Are Toyota Blades any good?

[steroidcontaskie]

Hey all

My girlfriend is considering replacing her Mini cooper with something a bit bigger and I was thinking a Toyota blade might be a good option. Basically they are a dressed up corolla with a 2.4 or a 3.5L engine in them.

I am guessing the 3.5 might be a bit of a handful.

Anyone had any experience with them or thought on relability?

Cheers
Ed

[iOnic]

I'd generally avoid the 2.4's (search 2AZ-FE on here) and the 3.5's are just lolz. Lucky you cant turn off the traction control on those.

Tell her to get a RunX Z.

[saft]

I have a 3.5.

I love it.

[Dell'Orto]

Wouldn't even waste time with a 2AZ when there is a 2GR version available!

[phoenix]

I haven't gotten around to testing any of those but it seems the 2.4 blade - being a Corolla + 4cyl Camry engine - should be pretty indestructible? A manual would be nice but I don't believe any were offered.

On the Blade Master, a fwd v6 in a Corolla sounds like a nightmare to work on... Early 2GRs suffered from a failure of the rubber vvti oil line, later models used an upgraded line (yellow stripe?), then went to a hard line. Not too much work to swap out the early type for an upgraded rubber one before it goes.

I have a 3.5.

I love it.

Sounds like it's settled then

[iOnic]

I haven't gotten around to testing any of those but it seems the 2.4 blade - being a Corolla + 4cyl Camry engine - should be pretty indestructible?

They strip headbolts usually around 100,000kms and are really delicate if not serviced properly/regularly which unless you're buying new is hard to confirm for sure. Thevparts guys I deal with love em safest bet IMO is to steer clear and either get a 3.5 or no Blade at all.

[steroidcontaskie]

I have heard the 2.4s crap they head bolts, kinda hoped it had been fixed by the time the blade came out.

She liked the interior of the blade, so I guess I will try to trick eher into getting a v6 one.

Cheers
Ed

[steroidcontaskie]

BTW, for anyone that has a 3.5, whats the fuel economy like it you dont give it the beans?

[Alex B]

The Blade Maser G is the one to get, pretty sure they have part leather etc. I tossed up between one and the MPS.

[Dell'Orto]

In the Aurion is not that flash, but its a good 200kg heavier than a Blade. Should sit down and work it out properly some time, but it doesn't seem to go much better than 650k's to a tank

[molex]

I have an 08 Blademaster G, really like it.

Economy wise, it varies wildly depending on the type of driving. My per tank average (a full fill being only ~50 litres) is around 450KM. On the open road you would see 11-12 KM/L, my Auckland traffic average is about 9KM/L. That's not giving it boot fulls everywhere, however it's not being aggressively economical either. Average speed for that last tank was 18 KM/h

Radar guided cruise control is the best feature. Love it.

[molex]

Just to give you an idea, rolling it off the line mine would consistently run the 1/4 mile in 14.5-14.6 @ ~154 KM/h. Not ridiculously quick, however huge midrange and very good cruiser. 1800RPM @ 100KM/h

[steroidcontaskie]

Cool, sounds good, think that would be more than fast enough for mt girlfriend. Most importantly I wouldn't feel as silly as I do driving her gold Mini Cooper with racing stripes.

[Stott69]

Supercharge the mini!

[Elmendorf]

I jewed out and got a 2.4 blade recently. Comes with a mechanical warranty so if head bolts let go I'm covered

Love the car and the little touches and it goes well for what it is