05 SPORTIVO TEST DRIVE

[SILVABULLIT]

Hey all

Danthuyer and myself went yesterday and took a 05 Stivo for a test drive to see if toyota have fixed all problems the previous models had.

Firstly the differences;-

Front bumper,driving lights,grille,headlights and front mudguards

Rear tail lights

Camry sportivo badges under bump strip on doors

Camry sportivo badge under Corolla badge on rear hatch

Mp3 compatible head unit

Silver carbon fibre look panel around centre consol and door controls

Additional storage compatrment on centre arm rest (Makes arm rest about 1.5-2"higher and more comfortable.)

All windows are now auto up/down

Washer bottle is different; has longer neck and would be easier to fill.

Obviously new ECU and airbox lid

Of all the differences over the previous models I like the higher armrest as you are now able to rest your arm on it and change gears(if your arm is long enough!!)

New head unit is nice and sounds slightly better than the previous model. Performance is very different with the engine having a lot more torque under 6000rpm although this makes the lift point nowhere near as viscious as the previous model. The car we drove had 27km on it so it would have been a little tight but it felt a lot more responsive to drive at lower speeds and acceleration in a taller gear at low speed was nicer as well. Induction noise is a little louder as well.

I now no why I swapped the standard wheels/tyres straight away as under steer and general cornering is ordinary to say the least. We popped out the centre console to check the shifter cables and they seem to have been revised to a plastic coated cable from the recall rubber coated ones(we think?) in the short amount of time we had to look!!!! Gear shifting was nice and crisp without being notchy but that may change as it gets driven more.

All in all we thought it was a good basis to start with and better than the previous model. No problem landing 1-2 lift shifts and with the mods that most of us have already done to our cars I reckon the new car would perform as good if not better than the previous model. I thought I could hear the car saying give me a TRD CAI and a CES system and lets go and have some fun!!!

After driving one I will definately consider doing a trade up to one if my wonderful wife will let me!!

Cheers SILVABULLIT :D

[Doctony]

umm..nice to hear very good comments about 05 tivo from the expert

i'm gonna pick up mine tomorrow...yahoo

[westerntoyotatechnician]

bought a silver 05 stivo 2 weeks ago

i had driven alot of 04 stivos in my time at toyota and loved them from day one, i was going to get one but this was at the time we had all the gearbox and clutch adjustment problems. this turned me off them quickly. i thought id wait to see what toyota could produce the second time. i had a test drive and clearly, fell back in love again. i then bought one as soon as i had the chance and a little bit of moolah. now a very happy chap. good work toyota!

[Azza]

Thanks for the review Bren, you should write for Wheels or something.... :)

[SILVABULLIT]

They couldn't afford me! ;)

[Azza]

They couldn't afford me! ;)

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2 stubbies, a pizza and a haircut would do me....

maybe a free subscription

[ausportivo]

umm..nice to hear very good comments about 05 tivo from the expert

i'm gonna pick up mine tomorrow...yahoo

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I'll be watching the corner, which colour not white with blue lights on top

[CheekySportivo]

Fantastic report there SILVABULLIT.

I would get my resume to the Wheels magazine editiors asap!

Everything you wrote I believe is 100% spot on and as accurate as can be.

I was in the exact same position as WesternToyotaTechnician as once the new 05 model came out and I then test drove it, the deal was hunted down and the papers were signed straight away! :D

[ZEEROLLA]

Fantastic report there SILVABULLIT.

I would get my resume to the Wheels magazine editiors asap! 

Everything you wrote I believe is 100% spot on and as accurate as can be.

I was in the exact same position as WesternToyotaTechnician as once the new 05 model came out and I then test drove it, the deal was hunted down and the papers were signed straight away!  :D

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Not trying to burst your bubble nor imply you would encounter the same situation, but the exact same thing happened to me with the 04' Stivo after i test drove this "demo" everything was smooth as silk, rushed in and signed above the dotted line. But i never expected my Stivo to be one of the many that has the niggly gear shifting problem.

[Danthuyer]

good point from zee - but only time will tell :)

but its thx to forums like this and our thirst for knowledge about our beloved cars that makes the newer models coming out hopefully better through our heataches :D

[ZEEROLLA]

good point from zee - but only time will tell :)

but its thx to forums like this and our thirst for knowledge about our beloved cars that makes the newer models coming out hopefully better through our heataches :D

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Right on Craig, there were heartaches for sure.. and thanks to all the guys that fought hard with TMC to get this thing "resolved", it has also left some of us with a lighter wallet.. :D

[Mr Revhead]

i find all these problems interesting... i assume someone tracked it down to the SA models? all the JDM ones (runnx etc) seem to be fine. and the sole nz new SA built one (theres only 31 here) i drove was fantastic, certainly better than my levin. is there anfo info on chassis numbers of affected cars? like from 120000-130000 for example

[SILVABULLIT]

The 05 stivo we drove wasn't a demo. It actually was a stock car hence why we were told only to put 5k's or less on it.

[Rock'n'Rolla]

Thanks for the report, Silvabullit, im glad that u like it :) just wish that u coulda say 'black is a must' or sumthing :P

[Azza]

Thanks for the report, Silvabullit, im glad that u like it  :)  just wish that u coulda say 'black is a must' or sumthing  :P

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Fat chance you'll ever hear that from his mouth....

[gtapex]

Thanks for the advice. I am from Melbourne, so I will pop into Lemans Toyota.

Do you know if there is a waiting period since these come from South Africa. I am glad they now have the problem sorted out with the ECU.

Regards

Gtapex :)

[element666]

Thanks for the advice.  I am from Melbourne, so I will pop into Lemans Toyota. 

Do you know if there is a waiting period since these come from South Africa.  I am glad they now have the problem sorted out with the ECU.

Regards

Gtapex :)

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i dont recommend Le Mans Toyota, their prices are not very competitive.

[gtapex]

Thanks for the advice.  I am from Melbourne, so I will pop into Lemans Toyota. 

Do you know if there is a waiting period since these come from South Africa.  I am glad they now have the problem sorted out with the ECU.

Regards

Gtapex :)

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i dont recommend Le Mans Toyota, their prices are not very competitive.

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I heard that the Nundawading was the place to go. What do you think??

[BigBum]

hehe try glen waverley... my friend picked a demo model from there for 27.5k.

[coladuna]

I agree with all those points. However, I didn't find the stock tyres to be that bad. Road noise level is pretty good and cornering isn't too bad either. I certainly won't be in a hurry to change them.

The gearbox is quite good IMO. It felt very notchy and imprecise at first but after putting a couple of hundred kays on it, it's now very precise and quick to shift.

The clutch is not too grabby which makes it easy to drive as well.

One minor issue/annoyance I have with the gearbox is where the Reverse gear is located and how it requires so much effort to select. I would have preferred it beside the 6th gear (as in Accord Euro) and not have to use so much force to push it to the left.

As for the audio system, it really lacks bass even with the bass level set on the highest setting.

I can't really comment on the maximum performance of the car because I've never gone past 6000 rpm yet. I was tempted to try it but I'll resist the temptation until the car's had the 1000km inspection and oil change. The engine needs to be revved a big higher than other engines as expected but it's got more than enough grunt down low for casual, laid-back driving around the city.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with the car, especially for the price I've paid for it. :D

This might have already been covered but any suggestions for my 1000km oil change? Any particular brand? Should I go full synthetic or semi synthetic? My dealer was saying that I don't really need an oil change at 1000km which I think is a load of bollocks.

Edited July 4, 2005 by coladuna

[element666]

Thanks for the advice.  I am from Melbourne, so I will pop into Lemans Toyota. 

Do you know if there is a waiting period since these come from South Africa.  I am glad they now have the problem sorted out with the ECU.

Regards

Gtapex :)

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i dont recommend Le Mans Toyota, their prices are not very competitive.

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I heard that the Nundawading was the place to go. What do you think??

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PM me, I can help you get a brand new one for $27K driveaway

Edited July 5, 2005 by arcxis

[oz_viking]

All the advice I was given was 'don't use synthetic for the first 2-3 oil changes!' Not sure why...

[mick0082]

I'm not even going to begin to get into the oil debate. Many people here have vastly different views on what oil should be used.

As for your 1000km service: Read your servicing manual, changing the oil at 1000km is not listed as one of the "to do's" at this service.

The original oil isn't scheduled to be changed until 10,000km!

I hear everyone shouting "Bullsh!t" and I couldnt agree more.

Just make sure you stress to the dealer that you want it changed, take your own oil if you can come to a decision.

[ja's lift]

I agree that handling is maybe the only (slight) negative but I have found that certain types of driving style make a difference if that makes any sense. I saw a few comments that wider tyres might make a difference.

but I was more concerned about other things this morning. When I walked outside I discovered the side mirror completed smashed - someone had side swiped it last night - but luckily no body damage. My heart rate slowed down when I saw a card under the wipers. Someone had seen it happen and followed the guy to get rego and called police - what a legend!!!

guess I'll get it fixed when I get the 1,000 km service bit of a hassle but could of been a lot worse ($1,000?)

btw does anyone know what the right time is for the first service? The log book says 5,000kms but they told me 1,000kms at the dealership. Now that I have almost done 1,000kms can I drive it as hard as I like?

[ghost]

great report S bullit, it's a shame i didn't read it sooner. i have to say, you should become a salesman because they couldn't tell anyone that.