lexus sports car

this is a toyota soarer. one of the mostaussie cars roaming the streets today. "surely not!" i hear you say. "this is a grey import japanese product that wasn't even sold here new." well, exactly. though the reasons why it was never sold down at your local toyota dealership are unclear there are literally hundreds ofthousands of this model on our roads today... ...well hundreds, at least. the fact that manyperformance car-loving aussies have been prepared to undertakethe risks associated with going to the effort of importing a car with no driver historyand very patchy service records - if you can read japanese - suggests that, at most,

we're not all sucked into the corporate marketing hype and, at least, prepared to search foreign markets for a car that covers the requirements of australian motoring culture. that, or because they're cheap, reliable and quick. i've been told that the reason that the toyota soarer never came to australia was due to various state transport authorities. the cost to toyota australia to redesign the bumpers so the number plates would fit properly would have been far too expensive for toyota. the fact is that this is a perfectly suitable car for australian conditions. those being that any half decent car is rear wheel drive,

has plenty of power, rides properly and doesn't melt during summer. anyway, that's enough 'auto socialism' for one review. so, what's this toyota soarer all about then? for less than au$15,000 (2008) you can choose from a 4-litre v8 with four cams and 32-valves that produces 190kw, or the one you see here being a 2.5 litre in-line 6featuring double overhead cams and two intercooled turbos with about 206kw and a pretty hefty 363nm. so, to the stripped-out bare-knuckled turbo version, then.

well, not quite. since most are 4-speed automatics the toyota soarer is more of a gt than asprint car. but that doesn't matter. the surge from the turbos as they spool up at about 3,000rpm makes it all better. however, this factory example is just as likely to fall off boost due to its restrictive airbox and environmentally-friendly exhaust system. however, i feel it's plenty of power for around the suburbs and it offers a good even spread of power on the open road. anyhow, this standard car is a bit of a rarity as the soarers you've seen round your way

are probably painted lime green, covered in crap plastic cladding and have the power to match. i have it on good authority that those 'tuner' types could draw al least 600rwkw from this very car with nothing but a philips headscrewdriver and some sort of modelling clay. so that's all very well, then, but you might ask what's it like to live with every day? well considering the fact that that this example's coming up for its 13th birthday it all still feels remarkably modern. it's quiet owing to the fact the fact that

its got more door seals than a high security prison. the ride quality is excellent - it won't knock all your fillings out and it will dispatch high-speedcorners with no problem. unfortunately in this model the turbos don't boost in sequence. they are simultaneous. so when accelerating, they're off, and then suddenly there on. which is great fun! the brakes are also very good...with abs. they're quite 'bitey' but really get the job done. the only real drawback is in the steering. it's actually very light and clearly set up for the american market with their weak limbs...

the interior is an extravaganza of hard grey plastics and really shows the car's age. however in relation to his compatriotsthe overall ambience is quite restrained with few flying binnacles and out-sized buttons and switches. the electrically adjustable velour seats - also in mandatory 1990's grey - are very comfortable though not particularly supportive, reinforcing the car's gt intentions. the only notable downside to the interior is the oh-so-queasy digital dash design. like an out-take from a rubbish sci-fi movie this unnecessary layout

displays driver information like a five-dollarcasio watch. but that's the least of your worries. in a car as cheap as this, offering this much performance i have to give it a 'bang-for-your-buck'rating of 5 stars.