An Introduction

So how do you research a car that was never officially released in your country? It's usually a very fustrating adventure for most, many rely on word of mouth, a few scattered owners with some experience or an internet search across foreign websites without much in the way of progress.

This is the problem that faced many back in the early days of the Starlet Turbo's escape from Japan. Not anymore however. We're here to help shine some light.

The model range

The Starlet GT EP82 started production in December of 1989. It heralded a new era of technology and the spark carried through until December 1995 when the Starlet range was blessed with a fresher chassis.

The Starlet Glanza V EP91 (or 'Flyer' as it became known) increased the safety and visual appeal that the previous model had established. The Glanza carried on the torch until December 1999 when the Starlet model was dropped from the Toyota vehicle range. It was succeeded by the Yaris as Toyota's supermini class offering.

Both were powered by the 4EFTE 1331cc engine although a few differences were made through the years to increase reliability and performance.

The earlier GT was light, agile and had an incredible 'fun factor' due to it's excellent power to weight ratio. All of this suited the addictive turbo setup and offered an alternative to the other hot hatches available in the Japanese Domestic Market. The Glanza retained the power and reliability of it's older brother but offered a more reinforced bodyshell and modern bodystyling.

All of this was specific to Japan until the vehicles became older and were offered as used secondhand units to other countries.



Under the hood

The main selling point of the Starlet Turbo range is the 4EFTE. This engine is adapted from the naturally aspirated 4EFE and uses the CT9 turbo to produce 135ps of power @ 6,400rpm. This propells the Starlet to 60pmh inside 8.2secs and provides a maximum torque figure of 16.0kg-m @ 4,800.

There was an extra blade added to the turbo in the EP91 Glanza V models to help compensate for the additional weight but otherwise the setup remained mostly unchanged for it's production run.

Reliability is a strong part of the script with these engines. Toyota had a policy of over-engineering components and so the durability of the major items is good.

The one thing that is required is maintenance - if the oil system and cooling system are neglected it can have a drastic effect on the engine and turbocharger. Because the Japanese service history is rarely provided it's essential that cars are serviced and inspected shortly after import and certainly prior to road use.

Be aware that the oil requires renewal every 5,000 kms so it should be reasonably fresh looking. As with any vehicle you should check for signs of oil contamination or leakages from the engine.

The cooling system should be a clear, clean red colour. Coolant that is murky, dark or non-genuine can indicate cooling issues either past, present or future.

Check for misfiring under acceleration as ignition components are subject to wear and tear. Damp sparkplugs are a common occurence if the engine bay has been steamwashed.

Let the car warm up and sit at idle for around 5 minutes - a cloud of whitish blue smoke from the exhaust after a short time can indicate a leak in the turbo.

A light tappity noise from the fuel rail area is common on the 4EFTE. It's the idle stabilization valve clicking on the end of the intake manifold.

Listen for blowouts around the exhaust manifold. It's common for these to crack but remain unseen due to the heat shield. As heat expands the metal it will reduce the noise so it's important to check this when the car is relatively cold.

If you can hear other abnormal or worrying engine noises take them seriously. A new engine can be costly. Err to the side of caution.

Transmission

There were three choices of transmission available when ordering

As with the GT that came before it, the Glanza V was given a facelift a few years after release. The model was considered 'soft' looking in comparison to the GT so Toyota decided to make the image more aggressive.

Changes include:

Clear indicators
New rear lenses
Clear brakelight in the spoiler
More aggressive front bumper
Upholstery changed
Red paint added to the paint options

These changes whilst sounding superficial created a much more streetworthy vehicle. It was to be the last evolution of the Starlet Turbo and such a strong look was very fitting.

This ends our look at the Starlet Turbo models but I'd like to think that with the current trend of old models being resurrected by the car industry, the story may continue in the future. I can only hope they will do it justice.

Thanks to Jay@tgtt.com

Toyota felt the time for a fresh chassis was right and released the all new Glanza V in January 1996. Nicknamed 'The Flyer' it offered a more stylish image, higher build quality and increased safety features than the longstanding GT Turbo.

Although the V was based on the new EP91 chassis it retained a lot of components from the EP82 model. This meant that the solid reliability continued to impress the japanese public.

Safety was high on the priority list so the V received side impact bars, roof and chassis strengthening and heavier materials. The resultant weight gain was offset by modifying the turbo slightly to offer more low and mid-range power. At the same time boost was lowered in the lower gears to increase traction and stability, something the earlier GT was criticised for.

The spec lists read very much the same as the GT and standard features included:

Power assisted steering
Adjustable steering wheel
Heated rear window
Airconditioning
Intermittent wash/wipe

There was also a higher specification that added central locking and electric windows into the spec sheet.

A great number of optional features were available, many of which are greatly sought after nowadays. It's difficult to give the full list but here is what we can confirm:

Electric Sunroof
Limited Slip Diff equipped gearbox
Climatronic Airconditioning
Recaro interior
Rear strutbrace
Wind deflectors for front windows
Wind deflector for sunroof
Parking guidance light
Roofmounted dehumidifier
Remote central locking
CD player
Bootliner
Armrest
Stereo Amplifier
Rear speakers
Door mounted speakers
Full carpet mat set
Plastic rear window cover
Antilock brakes
Front airbags
(Please forward any additional info to myself for this list)

There was also the option of changing the five speed manual gearbox for a four speed automatic gearbox if required.

Also a special edition was available : The P-Sports version reduced the spec list and always ran in high boost. No-one is quite sure if it was the 'lightweight' sports approach that the name suggests but everything seems to support this.

Thanks to Jay@tgtt.com