Love my Blade Master - your reaction was similar to mine the first time I planted it at 50km/h. I think it belongs to its own category - 'muscle hatch'.
@@steventhomas9461 Lock the trans in third and it does a nice job climbing a twisty mountain pass. Won't have the involvement of a lighter, manual hatch but it's great up to 7/10s. Lots of grip and torque.
This is like a Toyota Matrix with a factory V6. I am totally jealous of you guys getting this awesome car. Great review and thank you for introducing this car to us North Americans!
Got a 07 Blade Master and honestly have to agree with everything you've said. More a "luxury cruiser" instead of a full on "sports/performance car" and the handling is definitely a bit wallowy but sacrificies handling for comfort. Great review mate hope to see more in the future!
@@lilPOPjim Sorry for the late response. I do mostly around town driving with the occasional motorway trip once or twice a tank. I normally average somewhere between 8.5 - 9.5km/l depending how much of that is spent in traffic 😅 Done a few trips on the open road and got the average up to 12 - 13km/l quite easily though.
@OhItzFuzion I've purchased the blade master (face-lift 2011) in-between your reply :😀 That's about what I do. Around town its around 9 km/l, on the motorway I get 13 or so. We have E10 in the UK, so one day I'm going to try 98 and see how it goes with that. More expensive though!
Mate, I have to say - what you've done to your Accord is top tier modification level. Tasteful but really well thought out functionally in terms of performance. What you've done should be textbook how to modify your car for performance. Do you want it to be a horsepower hero? Ok but do you it to be real world fast? Different thing altogether.
Shame it only comes in grandpa spec auto. A manual, exhaust and induction would totally transform this car. Btw the 2gr is one of the best sounding v6 engines ever. Anyone saying they don't sound good hasn't heard a supercharged one in a Lotus.
I can happily advise that a 2GR-FE with Supercharger also makes great progress - when in a heavy Aurion. The engine has powered a lot of Toyota models so should be plentiful for years to come.
Anyone complaining about the 2GR sound has clearly only ever heard it in a sleepy SUV or similar, where the exhaust hides its thunder. Have a search on CZcams for 2GR swapped MR2's, which have at most like 2 meters of exhaust from header to tip, and you'll learn. Thanks to all the intake/valve tech, its torque curve is rock solid all the way up to 7200 RPM with no worries.
The 2GRs are super underlooked imo, I haven't driven a crazy ammount of cars, but every NA engine I've driven has been the same (including a stock k25 and vq35) that first second of acceleration is strong, then after that it feels like the power curve is just flat. But the 2gr genuinely feels super linear and I really dig the sound, plus really reliable
I have one of the 2.4L blades but equipped with AWD. While it desperately lacks the power of the V6, the AWD makes a case for itself. Might be worth swapping the V6 into mine and using the AWD drivetrain to make the power and torque feel much more brutal and improve the handling.
Thanks for the review. I remember converting Japanese Toyota websites to English back when this car was new wondering if this car would be any good. I concluded that while it would be a great gt car it probably wouldn’t be a good mountain racer like the Corolla sportivo I had at the time. Seems my thoughts were correct. I was tempted to buy one recently but your video turned me off the car. You saved me from doing a regretful purchase thank you.
Haha well I mean it's still a good car, it's just quite front heavy and the suspension is more set up for comfort. "Muscle hatch" is how I'd describe it
Bro review a Lexus is350 it’s the same engine but 306hp the blade engine is de-tuned compared to the is350. I had a is350 before upgrading to a ls460 haha bloody great engine and will be better in the Lexus
2GR-FE in blade has port injection only, 2GR-FSE in IS350/GS350/Crown athlete has both port injection and direct injection, aka D-4S. So thats not about the de-tuned things.
The Lexus is too heavy. You'll get a completely different feel. Plus, all the torque on a front wheel drive gives you a different feel. In the end the IS350 will be much more fun to drive but the instant feel of the power when you put your foot down will be better in the Blade Master.
I vouch for the blade. I've got a slightly modified one and I've raced both IS350 AND LS460 and have beaten both (until we had to slow down), extremely fun car to own 🤣 decided I wasn't gonna sell it after beating a SS Commy 🤣
Nice video. I'm from Wellington too and I am a big fan of the 2GR series. I've got an Aurion Sportivo that shocked me when I realized how fast it is. The 2012+ Aurions are faster than the earlier ones despite both having the same power rating of 204kw. I think they are more like 220kw when using premium fuel. I think these may be the best NZ car in terms of acceleration/purchase price/fuel economy and RELIABILITY. The Mark X Zio is another 2GR powered car that is one hell of a sleeper. People hated getting smoked by my "minivan".
Got a Master, fuel economy is amazingly good I feel. Mine gets used for a 50km highway run to work each day, and to be honest it uses no more gas than the 1.5 litre buzzbox I was using. Use cruise control, run it on 95 or 98 and do the speed limit, it's amazingly economical. But these Masters will put a smile on your face every time you drive it, especially with some exhaust work to hear the beast. The ultimate sleeper..look on CZcams and you will see how quick they are.
There has been some comments on the handling of the blade with all that weight of the V6 in the front. I whacked another 4 pounds all round in the tyres, on whats on the door pillar, and its a huge improvement on mine. 38F 35R
These Blade master's are little sleepers, I almost bought one but was also let down by the transmission. Ended up buying a 350GT Skyline Sedan much better transmission and abit more luxury. But nonetheless the Blade is wicked!!
would love to see a review on a VW Bora 4motion - 2.8L VR6 AWD manual sedan making a touch more power than the honda, would make for an interesting comparison
@KiwiCarLife Could have been, I remember it was left hand drive for a couple years. Honestly wouldn’t mind it as a project but missed out on the chance to get it :(
Such a bummer Blades were JDM only cars. It's crazy that Toyota even considered putting that big V6 in it. I can't think of any other manufacturer that tried something similar to their hatchbacks.
Thanks for the video If the blade freight trained the Honda it was going on the list of JDM car to buy. but after watching that no thanks 😂 Misses own same Honda and we selling it for a blit 😁
Man great vid. On fb market pl in auckland I saw one blade master with 6 speed manual (converted one) long time ago. Now i am thinking why didn't i check it "facepalm".
Haha yeah it's probably the only one around... Trouble is he used a diesel Corolla gearbox which had really long ratios... Probably not the most amazing to drive frankly
I really don’t like that car design at all To make matters worst in my region when it came it was more expensive than the Mark X 😱 I’m talking about the 2.4 version and basically twice the price of the Accord
@@pdouangsavanh yeah could be right there. I remember a magazine review of the first v6 lotus and there was me too if the weird gear ratios. Wouldn’t surprise me if they took it ‘as is’ for the run of the model. Lotus has never been a big budget outfit.
@Jesse Landreth interesting. I haven't figured what it does around town, brim to brim (I just got one last week). But it done 37mpg which is about 7.5l per 100km which is damn good. That's on E10 at the moment, which is 95 octane.
Yes. They are all auto from factory, so given no manual ones left the factory, finding a factory manual one would likely find more challenging than finding a grocery aisle at a barber
Not completely sure what you mean but if you have it in M4 say at low revs and floor it, it will downshift into 2nd or 3rd. In essence it's just a gear limiter rather than a gear selector
You only made one mistake in driving the Blade Master and that is using the useless paddle shifters. They're only good for downshifting. I bet you if you do the review again and only use the gear shift option in sport you will have a different impression.
This is amazing I love a Blade Master. Such an underrated car
Mmm yeah they're pretty good man
Love my Blade Master - your reaction was similar to mine the first time I planted it at 50km/h. I think it belongs to its own category - 'muscle hatch'.
Yes! That's a good way of putting it
Great in a straight line ,corners is not the blade masters friend
@@steventhomas9461 Mmm
@@steventhomas9461 Lock the trans in third and it does a nice job climbing a twisty mountain pass. Won't have the involvement of a lighter, manual hatch but it's great up to 7/10s. Lots of grip and torque.
What do you get fuel wise out of the master being a V6? What's the fuel like around town and on the motorway?
This is like a Toyota Matrix with a factory V6. I am totally jealous of you guys getting this awesome car. Great review and thank you for introducing this car to us North Americans!
Yeah it's quite cool aye
Got a 07 Blade Master and honestly have to agree with everything you've said. More a "luxury cruiser" instead of a full on "sports/performance car" and the handling is definitely a bit wallowy but sacrificies handling for comfort. Great review mate hope to see more in the future!
Thanks man and yeah agree. More comparisons to come in the next few weeks!
What do you get fuel wise out of the master being a V6? What's the fuel like around town and on the motorway?
@@lilPOPjim Sorry for the late response. I do mostly around town driving with the occasional motorway trip once or twice a tank. I normally average somewhere between 8.5 - 9.5km/l depending how much of that is spent in traffic 😅 Done a few trips on the open road and got the average up to 12 - 13km/l quite easily though.
@@lilPOPjim Should've mentioned I use 98 fuel as well (no ethanol).
@OhItzFuzion
I've purchased the blade master (face-lift 2011) in-between your reply :😀
That's about what I do. Around town its around 9 km/l, on the motorway I get 13 or so.
We have E10 in the UK, so one day I'm going to try 98 and see how it goes with that. More expensive though!
Are you telling me, you guys have an Auris with a V6?!
Yeah basically
Yessir only kiwis lol
Mate, I have to say - what you've done to your Accord is top tier modification level. Tasteful but really well thought out functionally in terms of performance. What you've done should be textbook how to modify your car for performance. Do you want it to be a horsepower hero? Ok but do you it to be real world fast? Different thing altogether.
Thanks man and yeah I'm not too keen on big numbers I just want it to drive nice which I think I've achieved
Dude, his accord has a very basic preparation...xD
Such a stunning car, I love both the Accord and the Blade
Indeed
Shame it only comes in grandpa spec auto. A manual, exhaust and induction would totally transform this car. Btw the 2gr is one of the best sounding v6 engines ever. Anyone saying they don't sound good hasn't heard a supercharged one in a Lotus.
Yeah a manual one would genuinely be good, that and an IS350
I wish it got the automatic transmission in the NC MX5 that goes hard
meh you dont need manual, auto is the way to go, so much easier to drive 99.9% of the time.
Sounds amazing in an MR2 swap too
I can happily advise that a 2GR-FE with Supercharger also makes great progress - when in a heavy Aurion. The engine has powered a lot of Toyota models so should be plentiful for years to come.
Oh yeah absolutely
Anyone complaining about the 2GR sound has clearly only ever heard it in a sleepy SUV or similar, where the exhaust hides its thunder.
Have a search on CZcams for 2GR swapped MR2's, which have at most like 2 meters of exhaust from header to tip, and you'll learn.
Thanks to all the intake/valve tech, its torque curve is rock solid all the way up to 7200 RPM with no worries.
Ah yes
Great video good to see the blade was the main focus of the video
I tried haha
The 2GRs are super underlooked imo, I haven't driven a crazy ammount of cars, but every NA engine I've driven has been the same (including a stock k25 and vq35) that first second of acceleration is strong, then after that it feels like the power curve is just flat.
But the 2gr genuinely feels super linear and I really dig the sound, plus really reliable
Yeah they're great
I have one of the 2.4L blades but equipped with AWD. While it desperately lacks the power of the V6, the AWD makes a case for itself. Might be worth swapping the V6 into mine and using the AWD drivetrain to make the power and torque feel much more brutal and improve the handling.
That would be interesting to see
Probably blow the trans to bits😂
Wow that’s a unicorn one the AWD version 😊
Thanks for the review. I remember converting Japanese Toyota websites to English back when this car was new wondering if this car would be any good. I concluded that while it would be a great gt car it probably wouldn’t be a good mountain racer like the Corolla sportivo I had at the time. Seems my thoughts were correct. I was tempted to buy one recently but your video turned me off the car. You saved me from doing a regretful purchase thank you.
Haha well I mean it's still a good car, it's just quite front heavy and the suspension is more set up for comfort. "Muscle hatch" is how I'd describe it
@@KiwiCarLife hehe yes very true maybe in a few years when I am past my mountain driving days.
Bro review a Lexus is350 it’s the same engine but 306hp the blade engine is de-tuned compared to the is350. I had a is350 before upgrading to a ls460 haha bloody great engine and will be better in the Lexus
If I can get my hands on one i will!
2GR-FE in blade has port injection only, 2GR-FSE in IS350/GS350/Crown athlete has both port injection and direct injection, aka D-4S. So thats not about the de-tuned things.
The Lexus is too heavy. You'll get a completely different feel. Plus, all the torque on a front wheel drive gives you a different feel. In the end the IS350 will be much more fun to drive but the instant feel of the power when you put your foot down will be better in the Blade Master.
@@thomaswills2301 ehh maybe
I vouch for the blade. I've got a slightly modified one and I've raced both IS350 AND LS460 and have beaten both (until we had to slow down), extremely fun car to own 🤣 decided I wasn't gonna sell it after beating a SS Commy 🤣
Nice video. I'm from Wellington too and I am a big fan of the 2GR series. I've got an Aurion Sportivo that shocked me when I realized how fast it is. The 2012+ Aurions are faster than the earlier ones despite both having the same power rating of 204kw. I think they are more like 220kw when using premium fuel. I think these may be the best NZ car in terms of acceleration/purchase price/fuel economy and RELIABILITY. The Mark X Zio is another 2GR powered car that is one hell of a sleeper. People hated getting smoked by my "minivan".
Yeah they're good cars
The mark x zio v6 would actually be an awesome daily, have any trouble with it?
@@sircefiro I didn't have it that long as it didn't have cruise control. My friend has one though and it's been good so far.
that first pull in the blade tho
Oh yeah man it goes hard haha
Got a Master, fuel economy is amazingly good I feel. Mine gets used for a 50km highway run to work each day, and to be honest it uses no more gas than the 1.5 litre buzzbox I was using. Use cruise control, run it on 95 or 98 and do the speed limit, it's amazingly economical. But these Masters will put a smile on your face every time you drive it, especially with some exhaust work to hear the beast. The ultimate sleeper..look on CZcams and you will see how quick they are.
What does the actual fuel economy read out in the gauges say?
The reaction to the first pull in the blade got my like ahaha
Haha honestly it blew me away aye - was not expecting
Love the 2GR. I have a 2017 Aurion ZR6 goes like stink for a v6 car. Plus the auto rev-matchs downshifts
Oh yeah the 2GR is a fantastic engine.
There has been some comments on the handling of the blade with all that weight of the V6 in the front. I whacked another 4 pounds all round in the tyres, on whats on the door pillar, and its a huge improvement on mine. 38F 35R
Yeah they do handle decently well
Driving n/a hondas it’s always nice jumping in a car that actually has Torque.
Yessss
Mate, good review!, and nice to see my old home town!
Cheers man!
These Blade master's are little sleepers, I almost bought one but was also let down by the transmission. Ended up buying a 350GT Skyline Sedan much better transmission and abit more luxury. But nonetheless the Blade is wicked!!
Yeah very much a sleeper
that 3:45 view NZ so beautiful 😍
Haha yeah it's quite nice
My son's Rav4 V6 is a sleeper. 201Kw surprises people.
Yeah they go well
2GR-FE ...Baby!
Lovely motor
would love to see a review on a VW Bora 4motion - 2.8L VR6 AWD manual sedan making a touch more power than the honda, would make for an interesting comparison
Ahh it's too bad coz I had a mate with a supercharged manual vr6 Jetta - basically the same car
@@KiwiCarLife by chance was it a grey left hand drive one?
@@otisbarclay9794 it was grey with rotiform wheels, but rhd - although carjam says it's a us import so maybe it was rhd converted?
@KiwiCarLife Could have been, I remember it was left hand drive for a couple years. Honestly wouldn’t mind it as a project but missed out on the chance to get it :(
toyota for the manual mode you need to press the ect button on so it stays on the gear and rpm so it won’t bog down
Ahh right wasn't aware of that
Hi there, where is the ect button located? thanks
That is a weird looking Auris, and what a name!
It is a bit aye - another rebadged corolla haha
Ive been refreshing your page till this showed up😂
Haha 8pm every sunday bro! Saves the load on the youtube servers ahhah
I was not expecting to see this rare gem, thanks
Well there ya go
@@KiwiCarLife i know its a hard request, but would you be able to organise a roll race between the blade and the mr2 2zz you reviews a while back ?
@@2zztercel558 unlikely, the blade pulled slightly on my accord, and so did the mr-s so I'd estimate they'd be almost dead even
@@KiwiCarLife did you guys get the corolla t sport 2zz compressor where you live ?
@@2zztercel558 nah we didn't
Damn I luv Toyota. Cape Town South Africa 🌍
Lovely brand
Damn that blade master g fucking sick i want one when its 25 years old
Haha fair enough
For a $10k car it's still pretty good. And I get much better mileage than that. But I'm biased.
Yeah nah they're good man!
I can't believe your car kept up with this with its 2GR xD lol
Haha yeah not bad aye - mind you the blade has a detuned one... It wouldn't hold it's own against an is350
@@KiwiCarLife huh? Is350 is a high output version of the 2gr (using premium fuel), no way your car can keep up
@@automotivetv9861 yeah that's what I'm saying, my accord wouldn't hold it's own against an is350
@@KiwiCarLife oh my bad, does your car require premium fuel like the 2.4 in the civic SI in north America?
@@automotivetv9861 Yeah 95 octane
Such a bummer Blades were JDM only cars. It's crazy that Toyota even considered putting that big V6 in it. I can't think of any other manufacturer that tried something similar to their hatchbacks.
Golf R32 was similar I guess
@@KiwiCarLife yes you're absolutely right mate, forgot about that one. 😁👍
And just remembered another one actually, Alfa 147 GTA, V6 as well.
@@liberty0758 Yes that too
It was the guys at TRD having a bit of fun, and it was their quirky way of making a Golf Gti rival.
The blade is great value. I have one and it's a overtaking machine... Half the price of the Accord.
Yeah they're good, not half the price tho
Looks like you were driving up the gorge in Wellington......I have a white Toyota Blade Master
Nice yeah I was
Corolla Blade Master G . Alternative
he is
COROLLA GR
But Blade Master G still sounds better
And more cylinders than the new one
Yes
Thanks for the video
If the blade freight trained the Honda it was going on the list of JDM car to buy.
but after watching that no thanks 😂
Misses own same Honda and we selling it for a blit 😁
Yeah mate I was surprised my accord kept up
Sound 3.5 most real good 👍 bro 😎 I drive brother this car - auris 1.4 😊 96 hp love ❤️ my auris, change me 1.4 to 3.5 blade engine 😂😂😂 😮
Good noise
we need some track battles and 1/4 mile races!
That would be cool! Track day in September
Be good to see a what the engine is like in lexus models, it’s a shame none came in manual though
Mmm yeah for sure... I'll have to get my hands on an IS350 one day
Could you do a comparison with a Lexus is350?
If I can find one yeah
Blade my dream car
Nice!
Man great vid. On fb market pl in auckland I saw one blade master with 6 speed manual (converted one) long time ago. Now i am thinking why didn't i check it "facepalm".
Haha yeah it's probably the only one around... Trouble is he used a diesel Corolla gearbox which had really long ratios... Probably not the most amazing to drive frankly
Ah thats not ideal honestly. Waiting for your next vid mate. keep it up.
Check out the Toyota Mark X GR, has the same engine
Indeed
I really don’t like that car design at all
To make matters worst in my region when it came it was more expensive than the Mark X 😱
I’m talking about the 2.4 version and basically twice the price of the Accord
Oh wow
There was one on trademe few years ago with a manual swap. Word is the ratios were pretty trash because the box was from a diesel corolla
Yes I saw that and yeah long gears so I heard. Still cool tho!
Iirc, lotus used a diesel Corolla gearbox as well because it’s the only one they have that can handle the torque.
@@markmcgrath9098 they may have changed the gearing though because diesel boxes are generally not suited for high revs
@@pdouangsavanh yeah could be right there. I remember a magazine review of the first v6 lotus and there was me too if the weird gear ratios. Wouldn’t surprise me if they took it ‘as is’ for the run of the model. Lotus has never been a big budget outfit.
@@markmcgrath9098 yeah i asked the guy who manual swapped a blade using the diesel box and he sold it cheap cause the ratios were not ideal.
Today fuel price around Wellington: 95# 2.74
Spenny!
If it only was more stable and cornered better then i would still have my Blade master
Mmmm yeah that's kinda the only thing with it aye
you need to put a k20 head on your k24 block so you can get more power and it will breath better
Nah I'm good - happy with it how it is
Good to hear from you !
If you ever come to Melbourne pm me you can drive my tune is350
Would be cool
I got the master G version with a power comander and all other bits done to it, it look slightly different to the one you tested
Maybe yours is a facelift
What do you get fuel wise out of the master being a V6? What's the fuel like around town and on the motorway?
@@lilPOPjim I get about 8.5l per 100k on open road and about 11.5l per 100k round town. I run it on 95
@Jesse Landreth interesting. I haven't figured what it does around town, brim to brim (I just got one last week). But it done 37mpg which is about 7.5l per 100km which is damn good.
That's on E10 at the moment, which is 95 octane.
Toyota blade Master factory comes in auto so it might be hard to find them in manual a lot
Yes. They are all auto from factory, so given no manual ones left the factory, finding a factory manual one would likely find more challenging than finding a grocery aisle at a barber
Can put diesel corolaa boxes in them, one on CZcams have a look
If the blades transmission is in tiptronic does it still shift down? My gt4 caldina stays in the gear I'm in if I'm in tiptronic mode
Not completely sure what you mean but if you have it in M4 say at low revs and floor it, it will downshift into 2nd or 3rd. In essence it's just a gear limiter rather than a gear selector
Can you compare it to a Toyota mark X if you have one
Maybe if I can find one
How fast is toyota blade master??
Pretty quick
Can you install a turbo on Honda Accord euros ?
Yes but it's not cheap or easy
So is the your accord an Acura TSX in the states?
Yes
Cab manual convert the blade
Yeah someone’s done it in NZ somewhere
Can you do the 2.4 Toyota blade
No
@@KiwiCarLife oh why? am in Kenya and I have a tuned 2.4L version but I smoke most cars here lol
@@alexmunene4453 haha nah I was just being overly cynical
You're telling me Toyota made a Matrix with a V6, and the US didn't get one? Why?! Why don't we ever get any of the good cars?! 😭😭
Dunno man...
Is there any handling mods for Blade v6?
Maybe lowering springs and sway bars? Or just better tyres will make the biggest difference
@@KiwiCarLife you didn't push it around the corners hard enough to the point when the computer had a tant and beeps at you an then cuts power
@@danielshatford2302 yeah because I turned traction control off haha
there was a supercharged Blade from factory somewhere don't know if nz got it. - incorrect (see below)
Really? Never seen one...
@@numbereightyseven maybe got the aurion supercharged mixed up around 2007
@@zpe1200 Yep! The TRD Aurion was supercharged.
Toyota Blade??? That's Auris model in Europe...😂😂😂
Yep they have a lot of different names around the country. The blade is definitely different though. Based on the Corolla but has different lights etc
Blade has a lot better quality interior plus a lot more power.
You only made one mistake in driving the Blade Master and that is using the useless paddle shifters. They're only good for downshifting.
I bet you if you do the review again and only use the gear shift option in sport you will have a different impression.
Nah haha
Camry aurion sportivo
Yes
Accord is 210 hp x Blade master 280 hp
Yes however mine is modified and is in fact making 210whp not crank
that's a toyota auris on steroids
Yeah basically
Hoey moy gowrd
Yes
dont you think thats a little dangerous to drive like that around other people? if youre going to do that atleast dont show your speedo.....
No idea what you're on about
Ездил я на аккорде. Не валит он совсем. Ноль
Yes
First?
Damn right 😂
Just so the Instagram post, perfect timing i guess
U know it!
Woop dee doo.