MotorWeek | Retro Review: '85 Toyota Cressida

2JZ swap!

[brspeedysgarage]

Honestly would rather have more old school review than new, new cars are boring.   Thanks for all the classic video posts.

[realRichHunting]

My parents had an '88 Cressida. It was a great car! It had all of the options. I got into an accident with it when I first got my license. A Chevy 1500 truck was going the wrong way on the highway and smashed into the front of the Cressida. The Cressida was totaled, but I did not have a scratch on me and the car still turned on after it was completely smashed.

[zackdl]

A trip computer that remembers birthdays? to quote Jeremy Clarkson, "NOT EVEN A MAYBACH HAS THIS!"

[lumotaku]

Motorweek is how car reviews should be done. there is no need to bash the car for showmanship just straight honest tests and opinions.

[emmexfyv]

Awesome. I had one, black with dark red leather. One of my favorite cars ever, that smooth inline 6 and perfect ride/handling mix. If I could buy a new one today I would.

[MotoringMiddleEast]

Cressidas are absolute legends in the Middle East! This and the Caprice Classic were the road kinds of the 1980s.

[ivorton]

YES!! FINALLY the Cressida. These cars are a rare sight now. Thanks for uploading this!!

[noseefood]

i would still be proud to drive this today.

[dougn]

My boss had one of these back in '85. I drove it on occasion and it was very impressive.

[loaferguy]

Maximas and Cressidas are what started the "sports/luxury" sedan segment from Japan. Now one is pure Cruiser type and the Max is struggling to try to hold on to its sporty image!

[ryanhodges]

I learned to drive in one of these. My grandmother had one. It was an extremely reliable and comfortable car. It was also pretty fast with that Supra engine. It had more buttons and doo-dads than any car I've had since. I really miss it.

[prestonhumphries]

I bought this as my first car about 2-3 years ago for $700 with about 60, 000 miles on it and in a pretty good condition. Only downside is the last owner removed the radio :/

Anyways I have owned and drove it plenty of times now and I have been able to drive other cars since I got it and I have to say I love the way it drives and how much window space there is. A lot of vehicles I've driven I feel like there are too many blind spots and with the Toyota Cressida that isn't the case at all. Besides the way it drives, the comfort of the seats, and how clearly you can see out, it does have downsides though.

Since it's rear wheel drive, during the winter it's really dangerous to drive and the back likes to fish tail. Also with the one I bought the air conditioner only gives you the option of cool air on high or hot air (after its finally warmed up) on high. The last downside is that there aren't any cup holders, but that's a given since it's an older car.

All in all even though my Toyota Cressida has downsides the upsides out way them in my opinion and I love the car!

[FerrariCarr]

Someone at my college used to drive one of these. I would see it in the same parking deck I always used to park in, and it was in remarkably good shape! It was just so funny seeing it parked next to more beefed up/swollen/bulky modern cars. I know this was considered a mid-size back then, but now it might be considered a compact just because of how much cars grew over the last few decades.

[hakeemsdm]

One of my dreams is to find a clean, pristine Cressida. Those cushy seats for '85 look deliciously comfortable. The straight 6 motor from the awesome Celica supra? Sign me up. One of the best MotorWeek episodes I've ever seen.

[johnhiram]

A friend had one and it was a very nice car for that day! A great deal for that price. His was a 5 speed and it was very fun to drive!

[smokelife]

Thanks Motorweek for posting this Retro Review for the '85 Cressida.  My family bought one new, and it was a great car.  It certainly drew lots of looks in it's day because, as you say, there just wasn't much of anything that looked like it in its day.  Audi meets Park Avenue.  There wasn't anything like it on the street. As a longtime viewer, I remember seeing this review back in 1985, and remember how the conservative/ahead of its time styling caught my eye.

[robfromtherich]

Oh the memories, I owned an ‘86 about 24 years ago. Fantastic car, more than adequate power, less than adequate handling but it wasn’t pretentious enough to think it was a BMW 5 series. Great highway cruising car with decent MPG. They really don’t make em like they used to...

[pittmanjt]

I had one back in the day. The outside was pretty slick looking...the flush side windows were rare back then. But when a friend would get inside for the first time, the reaction was always "WOW! This is a Toyota??" My dad called it a rolling bordello because of the plush seats that were as overstated as the Buicks and Caddys of the day. One of the nicer cars I've owned.

[osamaFXX]

4 Wheel disc brakes, DOHC, Trip computer! in 1985?

[NeoGee]

While the Cressida, was discontinued in the States in 1992 and eventually replaced by the Avalon, in Japan the Mark II as it was called there, carried on for 3 more generations for a total of 9 when it was replaced in 2004 by the Mark X. The Mark X is getting long in the tooth now as it's 2nd generation has been around since 2009. About the same size as the current Camry, it's still a RWD vehicle with optional AWD.