Malaysia Motoring News: Toyota Vios 2013 Arrived in Malaysia - 4 Trims, 1 Engine, RM73k

Toyota Vios has arrived in Malaysia. Judging by how many units are running, crawling and parking in Malaysian street, surely the whole nation is rocking in excitement as their much awaited small sedan has arrived. Make no mistake about it, this is by far the most desirable car in our market today. Most people buy Toyota Vios by default, and referral happen every minute in office pantry conversation and even the quiet person who speak to one will drop by the showroom today and place a booking. Such is the sheer popularity of Toyota Vios in our market.

So, what do you get exactly. Firstly, the look. For 3 generation (4 if the Soluna Vios is taken into account), Toyota Vios has evolved from el-cheapo looking to bulbous to a refined-matured-classy look. Edgier Toyota styling language has made an appearance here. The headlamp is sharply chiseled, and seamlessly blend into the the upper grille assembly giving it a well cohesive look. Slight boxy, amalgamate with tasteful chrome application is right recipe here and it sure set to win thousands of heart. Side and rear profile also has been entirely redesigned, and a more upmarket looks is a surety.

The car is larger in every vital dimension. Length is up by 110mm to 4,410mm and height increased by 15mm at 1,475mm. Width and wheelbase remain status quo at 1,700mm and 2,550mm respectively. Toyota has updated the body structure with greater use of high tensile strength steel and increased overall stiffness with greater number of spot welds, contributing to significant 30kg weight reduction compared to the existing Vios. The new Toyota Vios is more crash-worthy too, thanks to the new ECE R94 and R95 regulation which demands a safer car for the masses.

The cabin has been given a major makeover. One drastic change is the relocation of meter binnacle from the centre of the dashboard to a more conventional location in front of the driver. The two-tiered dash layout adopts black top part, complete with the moulded stitch for an opulence touch. The top and bottom layer of the dashboard is separated by the garnish piece, which runs into the door trim, itself is far more elaborately designed than the existing Toyota Vios. The control system (steering, gearknob, audio and airconditioning) are designed with ease of use, ergonomics and good looks in mind, and Toyota is successful in it. The seats are larger too at the front, and offers more minute adjustability. Thanks to the enlarged body, legroom has increased too. Boot volume has gone from class competitive to class leading (almost) with 506L in VDA method.

In theory, everyone is aiming for 1000bhp thunder-sedan and capable of lapping Sepang Circuit in 1minute 35 seconds. Or at least for an easier bragging rights, a turbo-engine with renowned suspension tuning will do. But in reality what matters is the reliability, driveability and serviceability. Thus, Toyota Vios is equipped with the fame carry over 1.5L in-line 4 mill hooked up to a 4 speeder auto (or optionally 5 speed manual in the cheapest version). Suspension has been retuned for greater comfort and stability. Stopping power is four-wheeled disc on top two variant, while the bottom two makes do with rear drums.

Variants available are J, E, G and TRD Sportivo. Vios J is available in either 5 speed manual or 4 speed auto while the rest of the range is auto only. The trims are differentiated by equipment level. Starting with the front, Vios J and E is equipped with halogen headlight, while Vios G and TRD Sportivo comes with projector item. Moving rearwards, all version bar Vios J gets fog lamp, electrically-folded side mirror with indicator and integrated audio system. The interior is differently colored, with the based J model is an all-black affair, almost similar to E version however the latter comes two tone black and grey fabric. Vios G adopts a two tone black and beige interior color while the TRD Sportivo is black with red accents, in leather no less. Vios G and TRD gets multi-info display, 6 speaker setup (4 for the rest) and the gear knob and steering wheel is leather wrapped ( with audio control button too) which the lower two version is equipped with none of this. Tyre and wheel size is identical across the board, shod with 185/60 R15. Three rims design are available exclusive for each variant (J and E share the design).

Standard equipment across the range is dual airbags, ABS with EBD, Isofix, reverse sensor, door visor, rear fog lamp, remote boot release and speed adjustable intermittent wiper. There's 3 years warranty thrown in capped at 100,000km. The price is RM73,200 for Vios J Manual, RM77,300 for Vios J Auto, RM82,900 for Vios E, RM88,500 for Vios G and RM93,200 for TRD Sportivo.

What do you think? I personally think the days when national car reign on value for money is long gone. Fully polished design and engineering has price, and this is what the foreign brand is undoubtedly good at. Gallery can be found after the jump.