With the Altezza, you can easily navigate sharp bends

Alexander loves his Altezza mainly because it is a Toyota and sporty. “It is an amazing sports car that offers a lot of luxury on the road,” he says. He also believes that it is cheaper to acquire compared to most if not all other sports cars. “I bought mine in 2016 from one of the bonds in Kyambogo at Shs17m, and the mileage was about 46,000.”

Looking at the design, Muhindo says it has the look of an extremely fast car. “It has an angry and aggressive appearance and looks like it is ready to take off. Designed for speed, it has a six-cylinder in-line layout with four valves per cylinder,” he speaks of his AS200, 2000 model car.

Muhindo adds that its engine is a double overhead cam shaft 1GFE (similar to that in the European lexus) and is not turbocharged, hence having a continuous flow of power at all engine speeds. The engine power is supplied to the rear wheels through a four-speed automatic transmission. Delivering about 199 brake horsepower at 7600rpm, he says it has a 0-100kph acceleration time of about nine seconds.
Muhindo loves the interior because it has many sports feature.

“However, what I love most are the comfortable seats, the gauge cluster (with mini gauges for temperature, fuel economy and voltage) and the ball gear shift.” It also has an eight-speaker inbuilt sound system with good sound quality.

Maintenance
Muhindo believes the Altezza beats all other sports cars in regards to maintenance. “It uses the same spare parts with the other Toyotas so replacing a part will be straightforward. The parts are also affordable and one could easily get away with a used spare part. Nonetheless, I always use original ones.”
With a two litre (1988cc) petrol engine, it does 12.2km per litre making it a fuel friendly sports car.

He adds that Altezzas come ready with accessories so there is usually no need to spend more money pimping it.
Looking at terrain, Muhindo says its stiff suspension is suitable for our roads. “Today, I am still using the shocks that came with the car. I have only had to change the bushes and z-links once or twice,” he shares. Muhindo is glad to say that the car still looks new inside and outside

John Paul Miiro
John Paul, another Altezza owner, loves his car because of its performance and engine, especially the RS200 which is the model of his car. “I bought the 1999 model in 2017 at Shs22m and I love its power and sporty feel.
More to that, its interior comprises comfortable chairs, a great sound system, among others. I also love its shark-like headlamps and grill,” Miiro shares.

He loves the model so much that he has owned two of them so far.
Miiro gets his spare parts from a trusted dealer in Kisekka Market. “He gets me genuine Japanese parts at an affordable price. For example, I recently replaced all my ignition coils at only Shs400,000.”

He loves driving his Altezza saying: “Timely and consistent servicing will keep your car looking, sounding and feeling new,” Miiro intimates. “It is economical compared to its performance, covering nine kilometres for every litre,” he concludes.

Michael Louboyera Musaasizi
Anyone who has driven a middle sport car will fall in love with a Toyota Altezza on the first test, Michal Louboyera Musaasizi, another Altezza owner, shares.

“I imported my Altezza from Japan in mid-2017. The 2001 model has a Beams 2,000 six-cylinder engine akin to what is found in a Mark II Grande, Toyota Cresta and Toyota Verosa. All these are fast cars but the speed depends on the driver preference. It also has a sun roof, which clears the air in case one does not want to use the air conditioning system,” Musaasizi shares.

He adds that he mostly enjoys the Altezza on the highway. “It picks up speed quickly going up to 100Km per hour within 10-15 seconds. Besides that, fuel consumption also reduces because during traffic jam, consumption is high as heavier gears are engaged.”

The other thing about the Altezza is stability and comfort. “I can pull off any stunt such as spinning, drifting and navigating very sharp corners yet it remains with the grip and stable suspension. When well serviced, the Altezza remains a very ‘loyal’ car,” Musaasizi mentions.
Regarding cost, he says, it took Shs21m to get the car from Japan through to the end of the registration process.

Musaasizi also says the car has been cheap to maintain. “I have not replaced any major part for the last three years but I always ensure to service from well-established service centers every three months. This sets me back between Shs150,000 and Shs300,000, depending on what is being worked on,” he shares. However, in case he needs any spare part, Musaasizi goes to a dealer in Kisekka Market that has served their family over the years.

The major expense he incurs is the fuel, which is around Shs600,000 per month to and from work and running errands in Kampala. “When I travel upcountry, a journey of 400km from Hoima to Kampala, I use about Shs250,000. But to keep this going, I use a fuel card,” Musaasizi points out.

Mechanics
For mechanics, he does not deal with specific ones as every part of the car has specialists. “For example, I cannot employ someone to do wiring when he is a specialist in suspension or engine repair. Secondly, I have always loved practicing mechanics so I do things such as plug replacements, change of coils myself. And most times, when going to a mechanic, I probably know the problem,” he says.

Musaasizi concludes that on a whole, the Altezza is a car he will buy without a second thought.

Speed. Michael Musaasizi says his Altezzapicks up speed quickly going up to 100Km per hour within 10-15 seconds. Besides that, fuel consumption also reduces because during traffic jam, consumption is high as heavier gears are engaged.