At $6,500, Is This 1987 Toyota Corolla FX16 GT-S The Hot Hatch To Have?

Toyota's Corolla is what sensible people buy, but as proven by today's 4A-GE—powered FX16 GT-S, the company occasionally built Corollas for fun-seeking folk. Let's see if this now-classic car comes with an equally fun price.

For years, the general consensus has been that, for anyone looking for a small sports car, the answer is almost always inevitably the Mazda Miata. I say 'almost always' because, at least twice a year, the answer is Solstice, the shortest and longest days on the calendar.

While we're just a couple of weeks past the halfway point between the summer and winter solstices, the tidy and low-mileage 2006 Pontiac Solstice we looked at yesterday made a compelling argument for year-round fun. An $8,450 price tag also answered the car's value question, and earned the Solstice a solid 70% 'Nice Price' win. Now, if we could just figure out how to bring Pontiac back from the dead, we would have a fitting start to spooky season.

Yesterday's Solstice was General Motors' attempt to resurrect the concept of the small sports car, joining the likes of the Mazda Miata and BMW Z3 in a sort of mini renaissance. The 1987 Toyota Corolla FX16 GT-S we're considering today, on the other hand, is an example of the type of car that killed off the original round of little two-seater sports cars.

That type of car, of course, was the hot hatch. This is a class of car long epitomized by Volkswagen's GTi, the secret sauce of which has, over the years, been copied by pretty much every carmaker out there with a FWD compact on the books.

Craigslist

The FX-16 proved very close in size and spec to VW's contemporary 16V GTI. Both cars offered similarly functional three-door bodies, and both were equipped with 16-valve, DOHC four-cylinder engines. However, the VW one-upped the Toyota in both displacement and horsepower — 1.8 liters vs. 1.6, and 137 horsepower against the Corolla's 112 ponies. Maybe that's why today, '80s GTIs are sought after by VW fans while the FX16 is almost completely forgotten by many.

This 187,000-mile example (don't worry, it's a Toyota) may have actually been forgotten, as the ad indicates it has been in storage and on non-operational registration for some time. Since reemerging from its long slumber, it has been spiffed up with new alloys and rubber, and according to the seller, features a newly "stiffened" suspension.

It looks pretty good on the sides and the back as well. The nose, however, shows some noticeable gouges in the paint on the bumper and a general dullness on the hood. That could all be corrected for a price at a good detail shop, but it does raise the question of what kind of shenanigans this Corolla has gotten into over the years.

The cabin appears to be in great shape and, save for an aftermarket steering wheel and the stereo head unit having been ripped out, seems all intact and in fairly clean and tidy. Plus, as the seller notes, this Corolla features both A/C (R12, sadly) and a functioning sunroof.

Mechanically, the car is offered as being solid, but with some fiddling still required to make it reliable. The seller claims that a previous owner stated the engine had been rebuilt 40,000 miles ago, but doesn't have any documentation to substantiate this claim. Since being pulled from long-term storage, the car has seen the replacement of its battery, starter, and front brake pads. An oil change was also performed, and the seller says the engine now "pulls strong with no smoke or leaks." It does have an aftermarket tubular header fitted, but it's hard to tell if the catalytic converter is still in residence, or if that was given the heave-ho along with the original exhaust manifold.

We're provided with several pictures of the undercarriage, which back up the seller's claim that the car is "99.9% rust-free." It's also appreciably clean down there, with no suspicious drips or sprays of mystery fluids. On the downside, the seller has updated the ad with a note that the fuel pump, already replaced once on the car, requires a second transplant.

Per the ad, this Corolla has a clean title, although, as mentioned, it's on no-op registration, and, based on the rear number plate, has been since 2019. That could be a gotcha for any buyer seeking to transfer the title within California, as the car will need to pass an emissions test (both up the pipe and visual inspection) to do so.

Should that not be so daunting a prospect, we'll now need to consider this Corolla's $6,500 asking price. The seller says that it is their "bottom dollar price, and is a CASH sale with no discounts.

What's your take on this almost-sorted FX16 and that $6,500 asking? Does that feel like a fair deal on an almost forgotten hot hatch? Or do the questions and the fuel pump make you think that the seller needs to find a new bottom?

You decide!

Nice Price or No Dice:

Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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