Super Live Sound system was available for them,the JDM versions especially the older gens had some nice kit.Example,the gen5 GT-R i had for a while had 4 wheel steering (i know it was particular for that car although they did a GTR without it), it had climate control,electric foldy mirrors,the electrically adjustable seat you speak of with the lumbar and adjustable side bolsters to really 'hug' you in,you also had the option of cruise control on the JDM car as well.When Wayne had his JDM vert gen4 from 1987,that had the power roof,and it also had the cruise and other buttons mounted on the actual steering wheel exactly like a modern car.That was nearly 30 years ago!Remember the Japs did keep a lot of the good stuff for their own market,also factor in costs as the years went by,the Celica was a pretty pricey car in its day,aimed at a certain market and Toyota did start cutting costs anyway,theres no doubt,especially for the UK market.The technologies with the VVTi system etc etc mechanically were improved over the 3sge days (you can argue about the longevity of the later engines against the modern ones though) but there were definitely cost cutting exercises in materials like plastics for interiors etc.The older gens may look a little dated on the insides etc but they were arguably put together better as well....but again,car manufacturing processes have changed over the years.They dont need to use as much material to fit things together.Try taking off a front bumper from a gen5,ridiculous amount of screws and stuff,Celicas from that era were definitely over engineered.Nowadays you really do have to pay for your toys,but conversely the loaded Celicas werent cheap!
I think since the Celica marque went fromn the scene Toyota have slipped behind Honda and the like personally.Honda for example,still make the small car,the family car,'urban' vehicle,like Toyota do but they and others still recognise their sporting side...they still improve on their 'Type R' cars,theres a new Civic again out now thats a a right beast,there is still a market for these cars.Toyota havent done anything like this for years,probably not since the last of the Supras/GT4s/Fast MR2s were about. You cant put the GT86 in that bracket,we've had countless discussions on this so i wont go too far over all that again,but yes,its a great chassis,and its power to driveability is much like that of say an MX5,neither are very powerful cars but theyre a good package.But since when has a good package been enough?Where's the development?All this TRD history,the rally heritage,all this stuff is what Toyota were famous for,and when it comes to performance cars ,for me theyve done nothing compared to the other manufacturers for years.