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.
My mom drove an 88 also. My freshly licensed brother was involved in an accident on the interstate vs a semi-truck and got bounced around like a pinball. The car was severely crushed on every corner. Surprisingly the insurance repaired it instead of totaling it. I drove and enjoyed the car for a number of years afterwards. Seeing them now brings back memories of the velour seats and all of the 1980s glory. My brother and sister were also not harmed whatsoever in the crash, impressive for a non-airbag car.
And much nicer than the first Lexus I saw/rode in, which was an obviously rebadged and re-trimmed Camry. ES series I think, can't remember the numbers after ES, a thoroughly forgettable early attempt. They should have started with the Cressida but that's my opinion and they seem to have done OK without my input :-)
@@justinb9223 Wow, nice! Lucky guy. I absolutely would have no complaints about owning one and put in my (tastefully done) very high quality sound system. They're good cars.
@@justinb9223 I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one today. Even if I had to restore the outside and/or the the interior, so long as the drivetrain was good, it would be worth it.
Hell yeah thats right😎✌am from the middle East persicly from Dubai I treasure a 1993 cresida wagon that use to be my dad's , intiriour & extiriour all stock to the bone I just made an engine swap to 1jz twin turbo!! I enjoy driving it on weekends more than my 2013 rangrover sport..this car got big time lagasy over here & got A LOT OF ADMIREREs over here❤ sorry for the book though🤣
@ATCkeepsUsafe In the gulf states (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar), American car brands are actually pretty popular. Not ad popular as Japanese and Korean but definitely more popular than most European brands. Crown Vic, Caprice, Tahoe, Expedition, Charger...etc
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
given the 1st lexus was the ES 250 ..which was nothing more than a dressed up camry..the Cressida was the better buy..Toyota learned their lessen and later came back strong with the LS 400...
John Drake they came out at the same time, but the ES was kind of a last-minute thing after they realized they spent all their time on the LS and didn’t have a more affordable counterpart to it
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.
@@FloridaPlayzYT yes, this generation came out for the 1985 model year. It was Toyota's luxury car, which was eventually discontinued when Toyota debuted it's new luxury brand, Lexus, in 1989.
WestSide I really don’t have that much time but here’s the top hits: MKII Supra MKIII Supra MKIV Supra ST-165 Celica Alltrac ST-185 Celica Alltrac AW11 MR2 SW20 MR2 ZZW30 MR2 UCF10 Lexus LS400 UCF20 Lexus lS400 SC300 SC400 Every version of the 4Runner Every version of the LandCruiser I can do this all day. Every one of those are better cars.
@@negativeindustrial I've owned multiple cars on that list- all JDM versions. LS400 I owned Celsior, SC300 I owned Soarer, MkIII Supra I had with 1JZ-GTE engine. I also owned a Cresta GT Twin Turbo (GX71) and that was honestly my favorite car of the bunch.
WestSide You slept on the SW20 Turbo. That’s where you fucked up IMO. It basically ruins you for all other cars. My ST-205 and my UCF20 haven’t moved an inch in two years.
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.
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.
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...
@@donaldloukjr.7260 Maybe the reason why people buy foreign like Toyota and Honda is because of reliability reputation, I'm not saying American vehicles are unreliable because my dad owns a Chevy Colorado 2007 and it's run like a charm.
Rally Rallo well I don't know you could be right it's possible but I still don't think people should continue to buy him that's why I feel our American Sales are down because of people buying too much that's why we lost the US market will you still want have a u.s. market but it's no longer US market and that makes me sad that we lost so many brands of our American cars because of the foreign parts or because they weren't selling or because the company had to file bankruptcy like General Motors or the company changing names and being sold or bought out by another company there's so much that's killing our brands of our American cars in the US and it makes me sick that we lost the US market to the overseas people China Japan Germany Mexico Canada Korea it just makes me sick that we lost our US market to these countries and more overseas that continue to ruin our sales and that's why people keep buying like you said Toyotas and Nissans Hondas I don't care where the stuff is made the names aren't American made they're not American names and that's what burns me up about it and just makes me sad and sick to my stomach that we lost the US market in the US we don't longer have a u.s. market because of people keep buying this junk but still killing ourselves as causing our factories to move out of the u.s. and go overseas which is not right that's why people need to start buying them or American cars they have American names like Chevy Ford Dodge why do people buy foreign like you said maybe because they're more reliable but they break down to and I don't want to kill the American economy cuz it's ruined enough and people just continue to destroy it and it just makes me sick it disappoints me that allow this to happen it should never signed that foreign trade with NAFTA that was a stupidest dumb mistake ever made and look what problems it's caused us or US market as far as our car business truck van SUV have a good day peace
@@donaldloukjr.7260 you sound like the one with no brains and all useless anger. Lol. Common sense car enthusiasts would know what a good car and whats not a good car, Japanese have a fleet of dependable, fun cars that can be tuned for whatever discipline you want to pursue. Drift, autoX, track, drag, etc.. Stop making a mockery of yourself, you give everyone a giggle while you're all upset. Lol
Holy shit, those walls of punctuation-free, redundant text were a pain to wade through. Free market provided us with better cars. Imagine how much worse American cars would’ve been in the 80’s had they been granted the gift of no foreign competition. Even the Oldsmobile Cutlass’s badge falls off in Motorweek’s video. See for yourself.
It sure beats all of these slow-ass cars trying waaay too hard to look aggressive and sporty. The amount of times I see some hatchback with red trim, aggressive lines, big rims and it turns out it has 75 hp lol
Dajour D we are in the same page buddy😎 shining like a star..except that i got it from my dad and am in my 20s & it got a twinturbo engine under the hood😁✌(deadly serious)
My dad’s car growing up was a gold one. It was fairly extravagant, but he had driven an old yellow Corolla until the driver door literally fell off, he had to tie it on with string to drive it to the dealer. So he had earned an upgrade.
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.
Hi, I have the same cressida :) but I don't know how works the automatic seat belt :( the automatic seat belt move into the car it's okay, but it's always free loose, it's normal?
My 1985 Cressida really looked good, and it gradually became even more stylish as the years went on. :-) I liked it a lot, but it rusted out after 15 years in a cold climate with lots of road salt.
A lot of posts here that have no idea of what they are talking about. The Cressida is legend and in Canada it didn't come with the stupid seat belts. I've owned four and they were all great and extremely reliable. My current '85 has 70, 000 miles and runs awesome. It also attracts a lot of admirers. We love to roll in this motoring classic from Japan.
Well said if you weren't alive in the 80's then you don't understand the history when Toyata, Honda , Datsun had arrived. Hence look at. early Celicas, Accords, Preludes,Maxima's ; Man they came out balling!😎
If you happen to be selling one in future, please let me know?? My name is Cressida... and I want to someday own a Toyota Cressida.. bc it just makes sense to meeee
Christopher Waits Toyota was still considered a "Japanese car", meaning inexpensive and flimsy in 1985. A Cadillac or Lincoln was a premiere luxury car and paying $17-20K for a Japanese car was considered outrageous. Yes, hard to believe, but the average American consumer didn't see Japanese cars as anything more than sensible "small" cars. The same could be said of BMW cars in the mid 70's, a tiny 2002 cost as much as a Cadillac, only liberal, college educated professionals bought them. Besides, all cars back then required frequent maintenance to keep them operational and reliability was more of a thing of the car not falling apart and burning out the engine inside of 100,000 miles. Retrospect isn't a thing that should be used to criticize the past as the future hadn't been written yet......
My father, a mechanic, fixed up a first generation model for someone back in the day. It was black, and I think it had a five speed. That was my first time knowing about the Cressida.
10 років тому
I love watching reviews on these old cars, especially one's that were made the same year I was born!!
My Dad had this very car in 1988 in the 2liter GLi6 auto guise - it was a magnificent car - quiet, amazing performance for a 2L straight six and super smooth and quiet, even at 180km/h on the open road - I loved it!
I wore out an 81 wagon,84 wagon,and a 88 sedan. Great dependable cars. Once the trans crapped out i dumped them. Awesome straight 6 motor. A real tank.
You're so right. I bought an 89 CRX HF that never needed anything but oil, tires and one clutch over the 125,000 miles I put on it. Plus being the high fuel economy model, I once drove from Philly to Boston on three quarters a tank of gas. It was amazingly reliable. I wish I kept it but a mustang cobra had my name on it (which incidentally was nowhere near as reliable lol)
This era was a particularly bad period of time for American engineering. Lack of R&D, poor marketing, corporate raiding of profits, and ridiculous union labor lead to an unsustainable American car market that ultimately produced, with few exceptions, POS's on the road. I
I always admired the handsome styling of this model Cressida. The Australian market 1985 Cressida had a grill with fine horizontal slats and clear wraparound indicator lenses instead of amber ones shown here. Taillights were slightly different too. It looked cleaner IMO. We adopted the grill and corner lamp treatment shown here for our "facelifted" model later.
I miss the front engine, rear-wheel drive Toyota Cressida. Why it was ever discontinued in favour of the front engine, front-wheel drive Avalon is beyond me.
pbfloyd13 The LS is a large car, with lots of available space. Most of their other rwd cars have very tight back seats. Their fwd ES, based on the Camry is in sharp contrast very roomy,
I had one of these but an 87 or 88. These were the cars back in the day, and the 86 88 Nissan maxima., 84 too. I loved that power button a lot , felt like 10 more horsepower then when the button was used. I used to hand cars L,s all the time till I raced that trans am and got left, then the fun was over. My buddy had a 1990 Cressida all black, the heat ac controls slide out the console to access. Your pre ls400.
The Cressida was the very first car I bought by myself. I had a 1992 burgundy Cressida. It was a gorgeous car! I loved that car! I wish I had kept it, I'd STILL drive it today in 2021!
Will go down as one of the worst ideas in history to actually become law. The seat belt that puts itself on, but you STILL have to buckle the lap belt. Had a friend who was hurt bad in an accident bcz she never thought she had to buckle the lap belt. Another friend told me he didn't have to buckle the lap belt because of the auto shoulder belt. Huge sense of false security.
This was my first car as a 16 yo in 1994 (the 1985, specifically). It was cool to see the interior features again, core memory unlocked. I got rid of it in 1998 or so, high miles and a lot of rust and the shade tree mechanic work you'd expect from a teenager to keep it on the road. One thing about the review, that ass end was super light and would lift up on you. Nonetheless, I'm glad I started on a rear wheel drive car. Good memories in this bugger.
itsmegp46 build quality and materials were top notch. This extended into the late 90s and early 2000s for Japanese cars. The reason why their build quality was outstanding was because of the yen. The japanese had so much money to burn on R&D, they manufactured 3 different versions of some models sometimes with their own distinct bodies. They dumped some of the craziest technologies on cars back then. In Japan, you could get a JDM "Cressida" with parking sonars, rear seat TV, cabin air cleaner, electric folding mirrors, twin turbo, 5 speed manual trans and a limited slip differential. Even the solid thunk of a 90's Toyota cannot be matched by whatever the bean counters are forcing them to make now unless its a Lexus.
CACressida I respectfully disagree. We are in fact now in a golden age of automobiles. Cars that can go 110,000 miles between tuneups, that will easily slide past 300,000 miles. Electric mirrors and cabin air cleaners are nothing new. Chrysler had cabin air cleaners in their cars equipped with air conditioning way back in 1955. Today's cars have anti-lock brakes, a hundred airbags, brake assist, traction control, multi-geared transmissions just to name a few.
I'll take this car way before I'll take anything the Big 3 made in 1985 sedan wise. Period. This was and still is an excellent car. That straight 6 is legend. Especially when you compare it to what the Big 3 were putting out back then.
I had a ‘76 Datsun 280Z and it was fantastic, so I knew the Datsun brand in that era. However, I bought my wife an ‘81 Cressida, which was the top of the line for Toyota in the U.S. market. It had a nice darkish blue exterior and electric sunroof, with a medium blue plush velour interior, automatic trans, all the power and electric goodies, of course, and ours had a fantastic factory radio with a graphic equalizer prominently built-in across the front; basically everything available from the factory while avoiding the dealer-installed crap the regional Toyota distributors tried to force on customers in those days that tended to just look tacky inside and out, and of course jack up the bottom line. They had kind of a racket going with all the power they wielded in the U.S. in those days, like Jim Moran in Florida who owned Southeast Toyota and ran it like the Dallas Cowboys owner. As I said, I loved my Datsun, but in a side-by-side comparison for the pre-Lexus luxury leader, the Toyota beat (Nissan), hands down, no question. (Although I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Datsun came out on top in under the hood performance.) They finally figured out what the American market was looking for in exterior design after some really frumpy-looking cars before then, but those late 70s and 80s was a great era for the Japanese as they were really beginning to get things established for the total dominance of the mainstream market in the years to follow. I owned Datsun, Honda’s, and Toyota’s and loved every one.. ~Sticks-of-TNT
Comfy seats and ride, quiet on the inside, 4 disc brakes, electric fuel injection, straight 6 DOHC engine, RWD, electric windows, mirrors etc, i like the boxy old school design, reliable... One of the best cars of the 80's imo. Other this type of japanese cars i really like from the 80's are Toyota Crown, Century, and Nissan Cedric.
@MotorWeek Do you have a video on the 85 Nissan Maxima. My Aunt had one, I remember when you opened the door and it said door is ajar door is ajar.. haha
The reason I first looked at this car was a friend who told be he never serviced his Cressida, and couldn't remember ever changing the oil. I believed him. My Cressida got recommended service and was INDESTRUCTIBLE. The only car that exceeded it was my 1989 Cressida. Of course I loved the styling, the interior, the performance. (I also drove a 1999 Lexus RX.)
My cousin and ex had one of these back in the 90's same colour as this one. I thought it was luxurious back then. But i remember driving my cousins on 285 in Atlanta and it wouldn't go over 85mph. Fun times
They don’t make them like this anymore. No useless tech and things that will break in a few years. Just quality, comfort, performance, and reliability!
My parents had an 86 camry. It had that same overdrive button. I had forgot all about the overdrive button until I saw this. It was that same steering wheel and the dash was similar. But the Camry wasn't as luxurious, it was FWD and it was a lot cheaper.
A very unique feature in this year's 1985s cressida was its digital meter gauge dashboard, looks really beautiful at night, The only problem in this car was that head gasket were the main problem. Head gasket on cressidas were leaking all the time and blowing up.
My parents owned a 1982 Maxima but we always felt the Cressida was probably a better car. I didn't realize it had sporting pretensions, though; I always thought it was a softly-spring luxury car.
Yes and no. The Avalon did take the place of the Cressida in Toyota’s lineup, but the Lexus GS was the closest we got to it from 1993 on. The car was produced until 2007 in Japan.
That steel grey/ blue color was super popular in the 80s though most of the cars that had it in the high school parking lot were Nissan Sentras and Honda Civics.
Parents had a 86 wagon that was a total sleeper, shifted in to OD at 115mph DOHC straight six rocket ship. Car was so far ahead of it time I wish they still made them.
I always thought the Cressida to be Toyota's answer to Nissan's new Maxima. Yet the Cressida was rear dive, and if available with a 5 spd., even better. And for once, had a nicer engine than Nissan. Cushy Japanese version of American luxury interior with new (for the day) electronic dodads. They were around here and there when a few years old, came and went, and are nowhere to be seen these days. A rare bird.
I always wanted a Cressida, I had a Supra and that engine was so sweet, though not very powerful. I day dreamed about putting a twin turbo late model Supra engine into a Cressida along with the 6 speed. Man you'd have one hell of a sleeper and a smooth running sedan. I drove a twin turbo Supra and it was a wonderful car. Easy to drive, fast as hell, and nice and tame if you were easy on it. I got a great deal on a used low miles 91? Lexus 400 LS. It's a heck of a car, but it's too "buttery" for me. I wish it leaned more towards a BMW in character. It'll go like stink, but you can barely tell it shifted gears. While it'll corner pretty flat, big sway bars, the springs/shocks allow it to move up and down over bumps as if it doesn't want you to know you've hit any. It's just so numb feeling, it's not a "driver's" car so to speak.
![1985 Toyota Cressida [MX73] Review](/img/n.gif)
Honestly would rather have more old school review than new, new cars are boring. Thanks for all the classic video posts.
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.
My mom drove an 88 also. My freshly licensed brother was involved in an accident on the interstate vs a semi-truck and got bounced around like a pinball. The car was severely crushed on every corner. Surprisingly the insurance repaired it instead of totaling it. I drove and enjoyed the car for a number of years afterwards. Seeing them now brings back memories of the velour seats and all of the 1980s glory.
My brother and sister were also not harmed whatsoever in the crash, impressive for a non-airbag car.
Liar
classic toyota
@@Maximus20778
Douche
how do you go the wrong way, was the guy drunk lol.
Lexus before Lexus.
churchofmarcus lol
And much nicer than the first Lexus I saw/rode in, which was an obviously rebadged and re-trimmed Camry. ES series I think, can't remember the numbers after ES, a thoroughly forgettable early attempt. They should have started with the Cressida but that's my opinion and they seem to have done OK without my input :-)
@@JDMHaze You may laugh but it's true.
albear972 Well I certainly agree, no arguments there
You are so right. Rear wheel drive luxury of the 70s and 80s.
A trip computer that remembers birthdays? to quote Jeremy Clarkson, "NOT EVEN A MAYBACH HAS THIS!"
Motorweek is how car reviews should be done. there is no need to bash the car for showmanship just straight honest tests and opinions.
i would still be proud to drive this today.
I drive an 87 to work every day. It only has 160k miles and I bought it from my neighbor for $370!!
@@justinb9223 Wow, nice! Lucky guy. I absolutely would have no complaints about owning one and put in my (tastefully done) very high quality sound system. They're good cars.
@@justinb9223 I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one today. Even if I had to restore the outside and/or the the interior, so long as the drivetrain was good, it would be worth it.
I do.
Noseefood my stepmom had one. It was great to drive as long as the road was clear if it was wet, icy or had snow better off on a broomstick.
Cressidas are absolute legends in the Middle East! This and the Caprice Classic were the road kinds of the 1980s.
MotoringMiddleEast yes most to see in trucks and four door cars..are and still today... Toyota's and Chevys..they rule the mid east.
Hell yeah thats right😎✌am from the middle East persicly from Dubai I treasure a 1993 cresida wagon that use to be my dad's , intiriour & extiriour all stock to the bone I just made an engine swap to 1jz twin turbo!! I enjoy driving it on weekends more than my 2013 rangrover sport..this car got big time lagasy over here & got A LOT OF ADMIREREs over here❤ sorry for the book though🤣
Don’t see any Caprices on the road, anymore. Still see a few Crown Vic’s and LTDs
Your reviews are terrible imo
@ATCkeepsUsafe In the gulf states (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar), American car brands are actually pretty popular. Not ad popular as Japanese and Korean but definitely more popular than most European brands. Crown Vic, Caprice, Tahoe, Expedition, Charger...etc
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!
Very beautiful this Toyota Cressida, nice and confortable car
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.
YES!! FINALLY the Cressida. These cars are a rare sight now. Thanks for uploading this!!
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.
4 Wheel disc brakes, DOHC, Trip computer! in 1985?
Also one button open sunroof, heated mirrors and automatic climate control
+Soca Nick And 4 wheel independent suspension
It's called an expensive car.
soft touch radio controls. SOLD.
The Toyota Soarer had in-dash navigation just a few years later.
My boss had one of these back in '85. I drove it on occasion and it was very impressive.
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.
I'm so jealous....
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!
The grandaddy of the Lexus brand.
Oh no my B R A N D
given the 1st lexus was the ES 250 ..which was nothing more than a dressed up camry..the Cressida was the better buy..Toyota learned their lessen and later came back strong with the LS 400...
@@arionassis-niarchos2895 I was under the impression the LS came first, then the ES, or that they both came out simultaneously.
John Drake they came out at the same time, but the ES was kind of a last-minute thing after they realized they spent all their time on the LS and didn’t have a more affordable counterpart to it
@@interstate366 Makes sense.
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.
Oh so this was really made in 1985?
@@FloridaPlayzYT yes, this generation came out for the 1985 model year. It was Toyota's luxury car, which was eventually discontinued when Toyota debuted it's new luxury brand, Lexus, in 1989.
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!
I'm kind of a fan of that digital tachometer, it looks pretty cool!
The Cressida was the best car Toyota ever brought to the U.S.
WestSide
🤣 no
@@negativeindustrial Thanks for responding after 4 years, must be a crowning achievement of your life. Please lmk which car was better, thanks.
WestSide
I really don’t have that much time but here’s the top hits:
MKII Supra
MKIII Supra
MKIV Supra
ST-165 Celica Alltrac
ST-185 Celica Alltrac
AW11 MR2
SW20 MR2
ZZW30 MR2
UCF10 Lexus LS400
UCF20 Lexus lS400
SC300
SC400
Every version of the 4Runner
Every version of the LandCruiser
I can do this all day. Every one of those are better cars.
@@negativeindustrial I've owned multiple cars on that list- all JDM versions. LS400 I owned Celsior, SC300 I owned Soarer, MkIII Supra I had with 1JZ-GTE engine. I also owned a Cresta GT Twin Turbo (GX71) and that was honestly my favorite car of the bunch.
WestSide
You slept on the SW20 Turbo. That’s where you fucked up IMO. It basically ruins you for all other cars. My ST-205 and my UCF20 haven’t moved an inch in two years.
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.
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.
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...
Fantastic car. Oh, how I miss rear-wheel drive Toyotas.
donald louk jr. well say it like u mean it
@@donaldloukjr.7260 Maybe the reason why people buy foreign like Toyota and Honda is because of reliability reputation, I'm not saying American vehicles are unreliable because my dad owns a Chevy Colorado 2007 and it's run like a charm.
Rally Rallo well I don't know you could be right it's possible but I still don't think people should continue to buy him that's why I feel our American Sales are down because of people buying too much that's why we lost the US market will you still want have a u.s. market but it's no longer US market and that makes me sad that we lost so many brands of our American cars because of the foreign parts or because they weren't selling or because the company had to file bankruptcy like General Motors or the company changing names and being sold or bought out by another company there's so much that's killing our brands of our American cars in the US and it makes me sick that we lost the US market to the overseas people China Japan Germany Mexico Canada Korea it just makes me sick that we lost our US market to these countries and more overseas that continue to ruin our sales and that's why people keep buying like you said Toyotas and Nissans Hondas I don't care where the stuff is made the names aren't American made they're not American names and that's what burns me up about it and just makes me sad and sick to my stomach that we lost the US market in the US we don't longer have a u.s. market because of people keep buying this junk but still killing ourselves as causing our factories to move out of the u.s. and go overseas which is not right that's why people need to start buying them or American cars they have American names like Chevy Ford Dodge why do people buy foreign like you said maybe because they're more reliable but they break down to and I don't want to kill the American economy cuz it's ruined enough and people just continue to destroy it and it just makes me sick it disappoints me that allow this to happen it should never signed that foreign trade with NAFTA that was a stupidest dumb mistake ever made and look what problems it's caused us or US market as far as our car business truck van SUV have a good day peace
@@donaldloukjr.7260 you sound like the one with no brains and all useless anger. Lol. Common sense car enthusiasts would know what a good car and whats not a good car, Japanese have a fleet of dependable, fun cars that can be tuned for whatever discipline you want to pursue. Drift, autoX, track, drag, etc..
Stop making a mockery of yourself, you give everyone a giggle while you're all upset. Lol
Holy shit, those walls of punctuation-free, redundant text were a pain to wade through. Free market provided us with better cars. Imagine how much worse American cars would’ve been in the 80’s had they been granted the gift of no foreign competition. Even the Oldsmobile Cutlass’s badge falls off in Motorweek’s video. See for yourself.
Generic 80's car incoming! I love these old designs. Old Caprices, Cadillacs, early Camrys...I don't get the hate.
I don't get the hate either. Stupid people as far as i'm concerned.
These "generic" 80s designs have loads more soul than the newer models that inspire no-one.
You left out the Volvos and VW Jettas from the same era.
It sure beats all of these slow-ass cars trying waaay too hard to look aggressive and sporty. The amount of times I see some hatchback with red trim, aggressive lines, big rims and it turns out it has 75 hp lol
@@HamsterWheelGaming you're joking serious right? No car pulls 75hp in modern times lol
@@Maximus20778 they absolutely do. Kia Picanto, Volkswagen Up, Toyota Aygo, Mitsubishi Mirage...they all hover around the 70-80hp range.
I love those old reviews
I owned one of these cars in 2005 and it drove better than my newer Acura.
These reviews are great, I'm excited every time I go on 'tube and check my subs!
I still got mines!!! Still like brand new!!!
1985 Cressida? how many km on it?
Dajour D we are in the same page buddy😎 shining like a star..except that i got it from my dad and am in my 20s & it got a twinturbo engine under the hood😁✌(deadly serious)
Lies!
man, i love japanese 80s cars, they are amazing
Early Lexus.
Yelp.
2:13 ...It even remembers birthdays.
That's my birthday!
The fact that they said "the orientals" 😂😂😂 got me laughing
And $56k in 2024 dollars. Wild!
@@Gr8thxAlot Which is now close to average for the price of a car.
My dad’s car growing up was a gold one. It was fairly extravagant, but he had driven an old yellow Corolla until the driver door literally fell off, he had to tie it on with string to drive it to the dealer. So he had earned an upgrade.
Awesome cars
I love what you do for me, Toyota!
1979irock Don't forget to jump up in the air while saying that.
You got it Toyota!!
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.
I always loved the Toyota Cressida.. One hell of a car!
I have one is a little bit rusty but runs good and fast !
Hi, I have the same cressida :) but I don't know how works the automatic seat belt :( the automatic seat belt move into the car it's okay, but it's always free loose, it's normal?
My parents had this and it was so retro when I would borrow it in the late 90s. Everyone loved it! Digital displays were cool.
My 1985 Cressida really looked good, and it gradually became even more stylish as the years went on. :-) I liked it a lot, but it rusted out after 15 years in a cold climate with lots of road salt.
A lot of posts here that have no idea of what they are talking about. The Cressida is legend and in Canada it didn't come with the stupid seat belts. I've owned four and they were all great and extremely reliable. My current '85 has 70, 000 miles and runs awesome. It also attracts a lot of admirers. We love to roll in this motoring classic from Japan.
70,000mles? my 2014 has 70,000
Well said if you weren't alive in the 80's then you don't understand the history when Toyata, Honda , Datsun had arrived. Hence look at. early Celicas, Accords, Preludes,Maxima's ; Man they came out balling!😎
Wellcome to the club💪😎✌
james blatchford just bought one myself and it has 53k original old man miles. It’s such a nice car!
If you happen to be selling one in future, please let me know?? My name is Cressida... and I want to someday own a Toyota Cressida.. bc it just makes sense to meeee
At 6:35 "Orientals"...LOL! That was 1985 for sure...
Haha I caught that, too. I'm like, "When did he start reviewing rugs?"
Back when every little whiny asswipe didn't get offended by words.
Orient is Latin for East.
Noted that as well.. Didn't sound right.. Funny how you notice things.. Things change folks.. It's ok.
J Gravitas Around here we still say "oriental" to refer to Far East Asians. Don't see how that term made you laugh...
I love how $17k was "lofty" lmao. Lets go back to the 80s
In today's money it was close to $38,000
17k was lofty if you made 30k. 38,000 is pretty lofty.
You could get a Lincoln or a Caddy for that price in 85.
Milford Civic yeah...and you'd get a worse car. Cressida is a bargain compared to those.
Christopher Waits Toyota was still considered a "Japanese car", meaning inexpensive and flimsy in 1985. A Cadillac or Lincoln was a premiere luxury car and paying $17-20K for a Japanese car was considered outrageous. Yes, hard to believe, but the average American consumer didn't see Japanese cars as anything more than sensible "small" cars. The same could be said of BMW cars in the mid 70's, a tiny 2002 cost as much as a Cadillac, only liberal, college educated professionals bought them. Besides, all cars back then required frequent maintenance to keep them operational and reliability was more of a thing of the car not falling apart and burning out the engine inside of 100,000 miles.
Retrospect isn't a thing that should be used to criticize the past as the future hadn't been written yet......
My father, a mechanic, fixed up a first generation model for someone back in the day. It was black, and I think it had a five speed. That was my first time knowing about the Cressida.
I love watching reviews on these old cars, especially one's that were made the same year I was born!!
My Dad had this very car in 1988 in the 2liter GLi6 auto guise - it was a magnificent car - quiet, amazing performance for a 2L straight six and super smooth and quiet, even at 180km/h on the open road - I loved it!
I wore out an 81 wagon,84 wagon,and a 88 sedan. Great dependable cars. Once the trans crapped out i dumped them. Awesome straight 6 motor. A real tank.
Dull looks but dependable. Japanese cars were and are still desirable if you're looking for a hassle-free vehicle.
You're so right. I bought an 89 CRX HF that never needed anything but oil, tires and one clutch over the 125,000 miles I put on it. Plus being the high fuel economy model, I once drove from Philly to Boston on three quarters a tank of gas. It was amazingly reliable. I wish I kept it but a mustang cobra had my name on it (which incidentally was nowhere near as reliable lol)
This era was a particularly bad period of time for American engineering. Lack of R&D, poor marketing, corporate raiding of profits, and ridiculous union labor lead to an unsustainable American car market that ultimately produced, with few exceptions, POS's on the road. I
You should be able to get at least 200 - 300 thousand miles from that car with proper maintenance.
Jert1000 it was the 80s.....Everything Looked like this 😂
I always admired the handsome styling of this model Cressida.
The Australian market 1985 Cressida had a grill with fine horizontal slats and clear wraparound indicator lenses instead of amber ones shown here. Taillights were slightly different too. It looked cleaner IMO. We adopted the grill and corner lamp treatment shown here for our "facelifted" model later.
I love these MOTOR WEEK videos.
They are very educational.
Where would one have 1st seen
these back in the day??
I miss the front engine, rear-wheel drive Toyota Cressida. Why it was ever discontinued in favour of the front engine, front-wheel drive Avalon is beyond me.
The switch to front wheel drive opens up more interior room and trunk space. No transmission bell housing, no driveline hump, no rear differential.
That's true.
Lexus?
pbfloyd13 The LS is a large car, with lots of available space. Most of their other rwd cars have very tight back seats. Their fwd ES, based on the Camry is in sharp contrast very roomy,
itsmegp46 If you watched the review, the Cressida isn't exactly super spacious...
I had one of these but an 87 or 88. These were the cars back in the day, and the 86 88 Nissan maxima., 84 too. I loved that power button a lot , felt like 10 more horsepower then when the button was used. I used to hand cars L,s all the time till I raced that trans am and got left, then the fun was over. My buddy had a 1990 Cressida all black, the heat ac controls slide out the console to access. Your pre ls400.
The Cressida was the very first car I bought by myself. I had a 1992 burgundy Cressida.
It was a gorgeous car!
I loved that car!
I wish I had kept it, I'd STILL drive it today in 2021!
You must be a fan of Family Guy!!!!!
Among the things that are gone and not missed, automatic seatbelts. I swear those things were designed to strangle anyone over 6' tall.
Will go down as one of the worst ideas in history to actually become law. The seat belt that puts itself on, but you STILL have to buckle the lap belt. Had a friend who was hurt bad in an accident bcz she never thought she had to buckle the lap belt. Another friend told me he didn't have to buckle the lap belt because of the auto shoulder belt. Huge sense of false security.
It's funny how cars grow in size/class over the years. The modern Toyota Corolla is larger than this Cressida and the Camry of the same era.
3:00 Had a similar couch in my living room.
This was my first car as a 16 yo in 1994 (the 1985, specifically). It was cool to see the interior features again, core memory unlocked. I got rid of it in 1998 or so, high miles and a lot of rust and the shade tree mechanic work you'd expect from a teenager to keep it on the road. One thing about the review, that ass end was super light and would lift up on you. Nonetheless, I'm glad I started on a rear wheel drive car. Good memories in this bugger.
My older brother use to work for BrownsToyota in Glen Burnie MD and he love these. The Maxima was the other luxury car of the day.
Beats all today's cars. Not even Toyota can makes cars this good anymore.
What was so good about it?
itsmegp46 build quality and materials were top notch. This extended into the late 90s and early 2000s for Japanese cars. The reason why their build quality was outstanding was because of the yen. The japanese had so much money to burn on R&D, they manufactured 3 different versions of some models sometimes with their own distinct bodies. They dumped some of the craziest technologies on cars back then. In Japan, you could get a JDM "Cressida" with parking sonars, rear seat TV, cabin air cleaner, electric folding mirrors, twin turbo, 5 speed manual trans and a limited slip differential. Even the solid thunk of a 90's Toyota cannot be matched by whatever the bean counters are forcing them to make now unless its a Lexus.
CACressida I respectfully disagree. We are in fact now in a golden age of automobiles. Cars that can go 110,000 miles between tuneups, that will easily slide past 300,000 miles. Electric mirrors and cabin air cleaners are nothing new. Chrysler had cabin air cleaners in their cars equipped with air conditioning way back in 1955. Today's cars have anti-lock brakes, a hundred airbags, brake assist, traction control, multi-geared transmissions just to name a few.
Would happily own and drive one of these in 2024, still one of the best engines ever. Often used to swap out into utes in SA
A Supras I-6? Are the internals just as bullet proof? Dare I dream of a 4 door mid 80s boxy turbo monster?
Did he just said " cressida with 5 speed manual " i never thought the even made 5 speed cressidas no in the USA or even my country RD
Yeah cressida came 5speed from 1979- to 1988 in the u.s.
Yup very rare but very true knew a guy that had one in ny back in 91 good memories gone are those days
No 5-speed Cressida for Canada unfortunately. At least we didn’t get those irritating passive shoulder belts!
I'll take this car way before I'll take anything the Big 3 made in 1985 sedan wise. Period. This was and still is an excellent car. That straight 6 is legend. Especially when you compare it to what the Big 3 were putting out back then.
A 2JZ w good size turbo swap with stock rims would be one hell of a sleeper :)
Chris Dooley Go look up: Backyard build here on youtube. Really cool videos :)
In Japan, when the Cressida was cancelled, they created the Chaser. They gave it a 1JZGTE engine, which is smaller version of the 2JZGTE.
There is a guy that has a 400ls1 in one now that’s a sleeper it looks completely stock
I had a ‘76 Datsun 280Z and it was fantastic, so I knew the Datsun brand in that era. However, I bought my wife an ‘81 Cressida, which was the top of the line for Toyota in the U.S. market. It had a nice darkish blue exterior and electric sunroof, with a medium blue plush velour interior, automatic trans, all the power and electric goodies, of course, and ours had a fantastic factory radio with a graphic equalizer prominently built-in across the front; basically everything available from the factory while avoiding the dealer-installed crap the regional Toyota distributors tried to force on customers in those days that tended to just look tacky inside and out, and of course jack up the bottom line. They had kind of a racket going with all the power they wielded in the U.S. in those days, like Jim Moran in Florida who owned Southeast Toyota and ran it like the Dallas Cowboys owner. As I said, I loved my Datsun, but in a side-by-side comparison for the pre-Lexus luxury leader, the Toyota beat (Nissan), hands down, no question. (Although I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Datsun came out on top in under the hood performance.) They finally figured out what the American market was looking for in exterior design after some really frumpy-looking cars before then, but those late 70s and 80s was a great era for the Japanese as they were really beginning to get things established for the total dominance of the mainstream market in the years to follow. I owned Datsun, Honda’s, and Toyota’s and loved every one.. ~Sticks-of-TNT
I still see these on the road from time to time.
I didn't like them back in the day, but now I do...
i love how those wheels where considered 'wide' now my 245 45 r18's are considered small hahaha
Comfy seats and ride, quiet on the inside, 4 disc brakes, electric fuel injection, straight 6 DOHC engine, RWD, electric windows, mirrors etc, i like the boxy old school design, reliable...
One of the best cars of the 80's imo.
Other this type of japanese cars i really like from the 80's are Toyota Crown, Century, and Nissan Cedric.
Were so flash back in the day. Sold for close to 50K here in NZ for the GLX2.8i. Certainly don't see many these days.
Wow that upholstery
Aaah!!!!! The good old days when cars were built simple with great reliability and were mean to last.
Amo ése automóvil con una tecnología avanzada a su época
@MotorWeek Do you have a video on the 85 Nissan Maxima. My Aunt had one, I remember when you opened the door and it said door is ajar door is ajar.. haha
The reason I first looked at this car was a friend who told be he never serviced his Cressida, and couldn't remember ever changing the oil. I believed him. My Cressida got recommended service and was INDESTRUCTIBLE. The only car that exceeded it was my 1989 Cressida. Of course I loved the styling, the interior, the performance. (I also drove a 1999 Lexus RX.)
THOSE GOD DAMN ORIENTALS
My cousin and ex had one of these back in the 90's same colour as this one. I thought it was luxurious back then. But i remember driving my cousins on 285 in Atlanta and it wouldn't go over 85mph. Fun times
I had an ‘87. Bought it new as a youngster. It was very luxurious.
They don’t make them like this anymore. No useless tech and things that will break in a few years. Just quality, comfort, performance, and reliability!
I called the Cressida as the mini Aston Martin Lagonda, because of the styling. Only thing that doesn't look like the Lagonda is the steering wheel.
get a load of those flush-mount headlights lol
HAhahahahaha
Mine came with headlight washers. They were just nozzles for washer fluid that were operated by a special button.
Mind you, sealed beams were the norm in 1985
I wonder how many of these actually came with a 5 speed lol
+Matthew Hutzell And back then "5-speed" meant manual. Even my 1995 Maxima only had a 4-speed auto.
I still have mine which is an original 5-speed
+Soca Nick you still have what car?
+Zee B the Cressida
+Soca Nick you have a 1985 Toyota Cressida? wow! 31 years old car? if so, in what country are you? how many miles on it?
I remember this car it came out when I graduated from high school the same year this car had one problem valve train horrendous
My dad had the 1984 model,beautiful car.
My parents had an 86 camry. It had that same overdrive button. I had forgot all about the overdrive button until I saw this. It was that same steering wheel and the dash was similar. But the Camry wasn't as luxurious, it was FWD and it was a lot cheaper.
Nissan used the same kind of button on their 4 speed automatics.
A very unique feature in this year's 1985s cressida was its digital meter gauge dashboard, looks really beautiful at night, The only problem in this car was that head gasket were the main problem. Head gasket on cressidas were leaking all the time and blowing up.
I thought that was only on the 7M-GTE?
I had this same year car..back in 94...I miss that car...with that rear wheel drive...whoa.
My parents owned a 1982 Maxima but we always felt the Cressida was probably a better car. I didn't realize it had sporting pretensions, though; I always thought it was a softly-spring luxury car.
It was a softly sprung car. My brother had this same car. Driving it felt like you were sitting in a hot fudge sundae.
itsmegp46 Hot and cold at the same time with a side of fear for your life because you're about to be eaten? Sounds fun.
I suppose the Avalon replaced the Cressida.
Robert Moore yep you're right around 1994
Sort of. The Cressida was RWD, though.
It did, and don't know why. Luxury over performance, I guess.
Yes and no. The Avalon did take the place of the Cressida in Toyota’s lineup, but the Lexus GS was the closest we got to it from 1993 on. The car was produced until 2007 in Japan.
I would consider the Avalon as a spiritual replacement to the Cressida
That steel grey/ blue color was super popular in the 80s though most of the cars that had it in the high school parking lot were Nissan Sentras and Honda Civics.
Those "Orientals" can make a decent car. Who knew?
I LOVE these vintage reviews!
Parents had a 86 wagon that was a total sleeper, shifted in to OD at 115mph DOHC straight six rocket ship. Car was so far ahead of it time I wish they still made them.
Toyota needs to bring back the cressida with a 350-400 hp V-6 with rwd and updated luxury!
Aspie Otaku That is the purpose of Lexus... Lexus IS-F, RC-F...
Richtofen Pascua Oh shit your right, never thought of that lol!
Hehe yeah, it's easy to not think of Lexus as a Toyota sometimes. I used to make that mistake as well.
Richtofen Pascua Still better than BMW can bring, they cry like a bitch when their m3 loses to the ISF lmao!
+Aspie Otaku Well, there's its successor: the Avalon.
I remember these in two tone beige with pin-striping with a brown interior. Very, very 80's!
watching these retro reviews makes me want to cry because ill never gets to experience these cars in their original state.
I wish I was born earlier.
I always thought the Cressida to be Toyota's answer to Nissan's new Maxima. Yet the Cressida was rear dive, and if available with a 5 spd., even better. And for once, had a nicer engine than Nissan. Cushy Japanese version of American luxury interior with new (for the day) electronic dodads. They were around here and there when a few years old, came and went, and are nowhere to be seen these days. A rare bird.
I always wanted a Cressida, I had a Supra and that engine was so sweet, though not very powerful. I day dreamed about putting a twin turbo late model Supra engine into a Cressida along with the 6 speed. Man you'd have one hell of a sleeper and a smooth running sedan. I drove a twin turbo Supra and it was a wonderful car. Easy to drive, fast as hell, and nice and tame if you were easy on it.
I got a great deal on a used low miles 91? Lexus 400 LS. It's a heck of a car, but it's too "buttery" for me. I wish it leaned more towards a BMW in character. It'll go like stink, but you can barely tell it shifted gears. While it'll corner pretty flat, big sway bars, the springs/shocks allow it to move up and down over bumps as if it doesn't want you to know you've hit any. It's just so numb feeling, it's not a "driver's" car so to speak.
An equalizer for the stereo...nice touch.
damn this thing could be a drift monster