Toyota Cresta
JDM · Toyota
Toyota Cresta: The Luxury Sibling of the Chaser and Mark II
The Toyota Cresta is a mid-size sedan Toyota sold in Japan from 1980 to 2001. It shared its chassis with the Mark II and Chaser and was pitched as the most luxurious of the three, though its twin-turbo Tourer V version also won over drifters.
The first Cresta arrived in April 1980, sold only at Toyota's new Vista Store dealers. The three sister cars split the market: the Mark II was the traditional choice, the Chaser was the performance car, and the Cresta offered a more luxurious package than either. The name is Latin for "crest," and the badge resembled a samurai helmet. It ran five generations, from the X50/X60 to the X100, before Toyota merged it with the Chaser into the short-lived Verossa.
Engines grew with each generation. In October 1985 the X70 Cresta got the 1G-GTEU twin-turbo six in a GT Twin Turbo trim shared with the Chaser. The X80 of March 1988 moved to double-wishbone suspension front and rear, made every engine DOHC, and later offered the 1JZ-GTE twin-turbo in a 2.5 GT Twin Turbo. The X90 of 1992 brought the Tourer V, with the twin-turbo 2.5-liter 1JZ, an optional R154 five-speed manual, and a standard limited-slip differential, traction control, and ABS. A stiff chassis, a lower price than other turbocharged rear-drive Toyotas, and a strong power-to-weight ratio made it popular with enthusiasts and drifters.
The X100 of September 1996 was the last. It weighed about 90 kg (200 pounds) more than the X90, partly because of stricter safety rules, and at 1,420 mm (56 inches) tall it stood 20 mm higher than the Mark II and Chaser, which gave it a more formal sedan shape like the second-generation Toyota Aristo. The sporty grade was renamed Roulant. Production ended in June 2001, and the last cars sold that July, after 21 years.