Toyota Caldina
The Toyota Caldina is an automobile manufactured by Toyota for the Japanese market and released in 1992. It replaced the Toyota Carina and Toyota Corona wagons, and was sold at both Toyota Store and Toyopet Store locations in Japan.
While the Caldina has never been officially exported by Toyota outside of Japan, its All-Trac 4WD capability and large capacity have made it a popular grey import in Australia, New Zealand, Russia and many South American countries.
The Caldina was discontinued in 2007, with the Toyota Avensis wagon assuming the market position previously held by the Caldina.
First generation (T190, 1992–1997)
| First generation | |
|---|---|
 1992 Toyota Caldina | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Toyota |
| Also called | |
| Production | 1992–1997 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style |
|
| Layout | FF layout, four-wheel drive |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Toyota Corona |
The original Toyota Caldina was the 5-door wagon or commercial van version (1992–2002) of the four-door sedan Toyota Corona and Toyota Carina in Japan. The wagon has independent strut rear suspension while the commercial wagon has semi-independent leaf springs.
Second generation (T210, 1997–2002)
| Second generation | |
|---|---|
 Toyota Caldina 2.0 GT-T (ST215, Japan) | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Toyota |
| Also called | Toyota Avensis |
| Production | 1997–2002 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 5-door station wagon |
| Layout | FF layout, four-wheel drive |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | |
_rear.JPG)
Sharing a platform with Toyota Allion and Toyota Premio, the Caldina is the Japanese version of the European Toyota Avensis wagon, launched in Japan in mid 1997.
The 4WD models are coded ST215, and are offered as Active Sports GT with the 3S-GE engine. The top of the line GT-T came with the turbocharged 260 PS (191 kW; 256 hp) 4th generation 3S-GTE engine, and included an all-wheel drive system similar to the Toyota Celica GT-Four. The GT-T also came with optional electronic stability control(VSC) (standard on Active Sports versions). The Aerial version features a large sunroof and countoured roof racks as standard. Weighing 1,440 kg (3,175 lb), the manual Caldina GT-T has a 0–100 km/h time of 6.4 seconds, with the automatic version only 0.1 seconds slower.[1] A refresh was given in 2000 with new bumpers and a new plastic headlight design. The interior was also updated. In 2001, an extra lug was added to the turbo manifold to prevent the manifold from warping which had been a common issue on earlier GT-T models.[2]
Engines for lesser models are the 1.8 L 7A-FE, the 2.0 L gasoline 3S-FE, and the 2.2 L diesel 3C-TE.
Third generation (T240, 2002–2007)
| Third generation | |
|---|---|
 2002 Toyota Caldina GT-Four (ST246, Japan) | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Toyota |
| Production | 2002–2007 |
| Assembly | Tsutsumi, Japan[3] |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 5-door station wagon |
| Layout | FF layout, four-wheel drive |
| Related | Toyota Allion |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,700 mm (106.3 in) |
| Length | 4,510 mm (177.6 in) |
| Width | 1,740 mm (68.5 in) |
| Height | 1,445 mm (56.9 in) |
| Curb weight |
|
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Toyota Prius V |
_(front)%2C_Kuala_Lumpur.jpg)
_(rear)%2C_Kuala_Lumpur.jpg)
The all-new Caldina launched in September 2002 is a pure sports wagon and does not share body panels with Allion, Premio and Avensis. Engines for the Caldina are 1.8 L 1ZZ-FE, 2.0 L 1AZ-FSE, or 2.0 L turbo 3S-GTE. Trim levels are 1.8 X, 1.8 Z, 2.0 Z, 2.0 ZT, and 2.0 GT-Four (the latter is coded ST246). There is also an MKII Model for the years 2005-2007 with a minor refresh given to them. All models have an automatic transmission and the GT-Four only comes in a Tiptronic transmission. With the discontinuation of Celica, the Caldina was one of the sportiest Toyota models sold in Japan.
As a tribute to Toyota's motorsports development guru and the creator of the first GT-Four, Hiromu Naruse, a special edition Caldina GT-Four was produced. The Caldina GT-Four “N” edition. (N for Naruse).
This model was equipped with several performance enhancements specified by Naruse:
- Sport ABS
- Improved shocks and altered spring ratings
- Front upper strut bar
- Torsen rear LSD
- Recaro front seats and interior trim
Production of the third generation Caldina ended in mid-2007. That was also the end of both the 3S-GTE engine and the "GT-Four" name in Toyota's line-up.
The Caldina GT-Four was featured in the video games Gran Turismo 4 & 5, as well as Kaido Battle 2: Chain Reaction and Kaido Battle: Touge No Densetsu.
References
- ↑ "Toyota Caldina GT-T". 1001Moteurs. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ↑ "3S-GTE Generations". Faster Than Jesus. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ↑ "History of KANTO AUTO WORKS". Kanto-aw.co.jp. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
