The Mark II's siblings, the Chaser and the Cresta, were discontinued due to declining sales, partly influenced by the Japanese recession that started in the early 1990s and were combined into the short-lived Toyota Verossa.
The instrument panel came standard with a round tachometer, speedometer, volt meter, water temperature, oil pressure, and fuel gauge.
[12] The DX sedan and station wagon offered a front bench seat with individually reclining seatbacks while other trim packages and the hardtop coupé came only with a full-length centre console that could accommodate either a manual or automatic transmission gear selector.
Fortunately, the second-generation Mark II increased in size and would be one of the few sensible options for families transitioning from larger American Detroit cars during the 1973 oil crisis and remain competitive with other Japanese makers selling their vehicles.
Standard features included a six-cylinder SOHC engine, four-speed manual transmission, front disc brakes, heater defroster, and bucket seats.
The lines combine the previous generation's American styling with a British-looking front end rather than using the new corporate Toyota appearance as seen on the larger S80 series Crown.
This generation offered as standard equipment a new windshield wiper and headlight switch installation, with the controls operated by levers attached to the steering column.
[17] Some of the standard or optional items included power express down for the driver's window, a tilt steering wheel adjustment, a system monitor that would inform if the disc brake lining needed to be serviced, an AM/FM Stereo radio with four speakers, a separately available cassette player or 8-track cassette, full instrumentation including a volt meter and oil pressure, cruise control, and the rear seat back that could fold down to accommodate long items in the boot.
[17] Mid-grade trim packages with the four-cylinder engine and the automatic transmission replaced the tachometer with an econometer that used intake manifold vacuum pressure to display "power", "acceleration", or "cruising".
All body styles were now integrated with a safety cage with crumple zones for the front and rear, a body-on-frame chassis was abandoned, and unitary construction was now used.
In New Zealand, a two-litre four-cylinder sedan version replaced the six-cylinder Crown in local assembly after the 1970s oil crises prompted the government to impose a 60% sales tax on cars with engines larger than two litres.
The Toyota Carina sedan and wagon also sold in the United Kingdom at this time were also badged as De Luxe (but were rebadged as DX from 1980 onwards).
Changes from the previous generation included a larger engine using electronic fuel injection, now up to 116 hp (87 kW) at 4800 rpm in North American trim.
Much like the contemporary Camry and Corolla, the US market Cressida had a unique interior that differed from other LHD variants, including those sold in nearby Canada, in order to satisfy American design tastes and certain federal requirements.
The Cressida was the first car to offer an automatic motorized passive seat belt system, a full year ahead of the legal requirement taking effect.
The US-market 1981 Cressida was the first car to come with motorized automatic shoulder harnesses which wrapped around front seat occupants when the door was closed and the ignition switched on.
1 vehicle"; alternatively called the "Circle-F" project), a clandestine effort aimed at producing a world-class luxury sedan for international markets.
As well as for private buyers, the Mark II range also contained models specifically targeting fleet sales, government agencies, and taxi services.
In Indonesia, the Cressida GLX-i was available with a 109 PS (80 kW) version of the two-litre 1G-E 6-cylinder engine with no emissions controls and low compression suitable for lower-octane petrol.
[33] First released in August 1988, the Mark II was no longer the top level sedan at Toyopet Store locations in Japan with the introduction of the Toyota Celsior in October 1989.
The Comfort was released on December 19, 1995, as a fleet-oriented replacement for the X80 series Mark II in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau and Singapore.
Standard equipment included power windows and locks, cruise control, a tilt-telescoping steering wheel, and a four-speed automatic transmission.
The Cressida was praised for its ride, handling, fuel mileage for its class (23 mpg [US] average according to a July 1989 Consumer Reports test), and reliability.
Downsides include a somewhat uncomfortable back seat, ride quality that deteriorated with a full load of passengers, and a boot with only 12.5 cubic feet of space.
The most substantive change was the 1990 facelift for model year 1991, which brought brighter alloy wheels, a redesigned grille containing the new Toyota "T" logo, and simplified climate controls.
Initially, both XL and GL could be had with a solid rear axle suspension instead of double wishbones but that option was dropped with the facelift in late 1990 for the 1991 model year.
This was popular as both a taxi and with private buyers alike due to its immense reliability, tough body panels, cheap spare parts and relatively comfortable ride.
The larger Avalon was a front-wheel drive full-size car, powered by a V6 engine, as the third-generation Camry remained in the mid-market but now had grown in proportions to be classified as a mid-size.
The Grande trim levels had a plethora of options and features available not limited to but including tilt-steering, standard ABS, traction control and AWD.
This generation of Mark II also host a new feature call Navi AI-shift, which uses GPS signals and shifts the automatic transmission into the appropriate gear.