It is being reevaluated as a compact RWD sports sedan
The Toyota “Altezza” was developed as “a sedan with a compact body and RWD layout. It shared a platform with the “Progres” and “Brevis,” and the lineup included a sedan and a hatchback. We look back at this car, which has seen its price rise steadily over the past few years.
An attractive sports sedan when we look at it now
The Altezza was launched in October 1998 as Toyota’s new sports sedan. As a model with an RWD layout in a compact body, it was the talk of the automotive media even before its appearance, and at some point, it became expected to be the “second coming of the AE86.
The fourth generation “Corolla Levin/Sprinter Trueno” (AE86), which was planned as a two-door sports coupe and three-door hatchback, and the four-door sports sedan Altezza were too different to begin with, and some said they were disappointing after their appearance. However, it is now being reevaluated as a compact RWD sports sedan.
The Altezza was released with high expectations, and was available in two versions: the “RS” series, which pushed sportiness to the forefront, and the “AS” series, which was an adult sports sedan with a six-cylinder engine.
The former is equipped with an inline 4-cylinder 3S-GE engine that delivers 210 hp from an NA 2L engine, and a 6-speed manual transmission is also available. On the other hand, the latter was equipped with an inline 6-cylinder 1G-FE engine, also 2L, with only a 4-speed AT, clearly distinguishing its character (although a 6-speed MT was later added to the AS series).
A Shooting Break was added in 2001.
The Altezza was sold outside Japan as the Lexus IS by Lexus, Toyota’s luxury brand. There were differences in the lineup, such as no models equipped with the 4-cylinder 3S-GE type that was installed in the Altezza, but instead a model equipped with the 3L 2JZ-GE type was available.
Altezza in Japan later offered the “L Edition,” an advanced version with qualities similar to the Lexus IS, but the 3L engine was never offered in the sedan model.
In July 2001, the shooting break “Altezza Gita” was added, with the rear part of the body as a wagon. Like the Lexus IS, the Altezza Gita was only available with a 6-cylinder engine, and in addition to the 1G-FE type, the 2JZ-GE type was also installed.
In addition, the Altezza was also a pioneer of complete cars that could be purchased at dealers, and as early as 1998, the year of its debut, TOM’S released the turbo-tuned “280T”, and in 1999, Modellista at the time created the aero-tuned “Qualitato”. In 1999, Modellista tuned the “Qualitato” with aero tuning at the time, and other models were also released.
Altezza was often disappointed because expectations were too high at the time, but if one looks at it without color blinders, there is no doubt that it is an attractive sports sedan, and the price increase in recent years is understandable.