Aristo-cracy

Well after much searching for a replacement car for the Soarer I decided that a Toyota Aristo was to be the perfect choice.
With the luxury and power of high end European car and styling from the pen of the Ital Design studio, the Aristo is a superb car. Priced ridiculously low for such a great car they are an absolute bargain. Good examples with less than 100 thousand kilometres can be had for between $13 and $20K.


The 3.0V version with a twin turbo 3L six cylinder engine has a nominal rated power output of around 206kW or 280HP so they bristle with performance. In reality though examples of this engine have been known to produce closer to 340HP as they came from the factory. You've got to love the Japanese "Gentlemen's Agreement"!



This particular car has factory leather interior, cruise control, electric everything including sunroof and folding mirrors. In fact the mirrors even have an ultrasonic device to blast away frost on those cold winter mornings! The only option that was not available was not available was a manual gearbox, but in a way that would be contrary to the design brief: to make a luxurious powerful 4 door sedan to shame the best of the European brands.


Of course there have been people to do the conversion with the 6 speed manual Getrag gearbox from the Supra and this would certainly increase the sportiness of the car.

I am more than happy with the automatic gearbox however as it is a superbly designed and programmed unit that always seems to know what gear to be in and has a silky but purposeful shifting character. Besides it makes driving the car a dream.



I am certain that I am going to enjoy every moment of my Aristo ownership. Buy local? Forget it. When it comes to a balanced combination of luxury, handling and performance, I know of no other car that can deliver like Toyota did in this model, especially for the price!