Celica GT-S Knocks Out the Competition

Competition is at the heart of every good business plan. After all, what would Coke do without Pepsi?

Well, the car market is no different. Witness the cross-town competition between Toyota and Honda, evident in just about every key segment of the marketplace.

Whether serving the masses with family cars (the perennial bestsellers Camry and Accord) or racing to be the first to the States with a gasoline-electric hybrid (Honda’s Insight taking honors from Toyota’s Prius), the top two Japanese auto makers in the U.S. keep duking it out from their respective American headquarters in Torrance.

And because Honda is serious about building its own sport-utilities--instead of leaving it to Isuzu to do most of the heavy lifting--we should really see the two take off the gloves.

For now, fight (and car) fans are advised to take a ringside seat for the seventh-generation Celica, completely re-engineered for 2000 as Toyota Motor Sales USA’s answer to American Honda’s current champion coupes, the Acura Integra GS-R and Honda Civic Si.

In a scenario reminiscent of the Mustang-versus-Camaro rivalry of years gone by, Honda and Toyota have positioned their top-of-the-line performance compacts in the same well-defined demographic: mostly young, upwardly mobile males with an insatiable craving to personalize their cars.

The new Celica is offered in two distinct trim lines: the GT and GT-S.

The GT is powered by a respectable 1.8-liter, 140-horsepower four-cylinder engine. Its big brother, the GT-S, offers a 1.8-liter VVTL-i engine (that’s variable valve timing and lift with intelligence, in Toyota’s parlance) that puts out 40 additional horses. We clocked the GT-S as going from zero to 60 mph in 7.1 seconds.

The GT comes standard with a five-speed automatic transmission; the GT-S offers a six-speed manual as standard or a four-speed Sportshift option similar to Porsche’s semiautomatic Tiptronic.

By Toyota’s estimate, the GT gets 27 miles per gallon in the city, 34 mpg on the highway (make that 28 and 34 with the optional four-speed automatic). The GT-S is rated at 24/32 with the six-speed manual, 24/30 with Sportshift.

Although the body sculpting on both models is identical, there are styling nuances, such as a larger 16-inch wheel-and-tire combo, that clearly distinguish the $21,345 GT-S from the $17,000 entry-level GT. A closer look reveals larger 11-inch front disc brakes and 10.5-inch rear discs on the GT-S; the GT sports 10-inch ventilated discs in the front and standard drum brakes in the rear. An optional anti-lock brake system is offered on both models.

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Of the two, the performance-equipped GT-S is the one most likely to induce a little sweat and furrow brows at Honda. Indeed, our test drive of the six-speed model through some of Central California’s most scenic landscapes, backed by three months of driving in and around urban Orange County, proved the new Celica to be the best comeback kid we’ve seen since Rocky Balboa went all 15 rounds against Apollo Creed.

We could think of no better place to put the GT-S through its paces than the scenic--and often deserted--farm roads nestled between Interstate 5 and the 101. In particular, we sought out long stretches of the weather-worn routes known, to those adventurous enough to take them, as California 25 and 33.

From the driver’s perspective, the interior is well-suited to the fast action of a mountain road, compliments of an eye-pleasing instrument cluster and easy-to-reach heating, ventilation and air-conditioning controls. Although the interior might feel cramped to those of tall stature, the aluminum sport pedal pads, fully adjustable sport bucket seats and optional leather-trimmed upholstery made us feel right at home.

The Celica’s MacPherson struts and double-wishbone suspension maximized the fun factor as we headed to the early pioneer town of San Juan Bautista outside Hollister. Dramatic elevation changes along the way, combined with brief sections of unpaved gravel, couldn’t rattle the suspension’s firm feel. Indeed, the car’s nimble steering and tight turning radius instilled in us a confidence more typically reserved for world-class rally drivers; with each gear change came more assurance that this car will stand out in the performance-compact class.

The GT-S wins points for styling too. Start at either end, and you’ll see that the car has little in common with past generations of the platform. Take, for example, a simple cue such as the revamped hood styling: The team at Calty Design Research, Toyota’s studio in Newport Beach, added functional ventilation openings leading into the engine compartment for optimum breathing. Out back, the quarter-panels give the GT-S a slimmed-down, aerodynamic appearance.

In fact, everything from the geometric design of the taillights to the swoop of the A-pillar sets this Celica apart from the six that came before.

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If a sour note was sounded on this trip, it was most evident once we reached San Juan Bautista. Although the sporty Celica buckets offer good lateral side support, they fall short in providing the degree of lumbar cushioning one might hope for after many hours behind the wheel.

Our long drive also flushed out the lackluster feel of bottom-end performance from the VVTL-i engine.

Although it is not uncommon for Japanese four-bangers to make most of their power in the upper end of the rpm band, the six-speed GT-S realizes its peak 180-horsepower output within the tight confines from 5,700 to its 7,800 redline--or about the time the VVTL-i finally kicks in. If you don’t rev the GT-S to redline during each shift, you’ll definitely feel the performance drop.

(The Sportshift-equipped GT-S that we tested briefly before we left on the trip robbed us of even more power because of the high, narrow power band.)

Speaking of quick shifts, six-speeds are great fun to drive, and close-ratio gearboxes of this kind are critical to the overall competitiveness of cars such as the GT-S. But because the shifter gate in the Celica, as with any true performance car, requires a certain degree of finesse at speed, it’s easy to pop the shifter into the wrong gear. As we did once or twice.

Toyota did install a warning beep that alerts the driver when the car is put into reverse, eliminating any confusion about which gear allows you to back up. Fortunately, we were cognizant of that fact.

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Despite these minor shortcomings, Sports Car Club of America road racer Nick Esayian, 32, of San Diego said the GT-S was his most logical choice after he compared it with the Integra GS-R.

“I did a bit of research, and everything told me it had better braking, less weight and five to 10 more horsepower than the stock Acura Integra GS-R,” he said.

“If I could change one thing, though, I think I would like to be offered some type of sports package when I bought the car, similar to the Integra Type R, with a stiffer suspension for racers like me that compete at tracks on the weekends.”

Say no more, Nick. Toyota Racing Development and other aftermarket companies are already marketing full lines of bolt-on performance parts for enthusiasts, including street-legal stainless-steel exhaust systems and a variety of suspension components (see accompanying article). By year’s end, no doubt, there will be an array of go-fast engine parts and interior accessories for the new Celica to rival those of Honda’s best-selling compacts.

Bottom line: Whether stock or aftermarket-enhanced, the Celica GT-S appears well on its way to KOing the competition in its first year in the ring.

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Larry Saavedra, editor of Sport Compact Car magazine, reviewed the Audi TT roadster for Highway 1 in May. He can be reached at larrys

@mcmullenargus.com.