1985-1989 Toyota Cressida: The Reluctant Sleeper

1987 Toyota Cressida

Before Toyota rolled out its Lexus brand, it was offering a larger car with all the hallmarks of a luxury flagship. In the ‘80s American buyers had come to realize that Toyota could build not only reliable small appliances, but also comfortable luxurious cars too. For the American market Toyota’s largest car was the Cressida. Code named X70, the Cressida was altered with the American market in mind, to the point of emulating American luxury car-isms. Elsewhere derivatives called the Chaser and Mark II were sold in Japan and some European markets.

We got a sedan and station wagon, while Japan and European got that and the Chaser coupe. On the surface the Cressida looked like any other Japanese car from the ‘80s as it’s design progressed.  The first generation (the most distinctive) which arrived in the mid-’70s was frumpy looking with round headlights that made it vaguely resemble a Ford product. By its 3rd generation it had evolved into an angular three box design that was attractive if not bland and overtly subdued. There were smaller details however that suggested that this car was something special. Small details like flush headlamps/side glass and a subtle front air dam hinted at a performance potential that contrasted with the sedate bodywork.

The Heart of a Supra
That potential came from its wonderful 2.8 liter inline 6 cylinder engine. Basically borrowed from the MKIII Supra, the Cressida shared other components with the Supra to the point of essentially being a four door version of it’s rolling chassis. Despite having been based on the Supra’s platform, the Cressida’s only failing (if you could call it that) was its split personality. Its overall character was part Japanese (precise engineering and reliability), part American (posh ride and brisk acceleration) and a smaller part European (expensive and complicated). It should be noted that even though the Cressida featured sophisticated and complicated technology, it unlike the European cars it competed with was reliable and more cost effective. Grafting a luxury car onto a performance car chassis would be the usual recipe for a sports sedan, but the Cressida was reluctant to take on that role completely.

1987 Toyota Cressida side profile

Toyota itself seemed confused about what personality it wanted for its flagship US sedan. In 1986 for instance, Toyota even added a hood ornament, then removed it the following year when it must have realized that being a Cadillac was not in the cards for the Cressida. While no solid image or direction was established for Cressida marketing, it did have its own logo apart from other Toyotas.

Conflicting Personality
Aside from hood ornaments, there were other aspects of the Cressida that emulated GM cars of the time. You could get the Cressida with leather or two types of cloth seats. Some featured buttons on leather like the baroque coachwork in a typical Oldsmobile, yet the dash was typical Japanese in its straightforward design with a optional digital display or a full complement of analogue gauges that included a display for reminding you of birthdays.

1986 Toyota Cressida’s optional leather interior

One corduroy cloth seat option was closer to the typical Japanese offering that you might find in the Maxima SE. Also like many Japanese cars of the period, the Cressida featured an impressive stereo with 5 band equalizer, cassette and radio with digital tuning. The mix of luxury and Japanese utilitarian elements made the Cressida appear less refined visually than some of its competition, but in truth it was a much better overall package than any contemporary GM A-body car like the 2 door Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera GT, a car that was slightly longer, heavier and with less power than the Cressida.

The Big Little Japanese Car
Despite haven grown somewhat, the 3,000+lb. Cressida was still considered a compact, yet it was Toyota’s largest car. This was a time when the average American had never associated anything coming out of Japan as full-size. Even Japanese made pickup trucks were small. Despite most Japanese car’s diminutive exterior dimensions, they made good use of interior space. The Cressida was no different.

Standard ’86 Cressida cloth seats

The persona of a large American luxury sedan did not completely suit the Cressida due to the performance potential of things like a fully independent rear suspension and a new steering system that adjusted for speed (an industry first). A rear independent setup was rare on American sedans of the time, even the ones that claimed to be performance oriented like the Chevrolet Celebrity VR.

Had Chevy built a sedan based on a detuned Corvette platform, it might have been like the Cressida (maybe not as bland looking) and likely would have had less interior room. There was no domestic and very few import sedans in 1985 that had a fully independent suspension, 4 wheel disc brakes, twin cams, 15 inch wheels and a five speed manual transmission option. The cars that did were usually from Audi, Saab, Mercedes or BMW.

The conflicting personalities were mostly to the Cressida’s benefit. After all, no bought these cars with sleeper in mind. Although it had a relatively high asking price in 1985 (about $11,600), it was likely one of the most reliable mid-sized luxury sedans you could buy in the mid-‘80s, just like Lexus is today. Essentially it was a Lexus before Toyota realized it could match the Europeans at their own game.

1985 Toyota Cressida

A Reluctant Sleeper
The sporting heritage of the Cressida brings comparison to Nissan’s Maxima, a sedan that claimed to be a four door sports car and it’s direct competitor. The two cars had similar characteristics, but the Cressida’s overall bent towards running under the radar made it a real sleeper. In a 0 to 60 sprint, the Cressida 2.8 was well matched to the Maxima, both hovering around the 8.5 second mark. The biggest difference was that the Maxima was front wheel drive while the Cressida was rear.

Gas filled shocks in the Cressida sedan gave it the stable road holding found in the Maxima while it’s softer suspension tuning made it more comfortable on bumpy surfaces. The wagon’s rear suspension was different (a 4-link design with a stabilizing bar), but offered similar soft, yet assured handling. Despite great road holding abilities, the Cressida was setup to ride like an American luxury sedan and more likely to have an 4 speed automatic transmission vs the sportiest Maxima. The Cressida did however have a powershift mode that allowed for quicker gear changes for acceleration. This was not a common feature in most luxury cars yet.

Toyota’s 2.8 liter inline 6 cylinder EM engine

The Cressida’s best performance attribute was its 2.8 liter inline 6. It used the best technologies from Europe and Japan. One of its most distinctive features was its flat power curve due in part to Bosh and Yamaha contributions. Bosh provided its Jetronic fuel injection system while Yamaha helped design the twin cam 12 valve engine design. Code named EM, the engine in some respects resembled the straight six under the bonnet of many BMW’s, so much so that BMW took Toyota to court (and lost). Despite the visual similarities to BMW engines, the EM’s fuel economy and modest 160 hp was far ahead of any BMW in everyday reliability and overall cost of ownership.

The Cressida’s Legacy

Modified Cressida

At this point in Toyota’s evolution, it like Honda had gained the confidence of the American consumer with a history of small reliable cars. So the jump to larger more upscale offerings was a natural next step. Honda had done it with Acura and Toyota would later refine and perfect the formula with it’s Lexus brand shortly after the X70’s development cycle ended. Cars like the Cressida helped move customers perceptions away from Japanese cars as cheap reliable appliances to builders of high quality luxury.

The concept of the “big” performance Toyota sedan would die with the Cressida, as the Avalon, an all out Japanese Caprice would replace it as Toyota’s big car. All sporting pretensions with Toyota sedans would be transferred to Lexus by the end of the ’80s.

Today some have recognized the tuning potential of the durable EM engine in a subdued sedan body. Although a rare sight, there are slammed tuner versions floating around out there with turbos and other modifications. So if you see one at your local Cars & Coffee, especially a stock appearing one – do pay your respects.

1987 Toyota Cressida