The Tercel is a subcompact

Subcompact car

Subcompact car is a North American term used to describe automobiles whose class size is smaller than that of a compact car, usually not exceeding in length, but larger than a microcar...

 manufactured from 1978 to 2000 across five generations, in five body configurations — sized between the Corolla

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million...

 and the Starlet

Toyota Starlet

The Toyota Starlet is a small automobile manufactured by Toyota from 1973 to 1999, replacing the Publica, but retaining the Publica's "P" code and generation numbering. The Starlet was marketed as the Publica in some Toyota export markets.-40 Series:...

. Manufactured at the Takaoka Plant in Toyota City, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, and sharing its platform with the Cynos (aka Paseo

Toyota Paseo

The Toyota Paseo is a sports styled compact car sold from 1991–1999 and was loosely based on the Toyota Tercel. It was available as a coupe and in later models as a convertible...

) and the Starlet, the Tercel was marketed variously as the Corolla II — and was replaced by the Echo

Toyota Platz

The Toyota Platz is a subcompact automobile that was manufactured in Japan by Toyota from 1999 through to 2005, when replaced by the Toyota Belta. Designated by Toyota as the XP10 series, the Platz was sold in export markets as either the Toyota Echo or Toyota Yaris...

 in 2000. It was also known as the and sold at different Toyota Japan dealerships dedicated to particular core models.

Tercel was the first front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and...

 vehicle ever produced by Toyota, establishing a layout

FF layout

In automotive design, an FF, or Front-engine, Front-wheel drive layout places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle.-Usage implications:...

 and frame

Frame (vehicle)

A frame is the main structure of the chassis of a motor vehicle. All other components fasten to it; a term for this is design is body-on-frame construction.In 1920, every motor vehicle other than a few cars based on motorcycles had a frame...

 that was later used in popular Toyota models.