The Toyota Caldina is an automobile manufactured by Toyota for the Japanese market and was released in 1992. It replaced the Toyota Carina Surf.
While the Caldina has never been officially exported by Toyota outside of Japan, its 4WD capability and large capacity have made it a popular grey import in Australia, New Zealand, Russia and many South American countries.
Model history
1st generation (1992-1997)
The original Toyota Caldina was the 5-door wagon or commercial van version (1992–2002) of the four-door sedanToyota Corona in Japan. The wagon has independent strut rear suspension while the commercial wagon has semi-independent leaf springs.
2nd generation (1997-2002)
Sharing a platform with Toyota Allion and Toyota Premio, the Caldina is the Japanese version of Toyota Avensis wagon.
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 theToyota 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 1,470 kg (3,241 lb), the Caldina GT-T offers similar performance to a Subaru WRX wagon achieving 0–100 km/h in 7 seconds. A refresh was given in 2000 with new bumpers and lamps a refreshed interior and extra lug added to the turbo manifold to stop the warping issue common on earlier GT-T models.
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.
3rd generation (2002-2007)
The all-new Caldina of 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 2.0GT-Four (the latter is coded ST246). There is also a MKII Model years 2005-2007 with Minor refresh was given to them. All models have automatic transmission and the GT-Four only comes in tiptronic transmission. They all also have an electronic handbrake system. With the discontinuation of Celica, the Caldina was one of sportiest Toyota models sold in Japan.
Caldina GT-Four is also widely available as reconditioned grey-import cars in Malaysia.
Production of the 3rd generation Caldina ended in 2007. That was also the end for both the 3S-GTE engine and the "GT-Four" moniker in Toyota's lineup.
As a tribute to Toyota motor sport 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 Hiromu Naruse. - Improved shocks and altered spring ratings - Front suspension strut brace - Torsen rear LSD - Recaro front seats and interior trim
