IDRIVEACLASSIC reviews: 70s Toyota Starlet (60 series Starlet)

[@gerardleahy6946]

It brings back memories of my very first car. Here in Ireland most were 1.0 models. We got the DL version which had a 4 speed gearbox and a lower spec. There was no rear wash wipe, no tachometer, no clock but it was very reliable, cheap to tax and insure and very light on petrol. Radios, heated rear windows and headrests were standard on a Starlet but extra on many competitors at the time. My first one was red and I also had a blue one.I have very fond memories.

[@dfbiker]

Oh my. You have just made me so happy watching this. I had the same car, same colour, same year and virtually the same registration, My car was solid and it drove perfect until some one hit the car in a accident 😢. But the car was 100% reliable until them and had 99,000 miles on and apart from normal wear and tear and a new radiator at 90,000 from a scarp yard. I loved it and still wished I had it. And you know something. Nothing squeezed or rattled. For a v reg car. It was amazing. Happy memories.

[@carsonbarclay5360]

Oh memories. My parents had 2 starlets. A blue 79 5 door and a red 81 5 door. Both purchased new and mega reliable.

[@jeremytravis360]

I used to own one of the later Toyota Starlet and it was one of the best cars I ever owned. Slightly disparaged by Fiat and rotting Pandas, I visited a Toyota dealer and bought an almost new 1332 cc. The dealer fitted a brand new air conn system and it was a delightfully frugal car to run. I could put it in 5th gear at 30mph and it was happy. The car also had an air bag but crash protection was poor with a low rating. The car could also be incredibly nippy with its free revving engine. You could keep it in 3rd and still hit 50. I was told the metal was a special high strength galvanised steel so the cars did not rot. Nice car Steph, had I seen one before the Panda I might have taken another path car wise.

[@dquad]

Great video, Starlet anorak here - this car has a lot of nice subtle modifications. The rev counter dash for example is out of a JDM car, but has had the original speedometer fitted to it. Notice those little red dots on the speedo? In the original non-rev counter dash setup those dots indicate the red line speed for each gear. The fact that only 3 gears are shown indicates this car originally had a K40 4 speed gearbox, so the 5 speed was also added. One more modification I would recommend the owner perform is to add an electronic distributor from a Japanese starlet - also could be worth checking the dodgy rev counter isn't caused by the wire at the coil, otherwise they could end up stranded. I own the injected Starlet that HubNut drove in NZ

[@debwade73]

Hi there it is an original UK spec 5 speed gear box car and your right about the rev counter dash. My rev counter started to play up a couple of days before Steph drove her but a little tap at the top of the dash sorted that 😊

[@dquad]

@@debwade73 Hi Deb, thanks for that. Yes, upon paying closer attention I see the chassis tag says K50 with the 3.909 X-code diff - the 3.909 must give it some good pep. It's a nice car you have. Hopefully the rust doesn't spread too much further on it. The most deadly place for these cars is at the top of the C pillar - as I'm sure you're aware of.

[@Corialtavi]

Another ex owner here, I had 2 of them. Loved them both. One was a stolen recovered I hand painted Landrover Blue (Blew the engine in the centre of London), second a much plusher & better condition version which I blew the clutch taking the short way over the Welsh mountains with a car full of people. This second one ended up buried under the local Pit tip as I lived next to the local mine. My dad got fed up of waiting for me to put a new clutch in so he called over the fence into the pit yard and a digger picked it up so they could play car football (the car being the football) between them before burying it. BTW I heard the engines were sort after as replacements for another Toyota model so many Starlets were used as donors.

[@elvetwilliams9013]

Great review as always... the car looks superb sure the Ziebart treatment has helped preserve the stunning condition.. the equipment shows how’s well equipped it was for the time typical Japanese lots of standard stuff like 5 speed which others charged extra for or not even available on!

[@32toyman]

Great to see a review of this car as I learnt to drive in one, and passed my test in this model (in blue) I remember it being an ideal learners car as the gear change was smooth and the clutch easy to master. My instructer liked to have the windows open in all weathers and the heat turned right up!

[@andythebourne]

Great video Steph! I think if you lay your hands on one, you will love it. They are very simple and straightforward cars and have the bulletproof K series Toyota engines. Just watch out for the rust. Starlets do rot badly, that's one main reason why there aren't many left. You might also check out the later FWD P7 series Starlets, I have an 1985 EP71 and it's also a very fun and reliable little car!

[@Howlingd0g]

Wow, what a little stunner! Japanese cars always have been so ahead of the curve when it comes to the technology in them. Like you, I've never seen an example of a Starlet as early as this, I've seen late 80s examples but didn't know they go back as early as the 1970s. Really love that stag design on the steering wheel, not ever seen that on any other Toyotas before!

[@catjudo1]

This is, I think, the only car you've driven that I've ridden in. A girl in my high school had one and found me on the side of the road after my Firebird broke down. She gave me a ride back to my house to grab a truck and a trailer to take it back and I was impressed with the little car. It was 13 years old I think and looked and ran like new. When I sold the Firebird a few years later I bought a Toyota pickup used; it was basically unbreakable. Toyota just made good cars and still do. My mom has a Toyota Highlander and in eight years nothing has gone wrong. Nothing.

[@andrewhicks8249]

I had one of these back in the day. Very light steering and a delight to drive. I remember the engine reminded me of a sewing machine noise. Good car.

[@AliMackMechanical]

That dog leg reverse always gets me when I jump out off my MG ZR and get into my Audi A4 lol. Nice review spot on. 👍

[@daveb1433]

Another great video Steph. I drove a friends Starlet in the same colour in the late seventies. It was lovely to drive and was so smooth and quiet. My dad had the model that followed, it was a 1987 model and he bought it new. He had it for 14 years and it never let him down and it didn’t rust like the mk2.

[@nigel9843]

I did my driving lessons and test with a local driving school with a 1983 Starlet 5 door. It was great to drive.

[@martininnes4716]

A really nice car which looks great and sounds well 40 years or so later. 🙏🏻

[@michaelhalsall5684]

Great to see videos on classic Japanese cars! Great to see this video! Regards from an Australian based Honda and Nissan enthusiast.

[@jasonjesson9742]

That looks amazing for 40 years old!

[@HQBProductions]

I appreciate how much research you do on each car and that is not always easy. Now as one who was “there”, the reason Japanese cars became so well regarded was because the engine and gearboxes were simply on another planet to offerings by Ford, Vauxhall etc...and you got a lot of “free extras” that U.K. manufacturers simply never offered nor bothered with. Heated rear windows, a radio, door mirrors you could adjust from inside, cloth seats with head rests, disc brakes...all seemed astonishing. Then the paint finish...vastly better than we saw before BUT sadly the rust proofing was a big problem and rust gripped the cars very quickly indeed. You are right to be impressed..these car woke up the U.K. and started the whole movement towards the cars we have today. Compare this with a 950 cc Fiesta...that had better handling and was very good but nowhere as regards equipment and innovation. 🙂🙂🙂

[@lukecrowley571]

RWD Starlets are a cult classic in Ireland! 😁 Still plenty of them about, despite their enthusiasm for rust!

[@Howlingd0g]

I'm starting to get the understanding that Ireland is a good place to head to if you want some lovely old cars!

[@lukecrowley571]

@@Howlingd0g If it's old Japanese cars that you're after, then definitely! 😁

[@Howlingd0g]

@@markdowling5962 Oh no, did you guys have one of those idiotic scrappage cons too? Classic car genocide, I call it.

[@Howlingd0g]

@@markdowling5962 Very interesting! I understand you've still got a decent amount of Eastern Bloc cars about too - Ladas, Skodas, FSOs, Yugos and so on?

[@peterriggall8409]

Starlets were very popular in Australia too but we never got them as early as this one as far as i am aware. More so the later 80s. Run on the smell of an oily rag.

[@jkk244]

Another great video from Steph! I always learn a lot from her in-depth details.

[@darrenneilson2853]

Awesome review...Once you drive a toyota you realize just how good they are!!!

[@petergouldbourn2312]

Great video Steph. I love your positive yet honest review of vehicles. Well done !!

[@ewanmcgregor146]

Wow! This Toyota is as old as I am! And it’s in amazing condition, considering it hasn’t been restored, just kept properly!

[@markkimberley3083]

Great job Steph you are so good at the car reviews

[@cyrielvanaar7366]

Hi Steph, Thank u for driving to the edge of England for doing a testdrive in this fantastic Toyota. I myself have fallen in love with Toyota, although not A classic. I have an Auris. In my research to find the best car for me, you showed up on KZbin! Since that time you have a big fan in Holland. And am getting more and more into Classic cars. This is due to your enthusiasm! If you ever be in Holland and would like to drive a newer Toyota, you’re more than welcome😊 Keep up the good work! Wish you the very best

[@StevesMachines]

Thats a stunning little car.

[@RichieRouge206]

Such an appealing little car in every way tbh. I love that it was still RWD too! Great review Steph and loving the hair colour btw!

[@josephmullin5845]

Very impressive motor. You definitely bring out the good points in all cars. The wiper and indicator stalk placements remind me of the Renault 18 you tested last week. The wiper cycle reminds me of the mk2 Vauxhall astra.

[@d.w.j.1114]

Excellent review Steph👍🏾 These were really great little cars. This one is in amazing condition. Here in the US, I do still see them, but they're always heavily modified. How I wish Toyota, Nissan, Honda & VW would continue to sell cars like this in the US. Everyone here is into massive SUVs and pick up trucks unfortunately.

[@fruitychink]

Never rated them myself but friends of mine swore by them for reliability and equipment levels . Great video , thanks

[@gryfandjane]

Thanks for another good one, Steph! I’m an MG Midget owner in the US, and the Starlet came up on our radar a few years ago. Seems the 5-speed box in the Starlet is a simple swap into our old 4-speed Midgets.

[@drg111yt]

Lovely to see this great little Toyota on your excellent channel. I drive a cute blue 1999 Toyota Corolla GLS 1.6 Auto, which I think will be a classic one day too - so smooth and reliable. IMO Toyotas are the honest best.

[@dennisrobinson7587]

You can’t beat Toyota quality

[@kimkiriniki9433]

Late '70's my girlfriend 's Mum bought a brand new yellow/orange Toyota Starlet five door . Girlfriend got her 'old' ' 1976 red FIAT 127, ..I had a VW Beetle 1302S at the time. Starlet was hugely more fun to drive than eithier of them. Rear wheel drive, such precise gearchange, steering, positive brakes..terrific little car. Wish that I owned one now!

[@GraemeRobinson]

Thanks for posting. An old friend of mine had a late 90's starlet which was great. I ended up buying a 2002 Echo new, which was the successor to the Starlet here in Australia (always called the Yaris in the uK) and I still have it and it still runs great. I recently replaced the clutch on it myself - its a good car to work on.

[@c3vids_shorts]

I like your channel You reviews of types of cars are really interesting 👍💯

[@PaulinesPastimes]

Great review. I can see why you want one. Very nice 70's design. Hope you find one. Cheers

[@tankboyful]

great presentation. beautiful car, presenter, and dress! such colors! love, love it. top 5 video of yours for me. good job as always hun. the starlet name fits you and the car.

[@davidfos84]

5-speed box, intermittent wipers, refined engine, superior build quality and starts like it's injected. They may not have drove as well as European rivals but I wouldn't hesitate to jump in this and do a 200-mile journey. Awesome little car. I had one of those late '90's bubble-shaped Starlets. It handled like a boat but despite its 150k miles, everything worked, it felt solid and the 1.3 engine was nippy as anything. It was utterly reliable and I only sold it because I didn't need a car. Regret it now.

[@Nickos1b]

My mom brought the 1980 model with the square headlamps and it was the car me and my brother learned to drive on. It was woefully underpowered but that hadn't stopped us driving everywhere. After many years of faithful service we sold it in 1993 and despite being worn down it was snatched immediately because there were many people racing them in my country due to its rear wheel drive.

[@matiasfernandes]

Great car. Here in south america (Uruguay) came 2 versions; Standard, 3 door hatch-back. 1 litre 4 cylinder carburated, 4 speed manual transmission, vynil seats and vynil carpet. DL (DeLuxe), 5 door hatck-back. 1.1 litre also 4 cylinder carburated, 5 speed manual transmission, velour seats with headrest on the front ones, velour carpet, aluminium trim on dashboard, brake booster (no booster on the standard), tachometer, armrest for front passenger, read glass defogger, dashboard analog clock (on the standard came a dummy plate with the toyota logo) and exterior mouldings. My mother had a standard 3 door, white with blue vynil interior, great little car!!!!

[@ramonmora4293]

I have a 1982 Toyota Starlet with 4KB 1300 cc engine and 5 speed. It is the U. S. version. It has been with me since March 1990, 31 years right now. I bought it with 42,000 miles ( 64,000 kms. ) and now it has 250,000 miles ( 400,000 kms. ) in original condition. :)

[@robenglish416]

Lovely car! My dad looked at one of these but the salesman took him for a drive and tried to impress him with the power and scared the shit out of him! Must have been sort of 70 HP, rwd, short wheel base and hardly no weight, i.e fun as hell!

[@alansimpson835]

Aw this takes me straight back to primary school as our lollipop lady had one in a fetching light blue metallic. The Japanese superminis of the time all seemed to follow this shape - I think the Mitsubishi Colt and Honda Civic of the time looked quite similar- and it's a real tribute to Japanese build quality just how well screwed together this still is. Great review and great to see one again.

[@dorbellbuster2011]

Amazing car for the 70s. It has things that even my Base Micra From 1996 dosent even have like rev counter, Pop out windows, Clock and rear wash wipe. I would happily roll around in one of those. Shame no one would build a Modern equivalent of something like this today.

[@gc5384]

Another good one steph

[@edwardgwatterson1618]

Great Stuff Steph havent seen too many road versions of this but seen them aplenty on the short oval Hot Rod racing scene,

[@philscot4310]

These were very popular in NZ we also had a 1000cc version I owned one it was 4 years old and traveled everywhere in it, great cars and very reliable.

[@michaeltutty1540]

Great review, Steff. We got the Starlet here in Canada, too. Cannot remember when, so no idea which generation. What made them stand out was the rear wheel drive. It did make them fun. It is interesting to see how much was standard equipment on Starlet. Seems much more generous than Honda. In 1990, a Honda Accord estate charged extra for even an AM radio and right side door mirror.

[@grayfool]

You hit on many of the things that made Japanese cars so successful over the years. Equipment levels were very good, the materials were very good quality, and the details were just right. Build quality was possibly the main reason though. Everything would continue to work for many years. Rust was a problem but by the mid to late eighties they had improved in that area too. So glad you liked this car and I'm sure you'll love other models if you get the chance to try them out.

[@discerningmind]

Hey Steph, you've got new hair! Beautiful! I love this little Starlet. Nice clear gauges, and an overall handsome dash layout. I didn't see a stalk for signal lights, and I'm wondering if the signals are built-into the headlight stalk. As always, thanks for bringing this.

[@michaeltutty1540]

In typical Japanese fashion, the turn signals and lights share a stalk.

[@WrenchingWench]

Loving the fact it has intermittent wipers, my 1990 Scirocco doesn't even have those!

[@anthonybuckley5872]

Hi Steph,I live here in Gran Canaria,and just this morning in front of me a 4 door red Toyota Starlet,FOR SALE @ 3,500€.I took 3 photos,front,side,rear for you but can't load them here. Keep up the reviews,love em PS just sent the photos on your FB page

[@robingiles9444]

My Dad had a Starlet in the 80's and he loved it, said it was the most reliable car he had ever had, bearing in mind he had a Triumph Dolomite before which was very unreliable, lol

[@timothyhh]

My aunt had a new 78 or 79 Starlet in the same or very similar color while she was in high school that my grandparents then kept around as a second car for visiting family well until the late 1990s. I have many memories of sticky vinyl seats in Florida summers.

[@Nitro-bp2ss]

A friends Mum had one back in the 80's, metallic gold, used to get a lift to school in it

[@hawkseye737]

This is a greta comfortable car i just got one 1978 its working nice here in my place at 10000 ft elevation n i am loving it. Mine is powerful with 1.5 l diesel engine.

[@davidhinkson8856]

There are very few of these RWD Starlets left in Barbados now; owing to their rear-drive set-up, they were very popular as rally cars (some are still used for that purpose) and among boy racers in the 1980s and it is hard to find one that has not been modified in some way. The 4A-GE used in the AE86 is a common swap.

[@tramlink8544]

i really like that the EP81 stayed with the 60 series interior door styling of having the steel dorframe on top visible

[@craigmclean8260]

Nice review of an honest, straightforward little car! As others have mentioned, we got the facelifted version in the States, only from 1981-83; it was sold alongside the then-new Tercel. I knew a couple of engineers I worked w/ at Boeing (ca. late-1980s to 2002) who had Starlets; one, at least was well-north of 200K miles! FWD was seen as "the way ahead" for the U.S. subcompact/compact market; Nissan had the RWD 210 model, and the second-gen 510 (Bluebird), until 1981; by '82 most were going to FWD (though the Corolla continued as a RWD thru the 1983 model year).

[@thepub245]

My mates Mum had one in 1979! Nice car in its day.

[@leeallen7491]

used to see these everywhere in the 80's.

[@davidrowley6500]

My 1st car back in 1989 was a silver 2 door kp60 1.2 starlet,a truly fantastic little car with lovely rear wheel drive fun😀

[@andrewbarnes1295]

Wow 5 speeds on a car of this era and size! We have a last generation Starlet, incredibly reliable.

[@Grant0610]

Our neighbours had one of these. It went on forever!

[@AllThingsAlex]

Wow. What a little gem Steph!.

[@Leathersladekitchen]

Huge amounts of these ended up on short ovals (as previously mentioned) with a 2.0 pinto in them, still actually a few racing to this day. Have a little google for KP 60 hot rod

[@andy-pd4eh]

keep them coming.

[@ihaveacoolhat1]

I'd absolutely run one of these as a daily car now. It's got pretty much the same equipment as my 2004 Clio has.

[@bcfairlie1]

Fond memories. I got my drivers license in one of these. It was bright yellow. 1982.

[@timallen3338]

I passed my driving test in one 40 years ago in may83' Time flies.!

[@legionnairegonk4425]

The plastics on my EP91 Starlet are really nice too.

[@michaeltreadwell777]

WOW Steph, what a lovely little car - everything you need in such a compact car. still very usable today :-)

[@seancooke4127]

Wow you looked so relaxed in this video Steph. The car seemed solid and quiet. I see that it was Ziebarted by the sticker on the rear window which will have helped keep the rust at bay. I believe rustproof treatments would have been between £100 and £200 in 1979. Gorgeous colour. Which car did you use to travel to the edge of England then?

[@timallen3338]

Thx Steph, Great video.

[@hutchcraftcp]

Love the plaid seats. Unfortunately in the USA they were massively out sold by the fwd toyota Tercel. I've seen a few turned into drag race cars with V8 engines

[@chrispenn715]

In the seventies, there were voluntary quotas on imports of Japanese cars - I'm guessing that Toyota preferred to sell their bigger models, which were more profitable?

[@cambridgemart2075]

That's the model of car I first drove as the local driving instructor had one.

[@wanderinggentile]

These are hugely popular for modders here in Costa Rica, and not hard to find. They're expensive, but can be redone with spares off the shelf at a convenience store.

[@ramonmora4293]

Hi mate, I'm from Costa Rica. I have a 1982 U.S. version Toyota Starlet since 31 years ago. I bought it in 1990 with 42,000 miles ( 64,000 kms. ) and now it has 250,000 miles ( 400,000 kms. ) in original condition. Pura Vida mae !!!

[@wanderinggentile]

@@ramonmora4293 ¡Pura vida desde Alajuela, mae!

[@polarbear8024]

Beautiful. This is basically the same as my first car! V reg, 1.2 GL Bug eye. Lovely...Cleaner than my old one though :) :P Thanks for the nostalgia!

[@owensmith8467]

Cute little car, love the retro seat trim. Hope my daily driver Auris lasts like that!

[@davidburke1794]

It would nice to see classic electric conversation review.

[@TheScottytr6]

A buddy of mine had a 1980 Starlet here in Toronto back in the day. His copy of the brochure said that the car 'is so aerodynamic that it's virtually wind resistant! ' We had a good laugh over that! It would top out at 92MPH in 3rd and 93 in 4th and 5th...

[@420031]

Also from the GTA, had a 82 Starlet. Wonderful fuel economy, but you really had to plan ahead to enter the highway, or climb a hill.

[@xxrs2009]

Sweet little car.. When I was in my teens around 2000 you still saw the facelift model ('83) around over here, mostly at old folks homes in the blue metallic colour.. I always liked them, unlike the successor(s) which were too boring I think. Most of them came in the wrongs hands indeed due to the RWD.. All Starlet 5 door versions are rare over here strangely enough, unlike the Yaris 5 door.. Btw your presentation skills have improved, your reviews are just as nice to watch as Ian's or Matt's. Keep it up!

[@robertmaitland09]

I have a 98 ep91, it's an awesome little car.

[@markharris7662]

What a great little car.

[@artoodiitoo]

Here in Finland all of these were destroyed in rallies, or still rallying. It´s a legendary rally car, for the short wheelbase and rear wheel drive. I have seen only 3 that are actual road cars

[@juanestebanmandzij546]

The Starlet is the classic starter rally car for a lot of Finns!

[@Nimmo1492]

Makes the Metro look like a biscuit tin.

[@Howlingd0g]

But still a nice one - like a classic "Family Selection" or something.

[@oliverleonard7730]

That's because it is.

[@julianlangdon3456]

fabulous little thing, reminds of the Mk1 Micra; also a great car with a similar reputation for reliability

[@dr.dylansgame5583]

Makes me cry it's such a good car in fact my favorite car I've ever seen and would kill for a two door kp61 obviously in a 5 speed preferably in the sprint trim but so many of them were beaten on and destroyed in one way or another that even finding a kp61 in general let alone with specific specs you want is a chore even in america of all places god I wish I was born in the 70s just to buy this car with everything I wanted even at a marked up MSRP

[@deggs1975]

Excellent video. I’ve only seen a few in Canada over the years, not sure if they were sold officially here, the tercels of the same era were very popular but alas the rust gods have claimed most of them. Not sure when I last saw one. They are definitely rare these days. Oh and cute hair steph. Btw the last starlet I had come across was in a ghost town up the bc coast in Canada parked in a abandoned apartment complex parking lot. It had been ravaged by people seeking parts and was looking quite sad. Say on old ford rims. Shes probably still there, I’d imagine.

[@thelivingroombusker2013]

My dad taught me to drive in a C reg starlet, nice cars

[@olias2716]

great review.......great car......in my experience anything....and i mean anything that has Made in Japan on it is top notch...costs more ....but worth it....👍👍👍

[@graemew7001]

We didn't get the Starlet until 1978 because Toyota kept selling the Toyota 1000 rather than introducing the 1973 Starlet. The 1000 was a decent little car but was getting long in the tooth by 1978. If you can get hold of a 1978 Honda Civic you should try one, I had an automatic version and it was a hoot to drive.

[@speakfreeley4473]

Japan Had all kinds of models, in all sizes as well like you mentioned with the 1000/Starlet. It reached to such an extent it got very confusing.

[@mattw8332]

Steph's comment about wishing that this had more chrome was interesting. By the end of the 1970s chrome was going out of fashion on cars and didn't come back until the early 1990s. The Starlet looks great. Strong demand for these if I am not mistaken because of the rwd layout in a supermini body style. The USA got the mark 1 Tercel around the same time which I think was quite a charming little car.

[@harveywade4112]

some markets still had the chrome bumper bars on starlets,but by now UK were following the trend of painted bumpers

[@mattw8332]

@@harveywade4112 Do you own a Celica? I think I follow you on flickr. 🙂

[@harveywade4112]

@@mattw8332 yes i have a blue1972 TA22 celica ,and another im restoring at present

[@Bryn42]

Best wee cars ever, and you will need a bank loan to buy one now £6k plus should get you a nice one, 5 doors are cheaper £4.5k plus for a good one.. great review.

[@philipeaton3102]

long time since see one was 19 in 79

[@zzhughesd]

More my thing !!!!

[@YcydyxgxHxgxyxy]

Wou beautiful car iam hassan from Pakistan karachi this starlet my naibour few week left sale out fist owner full original what a master piece