Released in December 1970 along with the sportier Celica, the Carina came in 2-door and 4-door sedan bodies. It shared the chassis and many mechanical components with the Celica. The body size was between that of the Corona and the Corolla. The Carina featured a semi-fastback styling, four round headlamps (two integrated with the front grille and two set on the outside of the grille edges), and vertical rear combination lamps.

Available engines included 4-cylinder OHV units with a displacement of 1,400 cc (T) or 1,600 cc (2T), and a 1,600 cc twin-carburetor engine (2T-B). A 5-speed manual transmission, which was rare for a sedan at the time, was also available. The front suspension was an independent strut/coil system, while the rear suspension was of a rigid 4-link coil type.

The 2-door 1600 GT model with a DOHC 1,600 cc engine (2T-G) was added to the line in April 1971, followed by 2-door hardtop (1,400/1,600 cc) and 4-door 1600 GT models in December 1972. The 2-door hardtop was 45 mm lower in height than sedans, and featured fastback styling with buttressed pillars and two jutting, horizontal rear combination lamps. A 2,000 cc engine (18R) was added in January 1974, and the 2000 GT hardtop version with a DOHC 2,000 cc engine (18R-G) joined the top-end models. As emission control was becoming stringent at the time, a 2,000 cc engine adopting Honda's CVCC technology was developed in February 1975 to meet the 1975 emission standards. The 1400 series was discontinued and replaced with the 1800 series in October 1975, and a 5-door van was added in December of the same year. By February 1977, all Carina models had met the 1976 emission standards.