I owned a Celica last year - I think it was the ST183. It was a Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) 1990 GT-R model, with the old 3SGE 2 litre motor rated at an impressive 166bhp, four wheel steer, black metallic with the pop-up lights. And the price of all this? $500 (under 180 pounds).
Was it a great car? Yes, for the reasons mentioned by jug: super-reliable, well-equipped, even the original air conditioning worked brilliantly. The interior was made of some grey super-velour that seemed to last indefinitely. It is fair to point out the comfort already mentioned - definitely better than average, with the seat being width-adjustable as well as tilt, height, and lumbar, all electric. Sunroof as well, and airbag.
And no - for me, as my first Japanese car, I found it pretty much as I expected: anonymous, anodyne looks, lacklustre performance (166bhp? more like 90bhp!), nasty (lazy, slippy) Japanese automatic transmission behaviour, not very economical, a not-very-practical body style. My favourite feature was the 'Automatic Drive' (cruise control) that got you to where you were going with a minimum of interaction with this not-very-much-a-driver's-car.
I also had difficulty spotting it in the carpark and nearly got into an identical model one day, parked three spaces away.
Worth noting that the 5th-gen 1990-1996 Celica (like mine) rated first in the JD Power Used Car Reliability Survey 2003.
I sold it for $2000 after a few hundred dollars of renovation work. So, it was excellent value for me, and the next owner seemed to enjoy it. My advice is that the Celica is an excellent choice for someone who doesn't work on cars themselves, doesn't really care about cars in general, and wants to run an older vehicle for reasons of cost saving.
-Alex
