Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

My mums car was recently written off with hail damage in WA and she has been looking for a new one. She wants to get a newish sporty hatch/small wagon as her next car and something that has a bit of power, she always complained her old camry was gutless and she has owned toyotas for the past 25 years. We went car shopping and she really likes the Caldina's, its pretty much exactly what she wants in a car but we dont know much about them being a japanese only car.

Shes interested in a 2002 3rd gen one with 70,000kms does anyone know if there are any major problems with them or have any experience with them? Would insurance cost much for a 40yr old lady with no crash history or claims except for the recent hail claim in a 4cyl turbo import? Her main concern and the only thing stopping her from buying it is parts/servicing. What kind of support from Toyota australia would she get if any or would it not really be viable to own for someone who doesnt have much mechanical knowledge?

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/314630-toyota-caldina-info/
Share on other sites

I "think" alot of the drivetrain components are from the Celica GT4.

Not sure about suspension components.

Interior is a little too '90s RAV4 IMHO.

Definately one of those "wolf in sheeps clothing cars" - lots of performance for the money.

If she is really worried about servicing/running costs - as we most are :D - I wouldn't really recommend it - reason being it's an AWD, turbo and not Australian delivered (therefore parts could end up costing more/being harder to source).

It also depends if she intends to keep it long term and if she is willing to fork out on 98RON fuel everytime.

If she is really after a Toyota branded AWD vehicle I'd probably be looking at an 2003 to 2005 2.4L RAV4 or if the budget permits the current shape RAV4 with the 3.5L V6.

just my 2c :)

My mechanic took me for a drive in his Caldina as it was a work car at the time.

Didn't really open it up but the car was quite nice to drive.

He had the 3rd Generation Caldina. (1999-2007)

To me it's kinda like a Corolla on roids...

Being AWD / turbo, it goes good, but it weight about the same as my GTR...

Running cost would be like any JDM import, treat it like how you would treat your R33.

Service it every 5000kms, use good oil, look after it.

You mum will just have to wait for a few mins before switching off the car or install a turbo timer for her.

Toyota make reliable cars and not much to worry about.

Parts are widely available as there have been an increase amount of Caldina's coming to AUS. (Melbourne)

I got a 1987 AE71 Corolla and I still can get parts. :(

If she gets the top model is has a,

3S-GTE engine

1998 cc (2lt) inline 4

191 kW @6200 rpm

324 Nm @4400 rpm

Caldina GT-T (ST215) / Caldina GT-Four (ST246)

Just a turbo, AWD corolla with a horrible interior.

Want a quick relatively stock wagon thats nice inside buy a Legnum of a 260RS. Want a big roomy wagon buy a Stagea (C34 or M35). Want a luxo wagon get an M35.

Want something average, get a Caldona. :worship:

I test drove an auto Caldina. Quit nice and smooth. Easy to drive. Steering is "light" and vehicle is nice and quiet inside.

Has a bit of go in it, but not much torque.

Still a pretty decent car, but I wouldn't buy one if i needed a wagon. A Stagea RS Four is definitely a nicer drive and more roomy :worship:

260RS if you want to king it.

Edited by dimi108

Caldina's are pretty reliable so I wouldn't stress too much on the parts front, it's typical Toyota fair there. Legnum VR-4's are a much much nicer drive though and better looking too, either one can be had pretty cheep in Japan at the moment too with the dollar so strong

  • 4 weeks later...

Test drove a 2002 Caldina the other day. Contrary to many comments, I don't think these later models are ugly and the interiors apart from the poxy floor mats are fine. Not as good as my Alfa, but better than many others. I'm thinking the Caldina is more of a big hatch whereas the Stagea and Legnum are real wagons. I'll have to go back and drive the Stagea.

For a comparison of the 3 (older models) check out http://www.testdrivenau.co.cc/?tag=legnum

lol please DO NOT use that review to base your decisions on.

ST246s aren't overly quick in relative terms, but they are safe, well built, reliable and will serve the purpose your mum needs it for if she's after a nice looking runabout. If you're worried about getting parts, get a Subaru Forester.

  • 5 weeks later...

I own a ST246W N Edition. The 'N' is the top of the range version and comes with a Torsen LSD in the rear, TRD suspension set-up and a full Recaro interior. In my experience it is worth paying extra for the 'N'.

I have seen a best (GPS timed) 0-100km/h of 6.3 sec with the only mod a boost gauge and a couple of extra PSI via a bleed valve. A tweak of the tune and the usual exhaust and intake mod's would push it well into 5sec territory. From factory the mid range torque is more than sufficient (over 275Nm from very low rev's) They aren't a rocket ship but they are deceptive quick for what they are. The interior is also very impressive, good layout, good quality, excellent driving position (the Recaros help) and the grip level in the N is bloody impressive!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Yeah, it's getting like that, my daughter is coming over on Thursday to help me remove the bonnet so I can install the Carbuilders underbonnet stuff,  I might get her to give me a hand and remove the hardtop, maybe, because on really hot days the detachable hardtop helps the aircon keep the interior cool, the heat just punches straight through to rag top I also don't have enough hair for the "wind in the hair" experience, so there is that....LOL
    • Could be falling edge/rising edge is set wrong. Are you getting sync errors?
    • On BMWs what I do because I'm more confident that I can't instantly crush the pinch welds and do thousands of USD in chassis damage is use a set of rubber jacking pads designed to protect the chassis/plastic adapter and raise a corner of the car, place the aforementioned 2x12 inch wooden planks under a tire, drop the car, then this normally gives me enough clearance to get to the front central jack point. If you don't need it to be a ramp it only needs to be 1-1.5 feet long. On my R33 I do not trust the pinch welds to tolerate any of this so I drive up on the ramps. Before then when I had to get a new floor jack that no longer cleared the front lip I removed it to get enough clearance to put the jack under it. Once you're on the ramps once you simply never let the car down to the ground. It lives on the ramps or on jack stands.
    • Nah. You need 2x taps for anything that you cannot pass the tap all the way through. And even then, there's a point in response to the above which I will come back to. The 2x taps are 1x tapered for starting, and 1x plug tap for working to the bottom of blind holes. That block's port is effectively a blind hole from the perspective of the tap. The tapered tap/tapered thread response. You don't ever leave a female hole tapered. They are supposed to be parallel, hence the wide section of a tapered tap being parallel, the existince of plug taps, etc. The male is tapered so that it will eventually get too fat for the female thread, and yes, there is some risk if the tapped length of the female hole doesn't offer enough threads, that it will not lock up very nicely. But you can always buzz off the extra length on the male thread, and the tape is very good at adding bulk to the joint.
    • Nice....looking forward to that update
×
×
  • Create New...