Toyota Sprinter

The Toyota Sprinter (Japanese: トヨタ・スプリンター) is a compact car manufactured by Toyota as a variant of the Toyota Corolla. Exclusively sold in the Japanese domestic market, the Sprinter was aimed to be sportier than its Corolla sibling and also using different sheet metal mostly on the C-pillar. The Sprinter and various body styles were exclusive to Toyota Auto Store until 1977 when the Toyota Chaser took the top position. The Corolla is similarly unique to Toyota Corolla Store until the Toyota Celica was offered in 1970, which took the top position. In 1998 Toyota Auto Store and Toyota Vista Store were both replaced by Netz Store.

The Sprinter is notable for being used as the base vehicle for two joint projects between Toyota and General Motors in the United States, known under GM as the S-car. From 1984 to 1997, variants of the Sprinter were manufactured by NUMMI in Fremont, California, known as the Chevrolet Nova (1984–1988) and Geo Prizm (1988–1997).

Each generation of the Corolla had a corresponding Sprinter sibling, until the introduction of the E120-series Corolla in 2000. The Sprinter was indirectly replaced by a rebadged Corolla hatchback called Allex, which also sold at the Netz Store dealer network, and commercial Sprinter wagons were replaced by Probox.

First generation (E10; 1968)
The first generation Sprinter was introduced in April 1968, thirteen months after the introduction of the regular first generation Corolla (E10). The car was marketed as a fastback coupé version of the Corolla and sold at Japanese dealership sales channel called Toyota Auto Store. and Corolla was sold at a different dealership in Japan called Toyota Corolla Store.

This was the only version to include the word "Corolla" in its name. Like the rest of the E10 Corolla range, the coupe was originally powered by a 1077 cc K engine, producing 60 PS. The sporty SL trim was equipped with more powerful high compression dual carburetors K-B engine, producing 73 PS. The engine was paired with either 4-speed manual (column or floor shift) or a 2-speed "Toyoglide" automatic transmission. The sporty SL trim was only available with floor shift manual transmission. In February 1969, minor facelift was introduced with new amber front turn signal, standard front 3-point seatbelt, headrest and interior improvement. Another improvement occurred in September 1969 with bigger 1166 cc 3K engine with output 68 PS, while the SL trim was also upgraded with 3K-B high compression dual carburetors engine, generating 78 PS. This new model with bigger engine now bearing KE17 code.

The Corolla Sprinter was also sold in Europe and North America as a part of Corolla's range. It was also the last Sprinter exported outside Japan until the Sprinter Cielo-based Corolla liftback.

Second generation (E20; 1970)


In May 1970, the Sprinter was released as the sister car of the second generation Corolla coupé, as the coupé was no longer exclusive to Sprinter. Toyota had promised its Toyota Corolla Store dealers in Japan that they would receive exclusive rights to sell the Corolla. In order to sell through the Toyota Auto Store dealer network, the Sprinter was no longer bearing Corolla nameplate, even though the differences were mostly cosmetic. The wagon/van version of Corolla (KE26/TE28V) was not available for the Sprinter.

The 3K/3K-B engines were inherited from the previous generation, with additional high compression single carburettor 3K-D and low compression dual carburetors 3K-BR engines. A 1407 cc T engine was added to the line up in September 1970, followed by more powerful T-B/BR/D engines for sporty SL/SR models which could be paired with new 5-speed manual transmission option in April 1971. The 4-door sedan version of Sprinter debuted in August 1971, together with the facelifted coupé. The coupé range received the 1588 cc, DOHC 2T-G engine in March 1972; this model was known as the Sprinter Trueno, the twin of the Corolla Levin. Another facelift occurred in August 1972 and the 5-speed manual became available for the sporty SL/SR grades with 1.2 L 3K-B/BR engine. The OHV dual carburetors version of 2T-G engine called 2T-B/BR was launched in April 1973 specially for SL, SR and cheaper model of Sprinter Trueno called the "Sprinter Trueno J".

Third generation (E40, E60; 1974)
1974 brought the third generation Sprinter based on the third generation E30 Corolla 2-door coupé and 4-door sedan. Once again, the differences between the Corolla and Sprinter were mostly cosmetic. The sedans received a more formal upright grill, while the received a sleeker, aerodynamic looking frontal treatment.

The Corolla's were given E30–38 codes while the Sprinter's were given corresponding E41–47 codes, became the only generation that did not bear same chassis codes as Corolla. A 3-door shooting brake style liftback with coupé's front end was added to the line up in January 1976. When the Corolla range received a minor update in January 1977 to become the E50–55 series, the Sprinter received a corresponding update to become the E60–66 series, along with a hardtop coupé variant which used the sedan's frond end. In April 1978, the Sprinter received its second facelift to counter the new competitor introduced by Nissan called the Pulsar which was introduced a month earlier.

Fourth generation (E70; 1979)
The 1979 fourth generation Sprinter was based on the fourth generation Corolla coupé, 2-door hardtop, 4-door sedan, and 3-door liftback, without the 2-door sedan and wagon/van variants again. As before, the differences were cosmetic — the Corollas had a simpler treatment of the grill, head lights and tail lights while the Sprinter used a slightly more complex, sculpted treatment. The 1.4 T engine was replaced by a bigger 1.5 L 3A-U and 1.6 L fuel injected 2T-GEU engine became available for every body styles as GT variants (except the coupé, badged as "Trueno"). In August 1979, a 1.8 L 13T-U petrol engine was introduced. The Sprinter received a facelift with a wedge-shaped nose in August 1981. The obsolete 2-speed automatic transmission for 1.3 L 4K-U engine was replaced by a 3-speed unit and also the discontinuation of 1.8 L 13T-U engine due the poor sales. In February 1982, the 1.8 L engine was reintroduced for sedan only, but as diesel engine called 1C, which was the first diesel engine for Sprinter/Corolla range and could be paired with a 4-speed automatic transmission option.

Fifth generation (E80; 1983)
The fifth generation Sprinter was based on the 1983 fifth generation E80 Corolla range. Like the Corolla, the model line was split into FWD and RWD models.

Unlike the 5-door liftback which had minimum exterior differences, the E80 Sprinter sedan was designed with different sheet metal on the rear part. It got two additional windows on the C-pillars and different tail lamps which was placed a little higher due the higher trunk position. The 3/5-door "FX" hatchbacks were not available for Sprinter. From this generation forward, the 2-door coupé and 3-door liftback body styles were now exclusive to the Sprinter Trueno/Corolla Levin range.

In October 1984, a high performance GT model was added to the line up and only available as sedan. It was powered by a 1.6 L DOHC 16-valve 4A-GELU engine, the same engine that was similar to the 1.6 L 4A-GEU engine that powered the popular AE86 Sprinter Trueno/Corolla Levin. Minor facelifts occurred with new exterior styling in May 1985. The 1.3 L 2A-LU and 1.6 L 4A-ELU engines were also discontinued, with the former being replaced by the 12-valve 1.3 L 2E-LU engine.

The four-door sedan and the five-door liftback were also manufactured in Fremont, California and sold for the North American market under the resurrected name of Chevrolet Nova, the first of several Toyotas built by General Motors known as their S-platform under license at NUMMI.

Sixth generation (E90; 1987)
The sixth generation Sprinter was shared with the sixth generation E90 Corolla range, introduced in May 1987. The E90 series was the first generation with Full-time 4WD option. The Sprinter was offered as a 6-window sedan as before, 5-door liftback called Sprinter Cielo (Cielo means celestial or heavenly in Spanish; it was exported as the Corolla liftback) and a rebadged Corolla commercial van. The van was the first in the Sprinter history, although the Corolla also gained a passenger oriented wagon version as well. The Sprinter got more upmarket four-wheel drive wagon version called Sprinter Carib and exported as Corolla 4WD wagon.

As the E90 series, it was used as the basis of North American market Sprinter-based sedan and liftback with slightly different front end called the Geo Prizm.

The E90 sedan and "Cielo" liftback were introduced first in May 1987, with three petrol engine options; carburetted 1.3 L 2E, 1.5 L 5A-F and high performance fuel injected 1.6 L "red & black top" 4A-GE. A full-time AWD version of the sedan, powered by a 1.6 L 4A-F engine (AE95) was introduced later in October. Another Sprinter range was added to the line up in August 1988, with the additional commercial van model. This model had exclusive 1.5 L 3E petrol engine and 1.8 L 1C-II diesel engine as option.

The facelift arrived for Sprinter sedan and liftback in May 1989. The sedan also received 1.5 L fuel injected 5A-FE petrol engine from Cielo, 4A-FE from Sprinter Carib for AWD models and also a revised 1.8 L 1C-III diesel engines shared with the commercial van. The 1.6 L 4A-GE engine was also replaced by the "red top" version, boosting the power from 120 to 140 PS. Another engine options for sedan were introduced in August 1989, a new 5A-FHE engine for top FWD models and a 2.0 L 2C-III diesel engine for AWD models (CE95).

Seventh generation (E100; 1991)
The seventh generation Sprinter was introduced in June 1991. Unlike the prior generation, the body shell was developed to employ pressed doors style than the regular doors on Corolla and also the deletion of the extra windows on the C-pillar. A 5-door liftback was also developed as the new Sprinter Cielo, but it was never available in Japan due the low sales of the previous generation. The liftback was later exported to Europe and Australia as Corolla liftback. The rebadged Corolla commercial van and business wagon were also available in September 1991, sold together with the older Sprinter Carib as Toyota developed another upmarket passenger wagon based on E100 platform called Corolla Touring Wagon.

Most of the engines were inherited from the E90 Sprinter, with additional new DOHC 16-valve 1.3 L 4E-FE and 1.5 L 5E-FE engines for certain models. The high performance GT trim received new 20-valve 4A-GE "silver top" engine, generating 160 PS at 7,400rpm. The 20-valve engine was ahead of its time when it was offered during this generation, coming with features like VVT, individual throttle bodies (ITB's), a compression ratio of 10.8:1 and a five-valve-per-cylinder head design. This helped the cars equipped with it to accelerate from 0–100 km/h in approximately 6 seconds and reach a top speed of over 200 km/h. A five-valve-per-cylinder engine was unusual for the time, however Mitsubishi was the first to offer a five-valve-per-cylinder engine in the Minica Dangan ZZ-4 kei car in 1989.

The sedan gained its first improvement in September 1991 with additional side door beams, rear three-point seat belts and seat belt warnings which became standard for all trims. The full-time four-wheel drive system option was also added for models with 1.6 L 4A-FE petrol and 2.0 L 2C-III diesel engines. The facelift occurred for the sedan in May 1993 with the redesign of the front grille, bumper, and rear combination lamps and stayed without further improvement until its discontinuation in May 1995.

The van and business wagon were remained on sale as a compact segment commercial wagon, together with the upmarket passenger oriented E100 Corolla Touring Wagon and the newly introduced E110 Sprinter Carib. Both of commercial wagons received improvement with new DOHC 16-valve 1.3 L 4E-FE and 1.5 L 5E-FE engines, replacing the old SOHC units with the same displacement in April 1994. The driver's airbag became standard for every trim and four-wheel drive model with 1.6 L 4A-FE engine was added to commercial van in May 1996. The 2.0 L diesel engine was replaced by a bigger 2.2 L 3C-E unit in April 1998. This new engine could be optioned with four-wheel drive system for the commercial van. The business wagon also received new standard safety pack such as front passenger airbag, ABS and seatbelts with pretensioner and force limiter. The 1998 safety pack update became standard for commercial van in August 2000 and the 4-speed manual transmission was upgraded to 5-speed unit. The wagons were discontinued in 2002 and succeeded by Probox.

This platform was also produced in the US as the last Sprinter-based Geo Prizm and only available as a sedan, as the liftback body style was discontinued in the North American market. Toyota also introduced a 4-door hardtop sedan (with frameless door windows) based on E100 Sprinter/Corolla called the Sprinter Marino/Corolla Ceres.

Eighth generation (E110; 1995)
The eighth and last generation Sprinter was introduced in May 1995 with particular consideration for the environment, increasing safety standard and total production cost due the Lost Decades recession that was happening in Japan at the time. Because of this, the E110 Sprinter kept many of the E100's components as well as its platform, hardly changed its body dimensions and yet managed to reduce the weight for the early models. The rear quarter window on the C-pillars was also revived, ostensibly to impart the Sprinter with a "sporty and youthful image".

The E110 Sprinter became the basis of third generation Sprinter Carib, which was also exported to Europe with different face as Corolla wagon. The E100 Sprinter wagons continued for sale as commercial vehicles.

In May 1996, the dual airbags and ABS safety package became standard for ever trim level. Eleven months later, the sedan received its facelift and adopting the GOA (Global Outstanding Assessment) body structure technology. The GT trim was also revived with 5 PS extra power than the older AE101 GT and paired with 6-speed manual transmission. The last major update of Sprinter was announced in April 1998, the 2.0 2C-III diesel engine was replaced by a bigger 2.2 L 3C-E unit and also new 5-speed manual option for 1.3 4E-FE engine.

The Sprinter sedan sales was axed in December 2000 in favor of a twin of the E120 Corolla RunX hatchback called the Allex. The older E100 Sprinter commercial wagons continued on until July 2002.

Nameplate usage for other models
The Sprinter name was used as a sportier specification of the Corolla sedan in South Africa from E30 until E80 generation. The nameplate was later reused in 2006 (E110), 2010 (E140) and 2014 (E180).

In Germany, the E20 coupe was marketed as the Corolla 1200 Sprinter.

European market E100 Corolla liftback was sold in Australia as Corolla Sprinter.