Celica would make for a great purchase.
Then again, it really depends on how old you are, what type of cars you’ve experienced and what type of expectations you have, not to mention your budget and of course, how much you cherish a rear-wheel drive chassis.