Quick Review: The Toyota Sera is a 30-year-old bubble car that is quite liveable in 2022
CY Foong · Mar 27, 2022 12:00 PM
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Every petrolhead has a dream car that they wish to own one day and for Parker, it’s the Smart Roadster. Well, the targa-top Smart is quite difficult to find in Malaysia, so instead, he went for the next best thing, a 1991 Toyota Sera.
In fact, the Toyota Sera isn’t just any regular 30-year-old car, it’s one of the wildest and bubbliest-looking models to bear a Toyota badge. Were it not for a booming Japanese economy that saw many manufacturers become bold and daring, we may never see the Sera come to life with its butterfly doors that famously inspired the doors of one of the fastest cars in the world.
Still, the Sera wasn’t a performance car and was never meant to be one. Its target buyers were women but its appeal transcended across genders and yet, less than 16,000 units were built.
Despite being only available in Japan, it was imported into a few right-hand drive (RHD) markets overseas, via grey import. Parker’s Sera was one of those that were brought outside of Japan and he’s currently its third owner.
Unidentified Flyest Object
Parker’s interest in weird and interesting cars is similar to this writer and the Sera is definitely eye-catching, especially with its doors opened. Though our shooting location was mostly devoid of onlookers, we noticed a few of them slowing down to catch a glimpse of what can be described as a UFO on wheels.
The butterfly doors are very fancy with the driver’s side being raised a little higher than the passenger side to allow for better entry. The doors’ upward opening allow them to be opened even in confined spaces, so no worries then as you exit the car with grace.
While all eyes are fixated on the doors, another glassy area of the Sera is the rear hatch. Combined with the glass that connects from the doors to the roof as well as the front windshield and you get an experience that is best described as being like in a bubble or a goldfish in a bowl.
Without roof blinds (top) and with roof blinds (bottom)
The glassy dome gives the car a truly airy feel but under the hot Malaysian sun, that can be a bit of an issue as you feel the heat from above. Thankfully, Toyota knew about this so the Sera is provided with a pair of removable panels that can be placed on the interior roof.
However, that defeats the charm of the “bubble effect” so we chose not to put it on as we took a short drive. Thankfully, it’s a Toyota so the air-cond is doing just fine.
Note the silver paint in the Toyota badge, revealing its original colour
As mentioned earlier, the Sera was meant to be for women and was offered with some funky and interesting colours but this bluish-grey colour wasn’t original. Parker said that the Sera was originally painted silver before it was repainted by the previous owner.
Aside from the colour, the wheels, and the audio system, Parker’s Sera is pretty stock. Based on the odometer, this Sera has less than 150,000 km in mileage. The first owner bought it back in 1991 and was based in Penang before it was sold to an avid Sera collector from Muar, Johor who had at least 3 in his garage.
Of the 3 Seras, this was the cleanest one in his collection and according to Parker, he was given an “interview” by the owner before passing the keys and grant. Needless to say, Parker has added around 19,000 km to the mileage ever since he bought it back in 2020.
Wild but also normal
The lower part of the windows go all the way down, like a conventional car
The exterior of the Sera is certainly extraordinary but the same can’t be said about the interior. Not that there is anything bad about it; it’s just familiar. That might be a good thing as apart from the wild doors, the Sera is a liveable car from the Japanese Bubble Era.
Step inside and you get the distinct whiff of a 1990s Toyota with the switches, the steering wheel, and even the slider that controls the air-conditioner being taken from another model that bears an ellipses badge.
Those are quite bearable as the switches and handles feel like they would never break apart. It shares the same platform as the Toyota Starlet, Tercel, and Cynos/Paseo which Toyota sold plenty outside of Malaysia so parts aren’t really a major issue, according to Parker. Though they can be quite pricey since they are brought overseas and shipping takes some time.
Aside from that and the parts that are unique to the Sera (i.e. anything made out of glass), it’s simply a regular Toyota that you can just send to any mechanic for maintenance. After all, underneath, the engine is nothing spectacular but a standard 1.5-litre 5E-FHE inline-4 petrol unit.
Shifting into reverse emits a chime but there are no reverse sensors
The fuel-injected unit produces 104 PS and 132 Nm with power sent to the front wheels via a 4-speed automatic. 5-speed manual transmission models were offered but those were rare and would be the preferred choice by Parker.
He has no plans to swap it for a manual transmission even though that could enhance the driving experience. The Sera isn’t a showy car when it comes to performance though and driving with the 4-speed automatic shows how much of a cruiser this bubble car really is.
Yet, I don’t mind the lack of power and when you push the accelerator, the engine feels peppy and eager. With the extensive use of glass, the Sera does feel a bit heavy and around the corners, it feels very much weighed down to the ground.
The Sera is also a 2+2 but the rear seats are not really suited for long journeys or for a brief journey even. There’s no headroom at all as your dome touches the car’s glass dome and you only get lap belts instead a proper 3-point seatbelt.
The regular boot (top) can be expanded by folding the rear seats flat (bottom)
That doesn't mean that the Sera is impractical, it's really quite the opposite with a proper boot below the area where the speakers are placed. The rear seats can also be folded flat to increase cargo space.
Car go moon?
Unlike most Japanese Bubble Cars, prices for the Toyota Sera aren’t extravagant and we've found a few online that cost below RM 60,000. Parker wouldn’t disclose the amount he paid for this Sera but it was within his budget.
He treats the Sera as a weekend car and despite the seemingly reliable Toyota mechanicals, it is still a 30-year-old car with parts that are getting harder to find. As such, he dailies a regular Proton Inspira instead but whenever he brought the Sera out, stares are surely seen especially when the doors are opened.
The Sera itself is a unique car, having developed from a concept car nearly unchanged. It inspired Gordon Murray for the doors of the McLaren F1 and this one belongs to a huge fan who grew up reading about it in an article. Parker’s dream car garage is only just beginning though as he hopes to own his ultimate collector car – the Mitsuoka Le Seyde.
The Toyota Sera is indeed a car that is appreciated by those with quirky interests and ambitious visions. All while being as liveable and dependable as a Toyota should.
Traded advertising for a career that fits his passion for cars. Enjoys spotting cars during his free time and has a soft spot for Japanese Kei cars but drives a thirsty manual sedan.
