Toyota 2000GT: The Road Track Test
If the Toyota 2000GT is an impressive mechanical design on paper, and even if it seems to be fairly within the pictures, nothing quite prepares you in your first take a look at it. The images just do not do justice to it. Essentially the most striking factor not evident in the photographs is the lowness of the factor, and it's superb how a scale factor like that may modify the whole visible impression of a car. We have seen many vehicles that we thought would look better in the event that they have been scaled down; the 2000GT is one that's smaller than it seems in print.
Styling, nevertheless, is not the automobile's strongest point—and in accordance with the Toyota folks it wasn't meant to be. Our styling specialists discovered detail styling flaws and a few unlucky surface improvement; but none denied that the general impression of the automobile is one among pleasure and purpose. Confirmation of the latter conclusion is easy to obtain: considered one of our staff commented that his drive house to lunch Dubai in the future was the primary occasion on which he was ever adopted by cars. He picked up 2 VWs, an MGB, 2 Ford pickups and one policeman in 10-minute runs!
The designers, as pointed out in the preceding evaluation, did all they might to make getting in or out easy. But let's face it; it is a 45.7-in.-high car. You want a low car, you settle for contortions. As soon as in you recognize it was definitely worth the bother: surrounded by impressive instrumentation, much padding and all that stunning rosewood, and sitting so low you know you are in one thing particular, you're positive it has to be good. The seat is adjustable for rake, however the more it is raked the more its fore-and-aft journey is proscribed by the structural member behind it. If you are of common American male height, you may find yourself in a semi-reclining, but very comfortable, position; in case you're the 99th man chances are you'll find it almost unimaginable to suit yourself in.
A key-flip starts the engine, and it catches easily from the starter like a superb "six" should. The engine likes to idle at 1200 rpm or so, however there is no such thing as a mechanical clatter to be heard either at idle or out on the road. The soundproofing has really executed a job here—but listening to the unit with the hood open (which additionally happens to be a delightful visible experience) reveals that the engine is mechanically quiet to begin with, notably for one with chain-driven double over head cams.
The engine has no bother getting the automotive going easily; 1st gear is maybe a bit too great a reduction, and it's a massive step from there to 2nd. The clutch engages easily and takes the abuse of repeated acceleration runs without any sort of professionaltest, and it is a smooth, robust climb to peak engine speed—with the exception that the engine begins to overlook at 7000 rpm, just past the yellow line. For some unknown reason, in 1st gear the missing would start at about 6300 rpm; hence the fairly early 1-2 shift point on the acceleration graph. The engine will pull smoothly but not strongly from idling pace in 4th gear and from about 1500 in fifth, however closed throttle at these speeds produces considerable bucking, which in flip induces gear rattle within the gearbox. The Toyota people assure us that this can be rectified by the point cars are offered for sale; our test automotive was the first manufacturing model to reach America and won't be sold.
The gearbox is quiet and customarily easy, and the ratios seem appropriate for the automobile with the potential exception of 1st; but shift efforts were so high on our test car that the engineering editor acquired a callus on his ring finger, and 2nd gear synchromesh was ineffective for pace shifts. Fifth gear emits a slight whine, not sufficient to trouble any of us however reminding us that it's an indirect ratio. There was no noise of any kind from the final drive—some sort of feat in a automobile with that member mounted on the frame.
