Maybe I was lulled into a false sense of security, but I almost choked at the sight of the service bill placed in front of me. The detailed commentary of what had been carried out became a distant muffle in the background as I stood there with my eyes wide open.

The gearbox linkage had been oiled to try to improve the notchy 'box and the brakes checked as they didn't feel as good as other Celica's I have driven, though they were deemed to be fine. Still, ΂£161.01 seemed rather excessive to me for a routine oil service, especially when you consider that the labour costs alone were more than the ΂£85 it cost to service our much-missed long-term MR2. With service bills like that, no wonder the servicing department was having a quiet day. Or maybe with Toyotas being so trouble-free, when they finally do get a customer through the door, they have to make the most of them!

But let's hope the light-footed Celica turns out to be a cheap 'un to run in the long term. After all, it hasn't let me down, it hasn't used a drop of oil since new and there's still 6mm and 8mm of tread left on its front and rear Pirellis. I'm rather hoping they will last another 10,000 miles like the MR2's tyres. Now, that would keep MD Metcalfe as happy as Mr Larry.