Where each one leads
Pontiac Firebird
- Against cars of the same year, the Pontiac Firebird comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 38% less often than average) than the Toyota Celica (fails 33% more often than average).
Toyota Celica
- Fewer Toyota Celica cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (10.2% against 53.9%).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2005 Toyota Celica uses 8.5 l/100 km, the 2002 Pontiac Firebird 11.3.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Pontiac Firebird | Toyota Celica | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1981–2002 | 1981–2006 |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 455 | 7,198 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 1,046 | 2,581 |
| In traffic in Finland | 667 | 668 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Pontiac Firebird | Toyota Celica | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 61% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +4% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.8% | 2.2% |
| … against cars of the same year | −38% | +33% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 53.9% | 10.2% |
| US owner complaints | 586 | 413 |
| Most complaints about | Service brakes, hydraulic | Air bags |
| Model year with most complaints | 1995 (84) | 2000 (106) |
| US recall campaigns | 20 | 7 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,305 | 1,115 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 56 | 12 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Pontiac Firebird | Toyota Celica | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 11.3 l/100 km (2002) | 8.5 l/100 km (2005) |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €39,253 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 113,000 km | 247,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).