Toyota Soarer (1991-2000)

In Love – Freaking race car hi flow twins dump pipe plus a few other mods, I love to drive like an idiot wish I got one sooner, looking forward to getting a few more. I use it as a daily but have to park in the furthest park from the shopping center door. Get's an oil change everything 5000k 26 year old and mint.  Show details

Rare and sought after ahead of its time – Fast strong motor drivetrain..car is now rare and sought after esp by drifting community. Looks as good as new mustang for fraction of cost..if you find an example that is still mostly original you can do a lot to this car and modernise its interior suspension brakes rims tyres and its still a fast good looking safe car for daily driving or as a… Read more

sports track or drift car...an economical revamp or fresh update makes a new similar car audi or ford mustang or porshe look insanely expensive ..I have two that I have purchased updated painted/wrapped did a budget but quality mechanical resto and both the 3ltr straight 6 cyl steel block alum heads and 4ltr v8 all alloy block heads legendary acclaimed motors gearboxes a little time effort and honestly are very close to cars that sell for 80/150 grand a run for their money ..both after purchase and updating are still at 10 grand each bargains being restod fun safe very fast ..these cars remember were designed made to take on big badge dollar cars.. All cars require servicing, etc. but if you find a good solid car you can't go wrong ...leave it stock or upgrade redtomod it either way they will surprise cars selling for 70/150 grand ..both are timeless and in good original condition to start with unless someone has done quality work already are great 2 door sports cars with alot potential ..getting rare sought after by the day ... trust me enjoy esp if you like mechanics and cars as hobbys club representation meeting likeminded people .. I have enjoyed driven both variants 6/8 cyl turbo or naturally aspirated and as stock still fast cars ..upgrade turbo to 6 cyl or supercharger to v8 and high horsepower can be attained $5grand or so and you will have giant killers ...trust me on that ..add wolf ecu garret turbo and or harrop s/charger and hang on ..bang for buck champions ....road track weapons ....both great cars if you like speed fun and have couple gtand to buy car and $7 grand for modern upgraded go for it ....supercar stats for ten grand .....I have a 3 ltr 6 turbo and 4ltr v8 with s/charger and couldn't be happier ... giant killers ..great strong drivetrain .... worldbeaters ..only faults some electricals need attention as cars age but same all cars ..toyota included ..enjoy I am and will be for years to come ....enjoy..

Best Touring Car Ever – We have owned our 1991 V8 Soarer for over 11 years now and she just keeps on keeping on! In the last 12 months I have travelled over 18,000 km around Australia. Adelaide - Brisbane - Cairns - Yorkeys Knob, back to Townsville across to Darwin - then back to Brisbane returning to Darwin 2 weeks later. Had the windows tinted in Huendon, the… Read more

Air-conditioning and Alternator fixed in Darwin. Yes I have had minor dash-light issues but all in all the car has been quite remarkable. Currently just over 320000 kms on the clock. Love that car!

The best Luxury sport car with a little money you can buy – I own 1995 Toyota Soarer JZZ30 Twin Turbo (non VVTI) in line 6 engine for 15 years and I only have to do with Engine Oil and Oil Filter every 5000 KM and had done service for timing belt and radiator belt change at 100,000 KM. It save me a lot of money on Mechanic. Also I own 1997 Manual Transmission Toyota Soarer JZZ30 Single Turbo VVTI in -… Read more

line 6 engine car with modified engine (Trust parts) for 10 years. It's very beautiful car. It was former drift racing from Osaka.

Believe me, if you own Toyota Soarer Manual and then don't sell it and keep it. It's collectible car.

Great cars – Like any car of its age needs a bit of TLC. But I've had mine for 5 years maybe I've been lucky. It has 250,000km on the clock and I've just done basic maintenance. I just had a coil go on me (1uz) and an airbag (passenger side- common). No electrical issues. EMV is fine and fuel pump ecu never given me grief. I changed the power steering pump… Read more

because on these I know they aren't good. But it wasn't leaking when I changed it. I had a rebuilt one so I chucked it in. I've done 100,000kms on it and I only let me down once when the coil went. Other then that its never broken down. I change oil regularly and coolant. Did the timing belt and new leads and plugs. Basic maintenance things. Replaced radiator because old one was looking to be in its last days. Changed the top hose while I was there (extra $20 will save me one day). Other then this pretty much just drives. Sounds good with exhaust and extractors. Gets 11.5L/100kms which is good for a v8 (620kms a tank of 98 octane). The interior is a little weak at the door trims and window trims to be honest. I redid the interior. Didn't have to but it makes it a really beautiful car to drive. Did the work myself so wasn't too pricy.

Nice car to drive but getting too old now – These cars were way ahead of their time when they came out. To this day much of the technology in these cars is not seen on other cars, including luxury cars. These cars were never brought in by toyota or Lexus. All cars in Australia are private imports. Most came in between 2000 and 2001. Unfortunately these cars are now very old, passing… Read more

the 20 year mark in many cases and they are at that age where things are starting to go, and because they are old you can only replace with second hand parts which are also not going to last much longer. The price to buy these in 2013 is very very cheap. They used to be a millionaires car. Now they are very cheap to buy but very very expensive to fix. There are plenty of dreamers or people in severe denial on Gumtree and CarSales.com still trying to sell their "91 Soarer" for "$5000" - that's a joke. Not any more. But when they hit 25 years old they automatically officially become "classic cars" and will shoot up in value again. Right now, they are rock bottom, cheap cars to buy. Need to ride it out for a few more years before they become valuable again.

There are only a few people in australia who really know how to service these cars. Beware! Tell tale signs of someone who does not know what they are doing is putting green coolant in it. They take red coolant. Green coolant destroys the 1UZFE V8 motor.

The best thing about these cars is they are an absolute pleasure to drive. A properly maintained and well looked after one is a driving experience you will not forget.

Parts are not very easy to get. Any repairs will always hit you hard in the pocket. If you think you are getting a cool car cheap and you don't have money you will not have it for long. You will not be able to afford to keep it. Beware.

If you a person on a low income or some kid who thinks he's going to "do up" a Soarer forget it. You need money to own these cars. You will complain about them in the normal course of owning one these cars. If you see other reviews bagging these cars realize they are made by poor people that should never have owned a Soarer in the first place. Power, luxury, fantastic to drive, features way ahead of their time, look cool They all have the same problems: ECU, fuel controller, alternator, control arms, gearbox solenoids, door trims break, etc.

best car ever – I have both the 94 and 98 jzz3l and the VVTI engine one is badged as Toyota and the other under the Lexus badges . these are by far ahead of their time amazing smooooooooooth cars good solid engine responsive people are surprised by how good it is on fuel and they think it’s a late 2000 model car amazing on freeways head turner its nice to… Read more ·  3

have a unique car runs the same engine as the supra which are just the overpriced toy car version of these cars really not to complicated to service like with any import people are lazy or dumb and don’t know what they are doing that’s your mechanic they aint as complicated people make em out to be there just not enough info about em here in AU

Annoying to find parts yes everybody likes hitting ridiculous prices for switches etc the main thing is door pockets and window frame which tends to crack and snap , headlights taillights tend to get dirty but you can ebay some really nice aftermarket ones or if y our game open them up and clean yourself and for the later models 98 front bars ive had a hard time finding the front grill and spotties (spotties from the dodge intrepid 94-04 fog lights) fit they are clearer and cheaper quarter of the price some little modification needed if you google hard enough you will find pics of people who have done this mod overall I would by another and another best car everything amazing smooth car finding parts cant go to the wreckers and pick things up easily (but you can find)

Two Soarers – I had a V8 91 modeel for 4 years and 270,000km. Replaced the auto trans at 220km and had a water pump fail. Just sold a 97 VVTI single turbo after almost 9 years of ownership with 370km on it. Rebuilt the turbo at 260,000km and replaced all the seals at the front of the motor recently. Fantastic cars, 700km to a tank on the highway, 550 around… Read more

town. No other issues but agree the boot size is annoying

Wouild buy anoither any time great value for money

Bang for your buck, sexy car – The Toyota Soarer (Lexus SC300/400) came in a number of different trims and variations. There are at least 5 models I know about which were produced: 2.5L inline 6 Twin Turbo 1JZ 3.0L inline 6 N/A 2JZ 4.0L V8 1UZ UZZ30 - standard trim (velour, coil suspension) 4.0L V8 1UZ UZZ31 - higher spec (airbag suspension, standard headunit or EMV,… Read more

leather/elec seats etc.)

4.0L V8 1UZ UZZ32 - Highest spec (dynamic hydraulic suspension, EMV, elec seats, leather etc.)

I have owned my 1991 UZZ31 Soarer for about a year now and personally it is an alright car. The shape of the car is classic, classy and very stylish, and with the array of features found in the cars, you dont even realise that it is a 21 year old car most the time.

The 4L V8 Quad cam 1UZ motor produces 191Kw from the factory and about about 350Nm of torque through most of the range. The car pulls very well albeit a bit slow compared to newer cars and also considering it is a 1.6 tonne beast.

I have had to fix a number of things on my car so far and yes, it has been expensive.

So far I have put in 4-5 grand but this is including new 2 way limited slip diff, coilover suspension, exhaust, services etc. So a large amount of that is on parts that do not necessarily do not need to be replaced, just make sure you get it checked out before buying it or as I found out, the car can start becoming quite expensive. Also be wary of "low km" examples as the odometer is easily tampered with.

The car looks fantastic due to the shape, sounds amazing through a new exhaust, drives extremely well in city traffic or on long highway trips, is easy enough to park (bad turning circle and looooong front with looooong doors) and if you are gentle enough and drive smoothly, the fuel economy is actually pretty alright.

Will definitely recommend the Toyota Soarer to any new buyers if it is a good example of the car, just try get the UZZ32 variant. I have heard that under braking, not even the nose dips due to the hydraulic suspension and there is little/no body roll. Also if you plan on replacing the headunit, try to get a version without the EMV computer/touchscreen unless in full working condition. Those two things will make life just a little easier. Amount of car for the money, stylish, well put together, comfy, relatively economical, can sound epic, parts can be cheap Repairs can be expensive, lots of bad examples out there, suspension and bushes can wear fast, turning circle, slow compared to other cars

Excellent – We've had our Soarer for a couple of years and absolutely love it. The styling on the earlier models is a little dated at the front but ours is the last model with the restyled body kit. It looks better than the current "Soarer", the Lexus SC430. Economy is ordinary around town, but very good on the highway even at speed. Our car regularly… Read more ·  2

achieves 9l/100km, especially on BP Ultimate 98. Spares haven't been hard to find, and not badly priced either. It pays to shop around though as some counter jockers throw their hands in the air the minute they know they are dealing with an "import". The interior exudes quality and class, even though most of these cars are over a decade old now. The whole car is put together extremely well with quality parts, and lavish attention to detail as befits a car which would have cost close to $100,000 if it had been sold here new (the "replacement Soarer", the SC430, is $130,000). The engine can still hold its own against modern competitors and is still being made even today with one domestic Japanese model still using it with Lexus using it up until 2005 in the GS300 saloon. I am commenting here on the non-turbo 3.0 litre six, not having driven a Soarer equipped with either the 2.5l turbo or 4.0 V8 engines. Just a wonderful car, one which we'll treasure for years. Very little has gone wrong with the car during our two years of ownership, and it now has over 170,000km showing on the odometer (ours is genuine - be careful of alleged "low km" examples, the electronic speedo is easily tampered with). Beautiful, timeless styling, superb motor, very comfortable Boot is tiny given size of the car

Excellent – When i bought this car i was simply amazed on all the features it had. This car has a few features that I didn't think existed when it was made. Like airbags, touchscreen with reversing camera and so on. The car has done 250,000km and still going strong. The engine uses about 12.5L/100km and is very powerful. This is a car I would recommend… Read more ·  1

everyone. For the price I really don't this car can be beat, for reliablity, style, featues ext. Yes there are a few setbacks like the size of the boot and the doors are really long, but I suppose it is a sports coupe and you kind of expect thing like that. Highly recommeded car.

By the way I have the 1991 UZZ31 v8 Pretty much everything. The engine, interior and exterior look so modern for a car of it's age. Awesone stock sound system, electric everything I just love this car. The boot is small for a car a long as a falcon, the doors a very big and heavy, the fuel economy isn't the best.

Excellent – I have owned my soarer for close to 3 years now. I have had it regulary serviced and never had a problem with it. I have the 2.5 twin turbo model with a few goodies such as: fron mount intercooler, cold air intake, high flowed HKS turbos and cat back exhaust. Also have a fold out Pioneer DVD player with Vehicle Dynamics. Even with this list of… Read more ·  1

modifications it is still easy to drive everyday and doesnt attract the police attention unlike common skylines etc. Its comfortable and reliable offering great power at an affordable price. Aftermarket parts are hard to come by in Aus, so alot of parts I have ordered from the US. The toyota soarer was only released in Japan and imported to Australia where as the Lexus SC300 was built specifically for the US market. Both however still share the same engine and have slightly differant factory options and interior lay outs. classy look, power, comfort and style, awesome electronic dash a little thirsty on the juice, small boot space

Good – I've owned this car for just over 2 years now and have no major complaints. It's getting to be an old car but considering the age I have not really had any issues with it. I feel it's one of the best value for money cars around, I have the twin turbo model 1994 which puts out 206kw, for a car that costs under $10,000 these days there's not much… Read more

else you could get for that price which puts out the power of the Soarer.

I haven't found that parts are too difficult to find you just need to know where to look. This is probably the best car I've ever owned & I actually enjoy driving it on a daily basis - gets the looks too, a very stylish car with power to match. Power on tap, reliable & enjoyable to drive. A little thirsty, insurance is expensive & can be dangerous in the wet!