Toyota Celica GT vs Mazda MX-6 vs Rover 220 turbo: ’90s hits

By Charlie Calderwood

| 24 Jul 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Toyota Celica GT vs Mazda MX-6 vs Rover 220 turbo: ’90s hits

As insurers killed off the hot hatches of the late 1980s, manufacturers returned to the coupé en masse in the early 1990s, encouraging a new wave of powertrain innovation to squeeze lots of horsepower into compact front-drive cars.

Regular eight-valve four-pots from the featherweights of the past, such as Peugeot’s 205 GTI, wouldn’t cut it.

Rover, Mazda and Toyota – none of which were probably the first names off the tongue when considering a sports coupé in early 1990s Britain – chose turbocharging, a relatively tiny V6 and a highly tuned twin-cam to stake their claims.

Toyota was riding high in the 1980s and ’90s, and the sixth-generation Celica was born out of its success

Two Japanese and one Brit – except, of course, there’s some sniggering from the back of the class when describing this Rover as British.

That’s not without reason, because the R8-generation 200-series was largely developed in Japan – and it was built by robots imported from there, too.

In the case of the latter, that was to the relief of all involved.

But this 200 is perhaps the most British of all the R8s.

The Mazda MX-6’s jellymould lines flow over all angles

Not only is the engine all Rover, unlike the early 216, but the ‘Tomcat’ coupé bodyshell was unique to the marque, while the 220 turbo model was developed here, too. Anglo-Japanese, then.

The Rover does have a slightly disjointed look to it, but not because of its mixed origins.

Its curvaceous, sweeping C-pillar and rounded boot spoiler don’t quite fit with its angular front end, or the strong horizontal lines of its side strips and bumpers.

The Rover 220 turbo’s bonnet bulge clears the cambelt cover

Its top half is a coupé of late 1992, slammed on to the lower body of a car that made its debut in 1989. Rover knew it, too.

The R8 was facelifted along with the rest of the 200 range in 1994, just two years after its launch, with the addition of a rounded grille – although this only slightly softened the effect.

Here in pre-facelift form, as it would have gone up against the Mazda and Toyota, the Rover sticks out as looking the oldest.

‘The Toyota Celica GT has the best gearshift here – and even among many highfalutin contemporaries from Bavaria and Stuttgart’

Toyota was on a completely different styling schedule.

Having become an international behemoth in the 1980s, the company was operating on a four-year model cycle, allowing it to stay on track with visual trends.

Just a few months after the launch of the fifth-generation T180 Celica in late 1989, the sixth-generation car was in development.

The Toyota Celica GT’s wraparound dashboard echoes the Supra’s, but it feels cheaply built

This near-constant rebodying was made possible by large amounts of continuity under the skin: 1993’s T200 Celica differed little in its chassis design compared to its predecessor, or even that of the 1985 fourth-generation Celica that had ushered in the model line’s switch to front-wheel drive.

The main styling aim was to give the Celica a more distinctive face, and its quad lights certainly do that, although there’s something slightly gawky about them.

So, too, that rear quarter, uncomfortably stretched to provide greater rear legroom and a vast boot.

The Toyota’s vibrant fabric marks the Celica GT out as a ’90s child

Still, it has plenty of good angles, especially its rear aspect.

With its organic, smooth surfacing and colour-coded body trim, there’s no denying Toyota’s latest coupé was bang up to date.

You can’t talk about smooth surfacing without mentioning the MX-6, though.

It must be one of the most rounded coupés ever made, and it’s hard to believe it came out just before the Rover.

The Toyota Celica GT is rev-happy and engaging

You could say the same were it alongside contemporaries from Vauxhall, Volkswagen and BMW, too.

And yet, thanks to its long and low coupé proportions, it avoids looking as blobby as many cars of the mid-to-late 1990s.

Its nose is particularly sleek, with an impressively low bonnet line considering the largest engine of the trio is stuffed beneath.

Mazda decided to trump the entire coupé class, VW Corrado excepted, with a compact V6.

Mazda’s supple MX-6 feels the most composed

The firm had form here, having produced its K-series six-cylinder as small as 1.8 litres in the MX-3, and as a 2-litre in the Xedos 6 and 323F.

You’d think it would have made a simple, cheap-to-build and compact engine for this purpose, but this all-alloy, quad-cam, 24-valve unit is as high-tech as anything of its day.

Mazda took the opposite approach to Volkswagen’s famous VR6 when solving the question of how to fit six cylinders into a transverse, front-drive platform: the KL is an oversquare V6, banked at 60° so that it can be squat and wide.

The Mazda MX-6’s bland interior is also the best put together

This forces extra length in the engine bay of the MX-6 – you couldn’t drop a KL V6 into a Golf like you can a VR6 – but this wasn’t considered an issue for a model range that was focused on sporting appeal, with the longer bonnets to go with it.

It is relatively relaxed in its tuning, producing little more power than the Toyota despite an extra 499cc.

Instead, it uses that capacity to provide greater flexibility and, in particular, smoothness.

It isn’t the most charismatic engine ever – buyers who chose the MX-6 thinking they’d get a nice Alfa Romeo Busso-type V6 sound would be very disappointed – but the old adage of ‘no replacement for displacement’ rings true, in that it offers the best motive experience of all three.

The Mazda’s sculpted rear seats are set low

It’s linear, smooth and powerful in its work, and does provide a distant growl at high revs.

The Rover’s 2-litre T-series, however, couldn’t be less subtle if it tried: it’s got a whacking great turbo on it.

There is some progression to the way the boost builds, but it is still far from smooth in its delivery and, once the turbo is spinning, the Tomcat surges forward with real savagery.

Certainly, it’s more than such a light car on relatively narrow tyres can handle, and this model’s reputation for torquesteer is deserved.

Rover’s fastest car at launch, the 220 turbo can be a handful

It’s not uncontrollable, but you need to grip the wheel very firmly and be ready to correct when attempting full acceleration.

Yet it is genuinely quick for it, considerably faster than its two Japanese rivals here, despite being slightly cheaper when new.

When driven at eight or nine tenths – where most drivers are much more likely to be – the Rover is still just as rapid as the Celica at full chat, and its torquesteer is much less pronounced.

There is no denying what an accomplished technical exercise the Celica’s 3S-GE engine is, though.

This car’s optional full leather matches the Rover’s traditional cabin

Not only is the specific output of 89bhp per litre impressive for a naturally aspirated engine of its time, but, with forged internals and Toyota’s trademark build quality, this highly stressed twin-cam happily runs into stratospheric mileages with just basic servicing.

The many Celicas and MR2s boasting well north of 150,000 miles on the clock attest to that.

It’s Toyota at its best – but there’s no beating a V6 or a turbo with an NA ‘four’.

When fully on the boil, hunting its screaming 7500rpm limiter, the Celica can keep up with the MX-6, yet it feels truly muscular only in the top third of its rev range.

The Rover 220 turbo’s large C-pillars darken its rear quarters

That’s not to say that this is a peaky, torqueless wonder: a clever variable intake system maintains drivability down low, albeit only to the extent that it performs like a regular Corolla unit when you want to go to the shops.

In fairness, it’ll sip fuel like a Corolla when driven in such a way, too.

Neither as fast as the Rover, nor as flexible as the Mazda, the saving grace of the Toyota’s drivetrain is its brilliant gearbox.

The shifter is well-weighted and close to the steering wheel, but not too long in the throw, either.

‘While the T-bar roof does encourage a few rattles, there is a feeling of quality inside the Rover’

It allows you to get the best out of the 3S-GE unit and it’s a joy to quickly switch through the ratios with the plasticky gearknob.

It’s the best change here – and even among many highfalutin contemporaries from Bavaria and Stuttgart.

The Celica also gets the nod for the best steering, with pleasant weight and a decent amount of feedback.

It’s still refined, if not as brilliantly communicative as a Lotus, but it’s a good, usable set-up.

The Toyota Celica GT’s four-lamp face (left) is certainly distinctive, while the Mazda MX-6 is simply sleek

The suspension is a bit more ordinary, though, the all-MacPherson-strut set-up being the accountant’s choice rather than the engineer’s.

Too high in its ride, and under-wheeled, it feels a touch on its tiptoes around corners, although it’s reasonably comfortable for that.

It’s not soft enough to prevent the hard plastics of the interior rattling against each other with annoying frequency, however, which adds to the unfortunate aura of this car being built to a price.

The Toyota Celica GT’s wraparound spoiler

Bearing the 200 name, the Rover doesn’t attempt to hide its family-car origins.

But it does have the good fortune of that car being a dynamic leader in its class, which you might not say of a Toyota Corolla.

It’s delightfully chuckable thanks to quick, reactive steering and the great directional agility bestowed by its short overhangs and low profile.

Fantastic vision gives the driver the confidence to make the best use of the chassis’ abilities, too.

Toyota’s trick 3S-GE ‘four’ has variable intake and forged internals

The Rover feels light and bright thanks to its large glasshouse – except for the back seats, where the relatively thick C-pillars darken things.

This playful, lightweight and lively chassis is brilliant fun in the lesser 216i and naturally aspirated 220 versions of the Rover coupé, but is a bit overwhelmed by the performance of the turbocharged T-series.

The brakes don’t feel quite strong enough and there’s that hefty dose of torquesteer, which the Zexel-Gleason Torsen differential can’t fully control.

The Rover 220 turbo has lots of torquesteer despite its trick differential

All power-assisted Rover 200s have slightly odd steering, with a vagueness both at dead-ahead, at high speed, and when under load, mid-corner.

Not so unnerving when you’re playfully throwing around a 111bhp 216, but more of a concern here.

The Torsen diff interferes even further, with the steering wheel desperate to self-centre whenever the weight comes off the front wheels over a mid-corner undulation.

‘Rover’s 2-litre T-series couldn’t be less subtle if it tried: it’s got a whacking great turbo, and it’s considerably faster than its rivals’

It’s firm over those bumps, too, but while the T-bar roof does encourage a few rattles, there is a feeling of quality inside the Rover that’s missing in the Toyota.

The dash top, steering wheel and doorcards are made of soft, plush-feeling plastics.

But, as on its exterior, the 220’s interior has a split personality.

The centre stack, a flimsy-looking thing designed by Honda (and which it had stopped making in Japan by 1992), drags down the ambience.

The Rover’s turbocharged T-series engine has plenty of low-end grunt, with 174lb ft of torque available at 2100rpm

It’s a bit of an old-school hot-hatch experience then, the Rover.

You cling on tight to the helm, aware that the engine clearly has more power than the chassis was ever built for, and do your best to hustle it down the road.

It never feels sophisticated, but it’s a thrilling challenge.

Stepping into the Mazda from either of the other two is to feel as if you’re going into a much more mature car.

This Mazda MX-6 sports dealer-fitted MX-5 alloy wheels

Its springing is that bit softer, coping with bumps far better, yet it isn’t roly-poly as a result.

The low centre of gravity provided by its squat V6 and sleek glasshouse is noticeable, allowing it to corner with real composure and grace.

Its rear axle never bounces around a corner as the Rover and Toyota are prone to, despite the 220 having the most advanced rear suspension on paper.

Mazda’s all-alloy V6 engine weighs little more than its ‘four’

With its supple ride, mini V6, and the extra length in its body, it’s clear Mazda was pitching the MX-6 as much as a budget GT as a sports coupé.

It’s never as chuckable as the Rover, while its steering isn’t quite as precise as the Celica’s, but it’s the most confidence-inspiring chassis nonetheless, and the only one here that feels truly sorted.

The Rover is quicker from point-to-point, for sure, but it requires bravery where the MX-6 provides easy pace.

‘With its supple ride, mini V6 and the extra length in its body, the Mazda MX-6 is as much a budget GT car as a sports coupé’

Similarly, it’s the only car that has an interior that implies any luxury.

Though the plastics aren’t quite as nice as some of the Rover’s, nor is its dash quite as swooping as the Celica’s, it doesn’t rattle over bumps, road noise is hushed and every piece of the cabin fits together with real precision.

It might look plain by modern standards, but it feels a cut above, and its low beltline provides brilliant vision, too.

The Rover 220 turbo’s swooping roofline is at odds with its blocky base

Today, relative ubiquity has made the Celica the bargain buy of the trio.

Some are only just falling out of mainstream use, a testimony to their reliability and practicality.

It’s the all-rounder of the group, but lacks that bit of spark for all its sensibility.

The 220 turbo is the hooligan, something you’d never have said of a Rover 20 years before – or a decade after.

The Toyota Celica GT tiptoes on its small wheels

It’s not refined, or serious, but it’s great fun.

If you were to take just one down a back-road to put a smile on your face, you’d pick the Tomcat.

And yet, from its silky-smooth engine, through ahead-of-its-time styling, to its refined chassis, it’s the MX-6 that really impresses.

Unlike the other two here, it’s a vehicle from a manufacturer with a point to prove and the money to back it up.

Mazda’s present image, compared to that before the 1990s – admittedly with the help of the MX-5, 323F and RX-7 – suggests this range-topper worked.

Images: Max Edleston

Thanks to: 7 Star Car Sales; Rover Coupé Owners’ Club; Paul Charlesworth; Kevin Willis

Factfiles

Toyota Celica GT

Sold/number built 1993-’99/17,779 (total UK sales)
Construction steel monocoque
Engine iron-block, alloy-head, dohc 1998cc 16v ‘four’, fuel injection
Max power 173bhp @ 7000rpm
Max torque 137lb ft @ 4800rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, FWD
Suspension independent, by MacPherson struts, anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes vented front, solid rear discs, with servo and ABS
Length 14ft 6in (4420mm)
Width 5ft 9in (1750mm)
Height 4ft 3in (1300mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 4in (2540mm)
Weight 2645lb (1199kg)
Mpg 32
0-60mph 8.3 secs
Top speed 137mph
Price new £19,230 (1993)
Price now £2500-10,000*

Mazda MX-6

Sold/number built 1991-’97/537,748 (including related Ford Probe)
Construction steel monocoque
Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank 2497cc 24v V6, fuel injection
Max power 165bhp @ 5600rpm
Max torque 163lb ft @ 4800rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, FWD
Suspension independent, by MacPherson struts, anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes vented front, solid rear discs, with servo and ABS
Length 15ft 2in (4615mm)
Width 5ft 9in (1750mm)
Height 4ft 4in (1310mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 7in (2610mm)
Weight 2712lb (1230kg)
Mpg 28
0-60mph 7.5 secs
Top speed 134mph
Price new £19,245 (1993)
Price now £2500-10,000*

Rover 220 turbo coupé

Sold/number built 1992-’95/708,003 (all R8-generation 200s)
Construction steel monocoque
Engine iron-block, alloy-head, dohc 1994cc 16v ‘four’, turbocharger and fuel injection
Max power 197bhp @ 6000rpm
Max torque 174lb ft @ 2100rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, FWD
Suspension independent, at front by MacPherson struts rear multi-link, coil springs, telescopic dampers; anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes vented front, solid rear discs, with servo and ABS
Length 14ft (4270mm)
Width 5ft 6in (1680mm)
Height 4ft 6in (1370mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 4in (2550mm)
Weight 2612lb (1185kg)
Mpg 30
0-60mph 6.2 secs
Top speed 150mph
Price new £18,790 (1993)
Price now £5000-15,000*