ZEEROLLA

Agree with you mate, all due to 3 factors : the engine torque, the gear ratios and gear shifter. More torque from Type-R engine at lower revs (6000rpm for type-R and 6800rpm for Sportivos), the gear ratios can sometimes land the Sportivo out of "Lift" in the crucial 1st to 2nd gear shift (demonstarted in car magazines), The type-R has the sweetest shift besides the S2000's and can easily shave milliseconds off the quarter mile sprint. BUT still love the Sortivo for $15000 less than the Type R and it has 5 doors!

My family has 3 Hondas and i used to own one and i can tell ya they are very reliable cars and well made to high quality standards. Their engines are also renowned around the world so i wouldn't fault them. Toyota engines are as good, just the built quality that is dissapointing nowadays. You probably could make 140kw out of a 1.6L, that would be like the previous generation Honda Civic Type R with around 140kw stock, or the Mirage Cyborg-R. These cars easily makes 150kw when tuned lightly. But wouldn't your car have crap fuel economy because the motor would have little torque to pull it around town from the extensive NA tuning, plus you would need an upgrade in every other department too, like drivetrain, suspension, brakes etc.. That would definitely put you over $10,000 for sure, way over! I think i was trying to say the WRX and 200sx at 8000 plus rpm which is not possible for the stock motor and ECU, and even if it is possible would produce exessive heat and that would cause bad detonation and in-turn damaged pistons.

Hmm, RX8 there that's a nice car But rotaries are known to be unreliable and Mazda, nah.. rather go Honda S2000 :P

Hey NIKICH, how's it goin man Forgot to tell you that day the Sportivo looks great from the rear view mirror! Especially when you are in lift :P Yep, i guess with the shocks that would be the way to go. I think Toyota will try to avoid claims at all means unless something serious happens. I will also have to get someone to look at my concerns if they deteriorate and put it to Toyota. Zee

Yeah mate, wasn't that the Elise190? 190bhp

Mate, for me it all came down to Insurance premiums and preference. I have driven a 97 Wrx and had quite a few mods to make 140kw at all wheels, it goes great and everything but come on, do you really need that much power?? It bloody chews through tyres, clutches and even gearboxes! Insurance costs me $4000 and my Sportivo's just $1200. And some people like me just wants to go NA performance after having nightmares with forced induction. NA is also much more reliable and more fun Can the WRX and 200sx make 141kw from an NA 1.8 engine? No way, its all advanced engineering and technology man, just like Honda's Type-R and S2000. I also love to rev and the Sportivo satisfies with an 8200rpm redline. Again the 200sx and WRX would be melting pistons by then :P

Okay GZE_Bandit and Captain Upsidedown, maybe you guys should arrange a drag with some Sportivos to be sure :P Unless you guys have a hell of an engine packed uder the hood..

i would be uneasy if i found out the dealer had fitted the body kit parts. i think body kit parts should be fitted by panel beaters. i know it is not a hard job to do but i would like professionals to do the job. when i picked up my car from the dealer brand new the floor mats were not fitted correctly. i had an airconditioner installed and they did not reinstall my headlamps correctly. from this point my experience with this dealer has gone from negative to negative to negative. Agree with you Orrock, but my skirt and grille were fitted by a Bodykit Specialist - Talon Body Styling and they have branches in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, ACT, Tasmania and Sydney. So i have basically decided to leave the car as it is because it is not a major problem, just a sore in my eye knowing they are not perfect. Zee

usa only has sedans and a sportivo would be privately imported. sportivo = australia rsi = south africa runx = japan tsport = europe GT=New Zealand (Looks the same as Sportivo)

Danthuyer, i had the rear skirt and grill fitted when i purchased the car and i had the same problem, melted the inner edge of the skirt and had to get the exhaust tip extended and fitted at an angle to avoid pumping hot air into the skirt. I cut off the melted bits of plastic and left the skirt as it is. I was lucky in a sense the damage isn't really noticeable unless you look closely. Another thing i noticed recently is that the grill and skirt aren't fitting perfectly. The front grill is not flush on both sides and the rear skirt's rubber is coming off at the exhaust end. The hot gasses must have caused the glue on the rubber to melt :( These are not very noticeable again until you look closely, very closely. But it is not like they are gonna drop off with the screws tying them down. Did you notice anything wrong with yours, and how is your car going? Any problems so far? Cheers, Zee :D

AD$24995 :o Sounds like i seriously got ripped off :( Still a BFYB though, cannot get any better ! Karolla, if you would like to view some pics of my car they are in the Australian TOC photo gallery: Australian TOC Members Motors My Sportivo's pics should be on page 8. It's a black sportivo with front grille and rear skirt. There are also pics of the other guys' sportivos so you should have a good time looking through them. Zee

Hmm, getting sensitive here ;) To be fair to you mate, i personally would have gone for the Type-R if not for the very affordable Sportivo and also the practicality you get with a Corolla. I have 2 Hondas in my garage and they are just very well built and reliable cars. Even now, i am still a Honda fan. Not saying Toyotas are shabby, but the Corolla Sportivo is built in South Africa and down to a price to be very affordable for young lads like us. Look at the Celica, it is built in Japan and costs AD$15,000 dearer but shares the same engine and gearbox with the Sportivo. Personally, the Sportivo is a fun and practical car to drive and great if you want an all-in-one package and nothing very outstanding except the engine. As shown in this forum, the Sportivo is not the tightest of cars but still a Toyota and i believe is better than a Mazda, Pugeot or Renault in the same price range. Hope that helped Zee

Hi Karolla, welcome to the forum. I purchased mine from a dealer in Sutherland, NSW and paid AD$33500 driveaway. The price included floor mats, window tint, Sportivo front grill, Sportivo rear skirt (which needs your exhaust tip modified to fit), paint and interior protection. I am sure there are other guys on this forum who got it for less, so it would be best to wait for the other guys' input. The Sportivo goes great because it has a revolutionary engine from Toyota and Yamaha. A WRX is a totally different performance car though and it would be quicker than the Sportivo point to point (i used to own one). It all comes down to what sort of performance car you prefer to drive and own cos they have very different characters. The WRX relies more on torque to balst off the line while the Sportivo is like a real race car screaming to 8000 plus rpm So go test drive both and see which car you like better. The insurance prmiums as you mentioned would be through the roof for Turbo cars. I paid $4000 for WRX and now $1200 for Sportivo. Have you also considered an Integra Type-R? A little overpriced though. Zee

I guess your brakes were probably either wet or cold and when that happens the abs kicks in earlier. As for EBD, (correct me if i'm wrong) i would say they distribute the brakeforce among the wheels to give more traction to each wheel and hence balances the car out in situations where the brakes are jumped on during tight cornering. Sounds familiar qkslvr? Zee

Hmm, would love to go on a cruise with u guys but i live down the south coast about a thousand kms away from Melbourne and a little reluctant to clock that many highway kms on my new Sportivo at the moment. Would there be a cruise from Sydney down the south coast? I live in Shellharbour. Zee

You guys got my heart racing a bit there, hope i never end up in those sort of situations.. But good on ya for showing the Pug Gti what Corolla Sportivos are made of I am still waiting to take on someone on the streets, would love to try take on an Integra-R although i know i would probably lose :( Should be close though. Zee

Thanks for the advice guys, but i will probably ask for an oil/filter change. Blackrolla's theory sounded convincing so i am going for it :P Zee

Hi guys, going for my first service and was told by Toyota that they do not change the engine oil at 1000kms. They said they could do it if i wanted to. What is that? From what i know, Honda changes the oil on their cars at 1000kms to a Synthetic type. The Toyota manual did not list an engine oil change as a requisite for the 1000km service. Maybe the 2ZZ-GE engine is something special? Did you guys get it changed? Thanks! Zee

The 2004 Elise would be running the Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine which would produce more power and torque than the ones we have in the Celica and Corolla. They have tuned the engine to flatten the torque curve and reduce the torque dip at 6000rpm. A revised exhaust and other stuff will bump the power up. Anyone else know more info about this? The 2004 Elise would be a bullet when released with its very low keb weight of around 600kg. Zee

Blackrolla, i totally understand and symphatise with what you are saying :( . Just keep us updated about seeing Toyota about these problems. I would like to see what they have to say You haven't modded your car in any way right so the Warranty should be intact. Zee

Danthuyer, thanks for the advice man. I will let it clock a few more ks before trying again but as i mentioned to Blackrolla, i haven't been thrashing the gearbox or racing it for the past 2 weeks. If not for the traffic light situation, i would never have bothered quick shifting it. Anyway, still drives amazing though. Keep me updated about your car like with the servicing and drives etc. since we both have new Sportivos Cheers, Zee

Blackrolla, that was exactly what happened cos there was a modded mirage at the lights one day and it was an 80km/h zone so off i went in first to 8000rpm then got "stuck" for a second!! Wouldn't shift, had to wait till the revs drop a little before the box loosened up and then into second. By then the revs were hanging around 5000rpm. Feels crap because i thought the 6 speed was supposed to be one of the slickest shifts! The brand new Sportivo i test drove did not have this problem, i revved it to 8200rpm then a fast shift into 2nd and chirped the tyres!! I need to get this checked out man. I have been shifting like an old grandmother since Day 1 because the box felt really tight and after 2 weeks and about 1000kms, the box is still so freakin tight :( I suspected from day 1 my clutch felt and sounded funny. Wonder if it is a clutch problem. Zee

Hi guys, i am having difficulty shifting quickly from 1st to 2nd gear when i rev the to 8000rpm. Apparently when LIFT kicks in 1st gear becomes very tight, almost "locked" sometimes and i have to use quite a bit of force before being able to shift. tried to do a quick 1-2 shift when revving it out but just can't do it. the gearbox feels so tight in 1st and 2nd gear. Other gears from 2nd onwards are fine though and i am guessing the car is still very new with 900kms only so the transmission might need some time to loosen up? Has anyone of you here had that problem? I remember the Sportivo i test drove did not have this problem :( Zee

I think the manual is pretty much spot on with those figures cos i don't think we can hit 100km/h in 2nd due to the 6 speed close ratio. Zee

If it is from Toyota, i would say it would be the new Echo. It looks a little small to be a Corolla. But it also resemble a Getz! No way a Honda, not slick enough after the recent release of the Accord Euro. Zee