Both tercels have cup trays that slide out, consisting of a horizontal piece of plastic with 2 holes in it. For clarity, let's call this the "holy panel". The user slides said holy panel out of its slot in the console (by console, I mean the vertical face which forms the column between driver & passenger, containing the control panels for vents and radio). A cup can fit into each hole of the holy panel, which prevents the cup from tipping over.
On the '89 tercel, the holy panel also has attached to it a hinged frame that unhinges downward at an angle of about 45 degrees when the holy panel is pulled out. The bottom edge of the hinged frame provides a resting surface for the cups in the holy panel, while the holy panel merely prevents lateral movement of the cup. The hold panel does not bear the weight of the cups.
On the 97 tercel, there is no hinged frame. The holy panel is near the bottom of the console, which curves sharply from vertical face to a horizontal floor. For clarity, let's call this the "console floor". Instead of resting on the hinged frame, cups in the holy frame rest on the console floor.
Many cups these days have a narrower bottom part meant to fit into car cup holders, such as the holes in the holy frame. If this narrow part is of sufficient height, the bottom of the cup protrudes downward through the holes far enough to rest on the resting surface, be it the hinged frame of the '89 tercel or the console floor of the '97 tercel.
Most cups, however have a narrow part that is not sufficiently tall. The wide upper part of the cup wedges itself into the holes of the holy frame, preventing the cup from going down further, and preventing the bottom of the cup from resting on the resting surface. Therefore, the holy frame bears the weight of (potentially) both large cups of beverage. I don't if the holy frame was designed with that in mind
I haven't been able to find a cup that has a tall enough thin bottom section to avoid this, and still have other features I want -- namely, no movable plastic parts on the lid, pop on/off lid as opposed to screw on/off, etc.. Not even at Toyota. So I asked the Toyota service guy whether the holy frame was meant to take the weight of of both cups of beverages. He doesn't know, but suspects it was designed in the days of pop cans, especially since these large mugs with narrow bottoms became more prevalent only in recent years. He did find out, however, that if the holy frame breaks, it costs $70 (yikes!). So I am still on the hunt for a cup that fits the bill, or for some kind of knowledgeable reassurance that the $70 cup holder on the '97 tercel will not break.
Can anyone comment on whether they use the '97 tercel cup holder in a way that it bears the weight of 2 large cups of beverage without resting on the console floor? Does the cup holder break after a while?
Thanks.
Tercel Owner
P.S. How in the heck can a piece of plastic cost $70??