[turbo_nine]

Ok. So having just realized that the older Toyota Previas were RWD (if not AWD), and that 5-speed manual transmissions were available for them... and knowing already that some came with 2.4l supercharged engines...
What the hell? There's definitely some potential here. Anyone know if the supercharged models were available with 5-speeds? That's a minivian I would rock, AWD or not!

 

[D. Olsen]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (turbo_nine)

My g/f drives a Previa, I'm surprised I never knew they were RWD.

 

[turbo_nine]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (D. Olsen)

A quick look at Edmunds confirms that they were RWD. It appears, unfortunately, that the manual option disappeared the year the supercharged option came up. Oh well... I'm sure that one could put one together for themself once these fall to the bottom of the resale pool.
Then we can have 12-second Previas scorching down the dragstrip. Not that the automatic would prevent that...
The supercharged 2.4 was good for 161hp and 201 ft/lbs stock. Wonder what a pulley change or turbo conversion would do?

(heh heh heh, crazy thoughts)

 

[Guest]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (turbo_nine)

And hey, best of all, they're mid-engined! Just think of it as a seven-passenger MR-2.

 

[RJetta8V]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (bgluckman)

quote:[HR][/HR]And hey, best of all, they're mid-engined! Just think of it as a seven-passenger MR-2.[HR][/HR]​

Yup, you get tu sit on the engine. They're really cool.

 

[matt007]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (RJetta8V)

Time for a T55 turbo..

 

[TwoLitreVW]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (RJetta8V)

hey! that was the first car i ever had! (er... minivan)
it was white, and we called it the egg-mobile. that thing was way fun. i had the LE model which came with the 7 speaker stereo and cd player, twin sunroofs, AWD, and power everything.
had tons of hot dates in that thing. and when we took it out to the gravel roads, it would spin all four wheels with no problem!
i didnt know they came with the manual in the US, though. that sounds like fun. i sold mine for top dollar, even though it had 171,000 miles on it. that thing was by far my (and my mom's, before i got it) favorite minivan. ah... memories...

 

[turbo_nine]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (TwoLitreVW)

5-speed manual option disappeared in 1994. The 2.4 DOHC remained on the options list and AWD was available for both supercharged and n/a Previas, so one can assume it's pretty easy to create for yourself a supercharged 5-speed with either AWD or RWD.
Whee! I'll build myself one after I'm done putting a Supra TT drivetrain into an '83 Cressida wagon.

 

[grue]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (turbo_nine)

Are we talking about the same car here? Previa, sort of an egg-shaped thing, or a streamlined cockaroach? Called the Taragon in Australia? If that was RWD, then damn, I missed my chance for hilarity with my aunt's a number of years ago.

 

[mtrainTurbo]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (jetta_fiend)

Can we get a confirmation on the 5 speed? I am reasonably sure you could NOT get that in the states. I would like to see a pic of one to be sure.

 

[-GTR-]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (mtrainVR6)

...sure it has potential, but in the end it's just a minivan. it'll still handle like crap, and still be a minivan.

 

[mtrainTurbo]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (-GTR-)

quote:[HR][/HR]...sure it has potential, but in the end it's just a minivan. it'll still handle like crap, and still be a minivan. [HR][/HR]​

You know, you could easilly slip GTI into your description.
Please. Whats wrong with a minivan? Afraid you will look like a PTA mom?
Duh, thats the point.

 

[David Votoupal]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (mtrainVR6)

Yeah, and minivans these days have become more user-friendly anyway... so what's the point? Even the utilitarian ones like the Caravelle and Hiace.

 

[Eolair]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (-GTR-)

Here´s a pic of the 5 speed version:

 

[turbo_nine]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (mtrainVR6)

quote:[HR][/HR]Can we get a confirmation on the 5 speed? I am reasonably sure you could NOT get that in the states. I would like to see a pic of one to be sure.[HR][/HR]​

Here's one, on eBay no less:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1803691559&r=0&t=0

http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif

 

[David Votoupal]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (turbo_nine)

I believe they were offered here too, though unlikely to be common. The only RWD minivans Toyota produces now is the Hiace range (in Wagon, Touring and Grand varieties) which targets the Caravelle/Eurovan in being utilitarian just as the Estima/Previa targets the Sharan in being car-like.

 

[[email protected]]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (turbo_nine)

The Previa was always my favorite van. Attractive, neat interior, unique drivetrain layout, five-speed, available AWD...definitely a nice package. Too bad it was so freaking expensive! I just dug up an article on the S/C model. Its base price (RWD) was $28,500. Loaded with leather and dual sunroofs and a premium stereo, it hit over $35k. This is without AWD, and this was in 1994!

 

[David Votoupal]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (CanuckPal)

That's very true, outside Japan they tend to be very expensive for what you get. When you take a loaded one here, it makes a Caravelle look very affordable in comparison

The original one still looked good right to the end... but the new one isn't shabby at all. Too bad we don't get the 3.0 V6 version

[Modified by David Votoupal, 11:34 PM 2-11-2002]

 

[turbo_nine]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (CanuckPal)

I think it looks like an egg. It's a really dorky minivan, nobody would expect it to be fast. Of course, to make that happen one should probably trim some of the 3500lbs it carries...

 

[snorkelbillh]

Re: Toyota Previa - Supercharged, RWD or AWD, with 5-speed (turbo_nine)

quote:[HR][/HR]I think it looks like an egg. It's a really dorky minivan, nobody would expect it to be fast. Of course, to make that happen one should probably trim some of the 3500lbs it carries...[HR][/HR]​

Hey Turbo nine, as a fellow Saaber you should know about cars that don't fit the "mainstream", dorky minivans or otherwise?

We call ours the Golden Eggplant.
These vans ARE heavy, because unlike the Siennas they're built on a Toyota
truck chassis. So don't expect miracles in the handling department, though ours seems to do well enough when drifting through the apexes at 30 mph....but in terms of space efficiency, the layout couldn't be beat. They seemed more like a spiritual successor to the Microbus.
They were definitely expensive compared to the domestic competition, at least
on the sticker. If you got a basic one like ours, and were willing to bargain, then they weren't too bad. Plus, there's still quite a few running that are 10 years old or more. Considering how the Caravans/Windstars from that era have held up, at least the Previas are still around! Plus, unlike the gradual minivan "bloat" with each new generation, we could put ours in the garage and still have some space left over.....
But to answer other questions--yeah, the 5 speeds were not all that common in
the US, but they do exist--some folks on the Yahoo Previa List still have them.
They did help those non SC vans get a little better use of their anemic engines

The autotranny isn't bad, but not nearly as much fun. I would love to swap it out for the 5 speed, if it were feasible.