First
Published:
The
Sydney Morning Herald
Styling, colours and a CD set the Paseo apart from other coupes. Its
performance matched, well, any old hatchback. JOHN WRIGHT reports.
AGAINST: Engine needs high revs to perform. Fails to live up to
the promise of its looks.
VERDICT: Practical, versatile, smooth and with good road
manners. A good package if you don't expect performance to match the
styling.
RATING: **** (out of 5)
For some car buyers a sporty image is always going to be more important
than sporty performance; sometimes looks count for almost everything. So
it was that Toyota created the Paseo coupe.
In some respects the Paseo had a Celica image, but sold at a much
cheaper price when it made its Australian debut in July 1991.
The Paseo's closest rival was Hyundai's 1.5-litre S-Coupe. But the
Paseo had a substantial price premium over its Korean competitor and,
largely as a consequence of this, could never match its sales performance.
There was a certain cynicism in the philosophy behind the Paseo. There
was only a veneer of pretence that the car delivered any kind of high
performance - for that matter, even the standard Celica was only an
average performer - but selling alongside this new coupe in the same
showrooms was an unpretentious, cheaper Corolla hatchback, which was more
competent in almost every respect.
Toyota's marketing people knew that for many buyers, style will always
outrank substance. And the provision of a CD player as standard equipment
can compensate for a shortage of kW.
Beautifully made and finished,the Paseo eclipsed both the locally
assembled Corolla and the S-Coupe. Few cars in the price range felt as
scrupulously screwed together. Pleasant trim and reasonable standard
features (central locking, power windows and mirrors, plus the CD) were
other positives. Bright colours enhanced its appeal.
Handling, steering and ride were generally good. Power steering was
standard and, though it lacked some road feel at higher speeds, it was
very direct - the car's most sporting attribute apart from the styling.
Toyota introduced the Alpha name in 1993, but stuck it on an unchanged
car; the Paseo became a lower specification model. As a car, the Paseo is
a two-star prospect; as a used car, it's a four. The Paseo makes great
sense because very few seem to have lived a hard life. No mechanical
problems of note have emerged and the most common unscheduled maintenance
item is replacing rear wheel bearings at 100,000 km.
The timing belt should be replaced at 100,000 km intervals. Should it
break, no engine damage will result, so well are Toyota engines designed.
Though the Paseo is much better built than average, spare parts are
some 20 to 30 per cent dearer than those for locally built Toyotas.
Generally speaking, running and maintenance costs are very low. As you
would expect from a Toyota, fuel economy is fantastic.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR:
Rear wheel bearings can wear out by 100,000 km. Worn CV joints in high
km examples. Cam belt requires changing at 100,000 km intervals.
FOR: Still quite trendy styling, well-equipped, remarkably
fuel-efficient, beautifully built.
Quality and styling apart, there was little to excite enthusiasts. Despite
the engine's promise of high technology from the familiar Toyota twin
overhead camshafts and 16 valves, it delivered only modest acceleration
and the Paseo required diligent use of the gears to cope with hilly
terrain. It felt, and was, slow. The four-speed automatic version was even
slower than the five-speed manual, and rather jerky besides. The gleaming
new coupe was a pretender, a sheep in wolf's clothing.
Prices correct at date of publication