So long Solara, it's been nice knowing you

[Kini]

Today I drop my 04 SE Sport V6 off at the dealer and say goodbye. It was fun (most of the time) while it lasted. Having kids and a 2 door was more of a pain than I anticipated and I just wasn't happy with the transmission, the sloppy, erratic shifting and intermittent slipping. So today I pick up my new ride, a bit of a downgrade, yes. But 6spd manual tranny that shifts when and how I want it to, better mileage, in dash 6CD changer, sunroof, 4 doors, better handling, just as fast, just as much room and the same Toyota build quality all for about 19k.

Can you guess what it is?






A 05 Corolla XRS. The car drives very nice. Has more torque then I expected. Very easy to drive around town, just like a regular Corolla or 4 cyl manual but with a 8000rpm 170hp hit on the top. Should be fun.

Laters..........
Kini

[Mole]

i never knew that people can be so spontaneous with cars like this...

i just dont understand how a person can buy a car and then in a short time, the car is traded for something else.

i'm more of a "it's yours till it dies" guy...

[JoKo]

Defininently me too.
All my friends tell me to sell it and get something manual...
im always like, "but its my baby!"
I figure someday I'll fix its problems (That whole ATX thingy; That whole N/A thingy)... lol
As for now i couldn't just get rid of it, its too beautiful.

[Kini]

Yes it was a little spontaneous, but I just wasn't happy with the car. My unhappiness grew to the point that I felt I needed to change, plus not having the 4 doors was also a factor. I just drove the XRS from the dealer back to work, thru town and it's just more responsive and offers a feeling of control that was missing in the auto trans. I have to get used to the feeling of sitting up rather than in the car. It's a tight little package and sure to be alot of fun when broken in.

aloha

[Turbosolara]

i hate my car but i still drive it, because it looks damn good. If i sell it,i only can get a older better car, OR downgrade for a new car.

however, congrat for the new civic killer. That is a beast with lots of potential

[michaels artic frost]

i'm more of a "it's yours till it dies" guy...

I am one of those too.

Same here, but more like, "until you total it" type..

WERD!

My last ride was a Mazda MX-3 with 230K miles and I remember when I first got it back in '95 and it only 14 miles on it. I had it for 9 years, so since this is my first Toyota, I hope it surpasses the Mazda (150K, had the engine replaced ).

Enjoy your new ride!

[Astro]

Yeah, before my Solara I had my Toyota p/u for 8 years. Now with the Solara, I plan on keeping for longer. I will buy a 2nd car in the future, but I'm planning on keeping the Solara and hopefully someday seeing some numbers that the 1MZ MR2's are coming up with. Also, I really love the look and I still haven't seen any new car (within my budget) that catches my eye like the Solara. LOL, it'd be funny if I ended up with a gen3 Solara in the future!

[red2002solara]

I could never get rid of my 02 Solara SE. When I got it, i knew I would be keeping it until it completely rusted out. This is only my third car. My first car, an 85 Corolla SR5, had 170,000 miles on it when I got rid of it. My second car, a 96 Honda Civic, had 134,000 miles on it when I sold it. My partner's dad buys a new car every two years (he's a gazillionaire, so he can do it without hesitation). But he buys Fords, so I think he does that so he doesn't have to deal with alot of problems as the car ages (although he's been having a lot of problems with his Monterey since he bought it). If I had tons of dough, I'd probably buy a new Solara and turn my current one into a show car (throw a bunch of money into it to accessorize it up the ying-yang)

[Astro]

If I had tons of dough, I'd probably buy a new Solara and turn my current one into a show car (throw a bunch of money into it to accessorize it up the ying-yang)

Hell yeah! "The ultimate Solara"

[mmcdonald]

If you buy a new OR used car every 10 years on average, as opposed to a new car every few years, over a 40 year working life, you will save $400,000.00. Now that was is 1990 dollars, so that is probably a little more now.

However, I can see the reason for doing this swap: the 4 doors, right? I said 4 dooooooors, right? I can see no other reason.

Okay, I am blinded by love. But after the little things are worked out, we will have the first year of this model, and they look like something, not like the "me-too" hondas.

That Corolla S has plenty of go in it. Let us know how the supercharger upgrade goes.

[Kini]

Yeah, 4 doors was One of the reasons, the other was I just wasn't happy with the perfromance of the auto trans (think there was something wrong with it, intermittent). It is an XRS not an S. The XRS has the retuned Celica GTS motor, the 8k rpm jobber. With the high redline it goes about the same speed in each of the 1st 4 gears as the Solara V6 does. Speeds were taken from the manual, I only redlined it twice, once while test driving and once on my way home last night. It starts to pull pretty good at about 6k and really takes off at 7k (almost like a 50 shot of NOS). I thought it was supposed to have the full hit a 6k. Once it's broken in I'll check with the service guys on that. Once the revs are at full tilt, it feels as fast as my Solara did. It also makes alot more noise, typical 4 cyl. Can't beat the smoothness of the Toy V-6. The Solara is a really good looking and unique car, but practicality wins out. My wife rode in it once and already likes it better, she actually asked when she can drive it- the nerve of that woman. She never asked to drive the Solara, I guess she had a hard time seeing out of it and telling where the front and rear ends were. Oh well, life goes on and in the end it's just money.

[JadedEMOlush]

I go through a new car once every 2 years...

I will be all over the 2006 GS 300(maybe 330) once it comes out next year... it just screams "drive me".

Dont get me wrong, I love the solara... but its time for something new... I've owned 3 already 1999,2002,2004 and a corolla S 2003.

[Mole]

I only redlined it twice, once while test driving and once on my way home last night. It starts to pull pretty good at about 6k and really takes off at 7k (almost like a 50 shot of NOS). .

you redlined it already!