The Toyota Lite Ace

(Edited Note: The Lite Ace above is the Lite Ace of my family.)

My family owns a 1993 Toyota Lite Ace GXL. Silver green and still running. Similar to the car shown above. And as much as I've been pushing my folks to sell it, part of me still has a great deal of fondness to that car.

I've learned to drive using that car. I brushed the entire right side of the van against our subdivision's gate while driving in from a practice run in FTI. This was because at the driving school I was driving a car with wheels in front of me, while the Lite Ace's wheels sit below me. Hence, I turned too early and the rest is history.

That car has been on plenty of road trips with my folks. We've driven it to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, for family vacations. And it has dropped me off in Naga, Camarines Sur to finish college.

I haven't driven it in years, the last I can remember is in 2000. I don't count the times I fix it's parking since that just involves first gear, reverse, and some small maneuvers.

It's a great car, but it's age is showing. The engine just isn't as strong as it used to be. It's very slow to accelerate, slower than before. It has difficulty climbing inclined slopes. And it has a tendency to overheat once the A/C is turned on. (Lite Aces are known for overheating but my dad fixed that problem by replacing the radiator hose with a more durable one - end of problem.)

Some switches work only when they feel like it. Like the A/C switch. You have to pray to the gods for the A/C to switch on. Or you have to let the car warm up before even attempting to turn it on or else be prepared to spend the whole trip without A/C. Then there's the hazard light switch - it doesn't work at all.

The headlights are really, really weak. I'm guessing this can be easily fixed by putting stronger bulbs.

The rear seats have no seatbelts - no place to put the child seat in.

But despite all of the faults I just wrote, the Lite Ace is still a great van. Why?

It's spacious. It can seat five comfortably, and if you fold down the rear seats you can seat another three. Or it can carry a huge amount of cargo. We used the Lite Ace when my wife and I moved into our condo before, and we used it to carry our stuff when we left the condo a year later.

It's easy to drive. Believe it or not, it has no power steering but it is very easy to turn the wheel even in slow driving. The only issue I have is that a) it's manual transmission and b) the handbrake is not in the usual sedan position.

It's got excellent ride height. You don't have to worry about shallow flash floods in the Metro. You don't have to worry about some potholes, and you don't have to be concerned about some of the crappy-built speed bumps.

It's just recently that I realized that the Lite Ace we have is a perfect family car. If, and only if, a lot of work goes on it to modernize it. And that's what I'll most likely write about in my next entry - what I plan to do with the Lite Ace (if I had the money).

Out.