The 4WD Toyota Tercel SR5 Was An Inspiring Rally Wagon For Visionaries

"Margin Of Error" (marginoferror)
03/30/2015 at 12:14 • Filed to: FORGOTTEN CLASSICS, FC, ESSAY

Long before Subaru introduced its award-winning Impreza wagon, Toyota was already leading the way off the beaten paths with the 1982 4wd Tercel SR5 wagon.

Welcome to Forgotten Classics.

As demonstrated in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the goal of this series of essays is be to bring cars that are getting no love back in the limelight. FC is also a thorough analysis of why such cars remained obscure and never got the praise they deserved.

For the second generation of the model, Toyota dropped the Corolla-Tercel designation in favor of simply Tercel. Consequently, the Corolla evolved as a larger, distinct model and eventually became the most boring automobile know to mankind, but that's another story. The subject of today's article is one really specific model of the second generation Tercel, the SR5 4WD wagon.

Introduced in 1982, the Tercel wagon featured many groundbreaking technologies and led the way to Audi and Subaru in the development of rally oriented compact wagons.

The power came from Toyota's 3-A 1.5L 4 cylinder engine, producing 71 HP and 80 lbs/ft of awesome Torque. That may sound a bit short compared to today's figures, but that was a different era. Cars were a lot lighter and a lot simpler. To send all that power to the 4 wheels, Toyota's superior engineers decided to use a 6-speed manual. Yes, a SIX speed. Even F1 cars only had 5 at the time.

Plaid seats, 2 gear levers, no less than 4 pedals and an advanced 4wd monitoring/information system were standard.

The 4wd Tercel wagon was a sturdy, practical and extremely dependable wagon and quickly became the darling of outdoorers of all sort, as well as becoming extremely popular with people looking for a versatile workhorse to get stuff done.

It just was an all-around great car.

The Tercel SR5 wagon soldiered on until 1987. By the time, it had gained a serious following. Unfortunately, that was at the same moment Toyota decided to stop making great things. Incidentally, the Tercel wagon became an early victim of the Beigekrieg.

As a matter of fact, the 3rd gen Tercel was an extremely bland FWD econobox, and it eventually evolved in the Yaris of today.

In Conclusion, the 4WD Tercel SR5 may have been short lived, but as any great Pioneer, it became such a strong source of inspiration that its spirit lives on to this day.

Thanks, for reading

DISCUSSION (37)

Brian, The Life of > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 12:17

Good Oppo. I love these quirky things from when Toyota was cool. Also, those inclinator gauges on the dash were subzero cool :)

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 12:19

I've always been a sucker for these. Ahh, 80's Toyota....

505Turbeaux > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 12:19

Hell yes, I love those things. Just wish they made the bodies of plastic or something that wouldnt rust

HammerheadFistpunch > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 12:20

"Plaid seats, 2 gear levers, no less than 4 pedals and an advanced 4wd monitoring/information system were standard."

I guess you could count the dead pedal...I wouldn't but still.

HammerheadFistpunch > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 12:21

The 4wd tercel wagon is a bit of a collectors item in the mountain west. they aren't restored or in good shape they are just sought after. Great little cars.

Margin Of Error > 505Turbeaux
03/30/2015 at 12:22

Rust doomed most cars from the 80's

Margin Of Error > HammerheadFistpunch
03/30/2015 at 12:23

Glad to hear that!

Margin Of Error > Brian, The Life of
03/30/2015 at 12:23

Indeed !

505Turbeaux > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 12:25

Audi had it licked by then at least!

Galvanize ALL the body panels!

Margin Of Error > HammerheadFistpunch
03/30/2015 at 12:36

I thought it was the e-brake

HammerheadFistpunch > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 12:37

ah, no the Tercel is most glorious haver of handbrake.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 12:48

isn;t thats the car one of the guys from Breaking Bad drives

Margin Of Error > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/30/2015 at 12:49

Never watched that show.

As Du Volant > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 12:56

Followed up by the weird-looking Toyota Corolla All-Trac:

Kinja'd!!!

And don't forget the Tercel SR5 wagon's starring role in Breaking Bad:

Kinja'd!!!

I'd love to have one of these with a 2ZZ-GE engine in it.

Margin Of Error > As Du Volant
03/30/2015 at 12:58

Didn't know about the corolla all-trac !

jjhats > HammerheadFistpunch
03/30/2015 at 13:00

my thoughts as well. if you want 4 pedals buy an old jeep

OPPOsaurus WRX > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 13:05

my wife and I just started watching it on netflix a few weeks ago. very good show. whoever picked the cars for the characters was good, an Aztek, Wangoneer, Tercel 4WD

Baber K. Khan > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 13:24

The SR5 badge was Toyota's Quattro. It made so many ordinary cars glorious, it could single-handedly be the greatest YouTube motivational video for boring, beige cars.

Baber K. Khan > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 13:26

The SR5 badge was Toyota's Quattro. It made so many ordinary cars glorious, it could single-handedly be the greatest YouTube motivational video for boring, beige cars.

The Guy who Drives ( A Aw11 Named Inari) > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/30/2015 at 13:37

You are a man of my own heard, Still want to source One of these.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > The Guy who Drives ( A Aw11 Named Inari)
03/30/2015 at 13:49

They're around, but most people don't know what they have and the craigslist postings are usually pretty bad in the way it is for almost all anonymous cheap beaters. I figured that these would have become at least cultishly popular because of the Breaking Bad connection, but it hasn't happened yet.

The Guy who Drives ( A Aw11 Named Inari) > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/30/2015 at 14:25

Yeah, I have found some roughly local, Not so much the 4wd ones though, Wagovans are still cheap in my area too when found. hell I know of two sitting in yards.

A 4a Swap would be neat, but probably too much for the trans by all acounts

Justin Hughes > Margin Of Error
03/30/2015 at 15:46

I'm a fan of the RT4WD Civic wagon, myself. But the Tercel came first.

Two gear levers? How did that work? Does the Tercel have an actual transfer case? That would be a huge advantage over the Civic, which basically had a center VLSD with a 90/10 front/rear split and no manual control. I found it worked well, but I'm not familiar with the Tercel's setup.

Regardless of manufacturer, I love 4wd wagons - the anti-SUV.

Margin Of Error > Justin Hughes
03/30/2015 at 16:24

Well said !

gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun > Margin Of Error
03/31/2015 at 00:37

I had an '84 as my first car... only it was the FWD version, made 60ish HP, and had a 3 speed automatic.

Serious rust and carburettor issues, I wanted to shoot it on a daily basis

Kinja'd!!!

Devon lost his burner, understands electric cars don't require front grilles > Margin Of Error
03/31/2015 at 12:09

Kinja'd!!!

That's a dead pedal/footrest, not a pedal as such.

Margin Of Error > Devon lost his burner, understands electric cars don't require front grilles
03/31/2015 at 12:11

Sources ?

Devon lost his burner, understands electric cars don't require front grilles > Margin Of Error
03/31/2015 at 12:15

The picture and common sense.

Devon lost his burner, understands electric cars don't require front grilles > Justin Hughes
03/31/2015 at 12:30

Yeah, 82-87 had a transfer case. 87+ (Corolla branded in US) had viscous coupling like Celica/Previa/Corolla/Camry All-Trac.

http://www.toyota-global.com/company/histor…

Orange Torana > Margin Of Error
04/03/2015 at 07:09

Tercel4wd.com There is 1,000 of us and about 80,000 posts.. seriously

Orange Torana > Margin Of Error
04/03/2015 at 07:15

I've had two Tercel 4wds. (The only Tercel they sent to Australia and only in manual thank goodness) and now a corolla all trac 4wd wagon. They are brilliant small cars. made up of parts of existing proven cars.

Orange Torana > Margin Of Error
04/03/2015 at 07:44

We have a huge following for this little trooper of a car at Tercel4wd.com/forums with 1,000 members from across the globe who are commited to keeping the Tercel wagons on the road.

Many parts are sourced from other Toyota vehicles of the time. it wasn't a reinvention of high technology but a mixture of fwd Tercel with it's N/S engine and rear end of the previous rwd corolla. A Tercel wagon body was slightly raised. Even the Gearbox internals were from the 4speed Tercel but with a 5th gear grafted on and then a prop take off. which with the flick of a lever attached to the freewheeling rear propshaft for true 50/50 4wd the 6th gear was and extra low and only worked in 4wd. It's beautiful in its simplicity. but the lack of centre diff makes the car lighter but means that you have can only use 4wd in slippery conditions. The gearbox being the achilles heal of this car if not looked after.

Orange Torana > The Guy who Drives ( A Aw11 Named Inari)
04/03/2015 at 23:25

4a is fine, One guy has also put a 4age in his but treats the gearbox lightly

Arshad Aziz > Margin Of Error
03/05/2017 at 20:50

Here in England I bought this brand new Toyota Tercel 4WD estate (UK version)/SR5 wagon (US version) in September 1987,white body with

light brown interior.I look after it and is going strong—never let me down.

It is a shame Toyota ceased production of Tercel 4WD in 1988.

I have been offered £20,000.00 in the UK as it is now a classic.

Arshad Aziz,Cranford,Middlesex,England. 6th March 2017

Cheap bastard > Justin Hughes
09/20/2017 at 00:24

Yes, the smaller lever selected between FWD and 4WD. No center differential so not so good for on-road use.

The transmission was a 5 speed with an extra low, 4WD only gear.

BuffyB > Margin Of Error
12/02/2017 at 21:34

My fav car, I considered finding one to tebiuld and restore instead of buying a new car. I never got stuck with it. I did end up sideways on my very steep driveway that was iced up. Tilt-O-Meter worked great, I was really close to looking at the world up side down . A neighbor saw me and got me safely to the bottom of the driveway.

Jake King > Margin Of Error
05/13/2019 at 17:19

And the fact that I personally have owned 3 of them. Also, what would a fourth pedal do?