1990 Toyota Corolla FX-GT - Is The 4A-GE Any Good?

People have been asking me to review a 4A-GE powered Toyota for some time now. The 3S-GE was decent but sounded horrible and felt gutless compared with the K20A, the 2ZZ was an absolute screamer but again lacked torque and now we're going even further into the history books with the 4A-GE powered Corolla FX-GT.
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:54 Drivetrain
1:38 Interior
2:40 Driving Experience
Thanks for Watching!

[@keno88]

Nice, love these older car reviews. Still would love to watch a Barra Turbo make it on to the channel 😉

[@KiwiCarLife]

It’s coming!

[@edmund2747]

oh dont mind that sound its the bloody heat shield on the manifold at a specific rpm lol

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah lol haha

[@danmurphy5889]

This car is 34 years old , probably mostly original condition

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah very original feeling

[@Still_G]

Dam 5 minute car review bruh we need longer videos man 💯

[@KiwiCarLife]

What more should I add? They get too waffly if it’s much longer

[@gavinr9107]

The length of the review is pretty much spot on. He doesn't need to fill it out with documentary style content that most people will 'switch off' on unless it is presented in a high budget manner. Especially as a one person team with a modest subscriber base.

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@gavinr9107 yes thanks I’m pleased you agree

[@17t135i]

20 years ago I used to chop these in my BB4 Prelude Vtec and DA6 Integra XSI Vtec haha.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah haha integra and prelude make a lot more power lol

[@MAH-id3sx]

Lol. Prelude with it's bigger engine and way more power so of course you would.

[@265justy]

Good for you. Try and chop a Celica GT... Would be more fair.

[@LeSwexy]

Lmao yeah not surprising.

[@Birmingham_racing]

Love to see a starlet gt turbo or glanza on this channel but make the videos longer

[@KiwiCarLife]

Maybe one day, and what more info do I need to add in?

[@2zztercel558]

​@@KiwiCarLife just more driving m8

[@spadgm]

Well this certainly brings back memories mate! Now I have never owned one of these but a few of my mates have way back in the day. Now one mate in particular who shall remain nameless, used to own one for a while. Totally stock but he used to drive it with in an inch of its life. He was the kind of guy who didnt drive to speed limits, his limits were the aerodynamic drag limit top speed of whatever he owned lol. ( pre speed camera days) With the driver mod it really punched above its weight and made a mockery of some cars that were more powerful etc on the back roads.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Goodness haha sounds like he really put it through his paces

[@thatguyben3128]

_Love it, early multi valve cars were definitely the sign of great things to come, 🙌🏼 respect_ .. _cool review_

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah for sure man!

[@TriadWarrior9411]

Inner Jeremy Clarkson unleashed at 3:52

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yessssss

[@travismarshall1481]

My friend had one of these in high-school...man it was quick! It was certainly alot quicker than my other mates 4.1L Ford Falcon!!! I loved the high revving engine and the sound it made!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Oh yeah those intech falcons made the power of 4 harnessed children 😂

[@The_Noticer.]

This is the type of power to weight ratio where you probably notice the owner sitting in the passenger seat :P And if you want a modern iteration of this, the 1.6 Swift sport has the same ratio. 136horses, weighing around a tonne.

[@KiwiCarLife]

lol yeah I did have a passenger for the drive. And yep drove a swift sport it was great

[@The_Noticer.]

@@KiwiCarLife The one on your channel is the 1.4 turbo, I meant the 1.6 naturally aspirated one. Though both are great, just different.

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@The_Noticer. yeah I’ve driven the 1.6 one on track too, went pretty good

[@mikeh6844]

Awesome to see someone do a review on the mighty FXGT. I've had 4 of them and theyre awesome little go karts haha

[@KiwiCarLife]

Good strong cars

[@benincolman5762]

Ah I love these cars, so much so I have two of them. One of which is supercharged, neat video man perfect length.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Nice man!

[@tinooo5372]

Love your videos bro, you should review the Mazdaspeed 3 / MPS if you get the chance.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks man, already done the MPS6 was a great car!

[@serebbi]

Awesome video brother!!! Keep it up! Btw, you should really test drive a Toyota Starlet GT or Glanza! You will love it! Just be sure its a stock one!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks man! And yea that would be cool

[@bigcus8176]

lol love the old club lock. Had an ae86 with a 20 valve 4ag conversion back in the day. So much fun, that revved to over 8000.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Oh that would have been fun!

[@Vikturus22]

I had a Levin with a 4age motor in it. Was fun!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Nice!

[@RamenPoweredShitFactory]

I've got the 5-door version of this body with the 4afe and it weighs barely 900kgs, best car I've ever owned.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Nice man

[@92Godzilla]

Anyone else read the floor mats in James May’s voice?

[@KiwiCarLife]

HAHAAHA I certainly did

[@LeSwexy]

Hell yeah Edmund

[@KiwiCarLife]

Oh you know him haha

[@egonspengler7967]

needs some love hey. But those seats look so good

[@edmund2747]

She's mint other than the paint, but she's my daily so no need to spend 5k on a new paintjob

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah for sure

[@whitegr86]

If you're ever in Melbourne, lemme know and you can review my gr86 😁

[@KiwiCarLife]

Ooh yes will do!

[@jonahhorsfield2919]

Get your hands on a gg series Mazda6 manual. As quoted by R. Hammond, it encourages you to do naughty things. Seriously underrated daily.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Haha will have to check one out

[@Chad_Thundernuts]

haha those floor mats 😂👌

[@KiwiCarLife]

HAHA

[@Str4ngerr]

It reminds me of the Clio 1.8 16v, almost same power figures/weight. A hot hatch for the era, still a lot of fun to drive nowadays. I spotted a Toyota Sera yesterday and I wondered why Toyota never powered it with the 4AGE or the 1.3 turbo from the Starlet

[@KiwiCarLife]

I know that would have been so cool aye, mind you a lot of people swap them in

[@Birmingham_racing]

My brother had the uk version Corolla gti about 25 years ago it felt quick back then

[@KiwiCarLife]

I imagine!

[@felix_five]

Tearing up the tarmac Newlands style

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yuuuurs

[@Gulag_Express_Racing]

next, review a Toyota aqua, find out why people keep buying them, and also as a try not to get scoliosis challenge

[@KiwiCarLife]

Oh now that’s a video

[@Peterz32tt]

Please do a manual H22A - Prelude BB4

[@KiwiCarLife]

Already have

[@rossdixon5050]

see if you can review an ae111 levin or trueno BZR manual there should be plenty in welly.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah hopefully

[@nzwotb2525]

Should do the next generation fxgt with the 20 valve

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah that would be interesting

[@moijesuismoi99]

This has got similar power to teh Pulsar SSS , quite impressive. What's the 0-100 , 80-120 like ?

[@KiwiCarLife]

I dunno probably like 10s to 100

[@trustfire]

One of the most wonderful sounding engines on a stock exhaust is criminal.

[@edmund2747]

Haha, she's my daily so no need for induction noise everywhere, I am looking at a 2" stainless tho...

[@KiwiCarLife]

Strong stock engine

[@Denzil214]

I love the Japanese styling, but the front end with the grill not so much 😅. In South Africa this is still a classic (this shape is the called a Toyota conquest. Later on in the 90's was renamed as a Tazz) . People do 20v swaps, Sr20 swaps, turbo etc. Will forever be a classic 🔥🫶🏼😁❤️🔥

[@louvendran7273]

The front bumper was used in the facelift version after 1994 (dubbed the baby Camry. 1.8i had a 3 slot upfront which got used on the Tazz later on. Moreover Toyota South Africa did not sell a 3 door version.

[@Denzil214]

@@louvendran7273 ohja, sorry for that I forgot that it's 3 door 🤦🏻. My father and I talked about the "baby camry" grill cause I know a guy with a 92/93 but has a the baby camry grill for some reason. Anyway, my grandfather had the twincam in corolla wish he still had that car. But I'm 25 or more years to late to ask (wasn't born that time 😂)

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah it’s crazy how much people mod these things haha

[@Denzil214]

@@KiwiCarLife True 😆. Because it's light, with that combo of engine options. It's super fast, yet unsafe 😂🤦🏻

[@SPQRTempus]

I used to own a 1988 AT160 Celica GT with the 4-AGE and manual. A real hoot to drive, but nowhere near as quick as my 91 Honda Integra XSi with the B16A.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah the B16 destroys anything with a 4AGE

[@BarneyBarnett]

I love my ae93 SX (audm) very fun car

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yessss they’re so cool

[@ericlaporte130]

You should bo a starlet gt 1994 review bro

[@KiwiCarLife]

Potentially

[@felixchetlanddevries2998]

Still need to do a manual ae111

[@KiwiCarLife]

Maybe one day

[@markmcgrath9098]

These were amongst the top handling hatches of the era. Toyota worked hard to make good handling cars at this time.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah it went round corners decent, let down by the tyres and really slow steering

[@265justy]

These were the GTi-16 in Europe and they could give the Golf GTi a serious run in there day.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Wow that’s impressive, mk2 golf?

[@265justy]

@@KiwiCarLife Yes Mk2 Golf. Corollas have a cult following in Ireland. The AE86 Corolla is demanding €30k + here for a good one. A fwd GTi like this FX would also make nice money here. Not as much as the rwd 86 tough. But still sought after.

[@Fucking_Legend]

I used to have the gti version

[@KiwiCarLife]

Ooh very cool

[@user-lc2ri2yu9l]

ooooooooooo wish my dash looked that good

[@KiwiCarLife]

It does look nice on this one aye

[@user-lc2ri2yu9l]

ive got a pair of corollas in stasis, one day@@KiwiCarLife

[@jasonlinnell1575]

Cool sh!t. Similar specs to a dc4 b18b2 😎

[@KiwiCarLife]

Strong car

[@TaranSingh-ik5zw]

20v 4age next???

[@KiwiCarLife]

Maybe?

[@mixedboi]

Think about it man, in 2010, this car was 20 years old, my CL7 Accord is 20 years old today. 😢

[@KiwiCarLife]

That's absolutely insane haha

[@hkmonaro8153]

Looking for an AE82 digital cluster, they're pretty much non existent now..

[@KiwiCarLife]

Oh really? Yeah I can’t imagine they’re common

[@carsonhovercar7685]

I had one of these for a few years. Thrashed the shit out of it. Bought and sold it for 3k.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Nice haha that’s awesome

[@MrWilliam.Stewart]

It's remarkably good, even more so considering it's a 74 year old design.

[@KiwiCarLife]

HAHAH

[@feral4mr2]

4ag the best engine evvaaarrrrr!!!

[@KiwiCarLife]

It really isn’t haha but if you’re on a budget it can make for a fun starter car. But an engine from the 80’s is definitely not the best engine ever

[@feral4mr2]

@@KiwiCarLife pffft....

[@craigauty6756]

Drove a black top 4age, gutless, cant understand the hype and yet engines like 2zz get zero respect

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah frankly I kinda agree the 2ZZ is much better

[@edmund2747]

Not about the speed, it's the sound and the zingyness, but yeah agree 2zz is far better, looking at 2zz swapping the Corolla down the line haha (I've got a 6spd manual 2zz in storage)

[@craigauty6756]

@edmund2747 i dont even rate the tech for the time, the design is from the 70s

[@Keaguan]

320ks jesus!!!

[@edmund2747]

oh thats hardly broken in hahaha

[@KiwiCarLife]

It’s been a fair way

[@Mark-bd5ci]

N42 only makes 105kw

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah that’s an N42 tho hahah

[@Mark-bd5ci]

@@KiwiCarLife yeh I'm just saying that engine is ten years the junior

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@Mark-bd5ci well if you’re going down that route the B16 makes 136kW haha

[@Mark-bd5ci]

@@KiwiCarLife is that a turbo? Anyway I'm not going down any route I'm just comparing the same capacity engine in power output to one ten years later. Now obviously the BMW is more efficient but the power outputs numbers are interesting

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@Mark-bd5ci nah haha Honda B16 n/a I4 from the late 80’s

[@cartertwowheels3358]

That 25 year old Toyota will still be going when that new Kia is dead. Old cars were made to last, new cars are made to be replaced as often as your cellphone. Also the Kia didn't offer a manual option, clearly the Toyota is better in every way just based on that 1 simple fact.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Haha not sure I agree with all of that but I get your point

[@herniagaming]

That car is not slow lol, people need to stop comparing cars like this to modern perfromance vehicles and stop having a wank over how many hp it produces or whatever. Also your fanging it way too fast on bends, slow tf down you probably dont even own it, besides you have a passenger in a car with a safety rating that will both get you killed if you fuck up

[@KiwiCarLife]

Someone’s angry!

[@herniagaming]

@@KiwiCarLife yeah I get pissed when people drive stupidly

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@herniagaming I think the video might lead you to perceive things this way, but you can watch the speedo the whole time and see that the highest speed achieved on that windy road that I know well was about 60-70 tops, and only briefly. I think you’re overreacting

[@Mikeywelcs]

You should try review a turbo civic so a eg or a ek or a turbo dc2.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Got a Turbo Euro R in the pipelines

[@Mikeywelcs]

@@KiwiCarLife nice, any honda that's turbo is a good video, can't wait.