The 1988 Toyota Cressida did not see any changes for the model year, since a redesign was in store for the following year. The 1988 Toyota Cressida came as a sedan only. The engine was a 2.8-liter, 156-horsepower 6 cylinder, and it came standard with an automatic transmission (the manual transmission was not available in '88). The Cressida was well-equipped, coming with a generous amount of standard features. Fuel economy was about 19 mpg city/24 mpg highway.

The 1988 Toyota Cressida has many fans who still drive it today, after almost two decades on the road. Cressida enthusiasts say that the interior is just as luxurious as any car available today. They also like the fun-to-drive rear-wheel-drive, excellent handling, and bulletproof reliability. Some owners have had problems with rust, and in the event of repairs, drivers caution that parts can be extremely expensive.