Toyota Revamped 2014 Prius C - 37km/L

When Toyota Aqua, or Prius C was launched at the end of 2011, it has a fuel mileage of 35.4 km/L, a feat that no other hybrid in the world manage to beat. However, the new generation Honda Fit/Jazz Hybrid stole the throne when Honda ditched the old IMA system to match the advanced Toyota hybrid system, the new Jazz/Fit Hybrid achieved 36.4 km/L.

Not quite satisfied to be beaten, Toyota has upped the ante by improving the efficiency of its THS-II system in the form of quicker engine turn off during idling and a reduction in resistance upon a restart. It yields small improvement, but sufficient to beat the fellow Japanese maker at 37 km/L.

Is it part of the improvement introduced to Toyota Aqua/Prius C which will be on sale next week in Japan. Apart from the improved drivetrain unit, the revamped Prius C also features a retune suspension and upgraded sound insulation. New shade of purple color also has been added to the color scheme, making 11 shades available in total.

There's also new variant added to the family, called Aqua G. As can be observed above, Toyota Aqua G comes with an exclusive front and rear bumper, smoked headlamp, funky LED DRL in the lower lip and 17" alloy wheel. What can't be seen is the added bracing and spot welding to improve chassis rigidity to augment the retune suspension. The interior is an all-black item with sporty touch sprinkled over.

With the hybrid incentive in Malaysia is rumoured to be retract for CBU cars, it would be pity if we primitively missed the next round of Toyota Prius C enhancement. With no local facilities set up for this model, UMW can opt anytime to stop importing, especially if the price become prohibitively high for a small vehicle like this.

New Toyota Vios Tested - Polished Gem

Toyota Vios is no stranger when it comes to Malaysian sedan market. Since 2003, some 265,000 units has been sold between the first and second generation model. Despite the relatively young model for Toyota, the four generation (including Vios Soluna from late 90s) is a product which has been massaged over the years to meet the expectation of ever more demanding customer group. Over the years, Toyota Vios has grown from somewhat a recycled-old-Corolla (1st gen Soluna Vios) to a better product for the last generation which is more refined and lack the cheapskate look of the older model. The 2013 Toyota Vios is a further finesse of these, whereby Toyota has deployed in engineering and design prowess to come up with a better entry level sedan. MMN drive impression and lengthy observation on the car detail design yield a conclusion : This is a very polished product with full of high perceived quality and refinement way beyond the previous generation ever achieved.

First is the look. Gone is bulbous look of the previous generation, and in comes a more angular design that wears more intricate detailing for that pricier look. The headlamp, particularly the top two model, is a projector unit with inner detailing that extended from the grille. Expansive chromed bars has been used for the grille treatment, which is further helped by the angular bumper with textured central insert. Toyota tries here, it has not relaxed contrary to people's perception about Toyota stylist. The exterior panel is more chiseled with sharp character line and gives a sharper look to the new Vios. The side profile is also garnished with stronger character which more angular towards the back. The rear end has a mini Toyota Camry look with its chromed garnish and tail light with fancy lens detailing. In terms of dimension, the new Toyota Vios is 110mm longer than its forebear at 4,410mm and slightly taller at 1,475mm. Although the wheelbase is retained from previous car at 2,550mm, a newfound spaciousness can be attributed to cleverer packaging given the the increased in length. 

Second major upgrades over the current car is the interior. It is as if the old bunch of the senior designer/engineer has either retired, died or has been given the bottom 10% position of their appraisal and subsequently been given "Career Transfer Out" option and in comes a more enthusiastic and artistic bunch of motivated designer/engineer who is keen to produce a winner at a given cost constraint. First one to go is the central mounted meter binnacle, now repositioned in front of the driver. 

There is much more flair to the design. The meter is cowled while the centre console is mounted high up with the airconditioning vent and audio system encased in silver trimmed housing and trimmed with creative texturing. As can be seen above the dashboard is multi tiered, with the top surface adopt a simulated stitching edge, lend by Toyota Camry. Silver strip separates this part from the lower dash (G and E trim, black on TRD and unpainted on J trim), the same finish extend the the door trim as well (except for E which terminates at the vent). 

Despite having similar wheelbase to the current Vios, the new cabin is roomier thanks to a re-positioned A and C-pillar. Leg, head and shoulder room is class competitive, with comfort further aided by an enlarged seat surface. Seating position is great, and all control surfaces are within the ergonomics bound. Feel good factor is high. The chunky steering wheel has a fat rim, and the button feels substantial. Audio button and aircond vent feel solid, while the rotary dials for the manual aircond has a tactile rotation inertia. The gear knob is palm-full to grab, however it is too light in its movement for my liking.

Storage space is abundance. There's a slot in front of the gear console, sizable glovebox with partition and this is where the increased in length is justified. The boot volume has grown tremendously to 506L from 470L previously. This puts Toyota Vios boot space on part with Proton Preve (Read all about Proton Preve here) and Honda City which just 2L separates them. More juicy discussion after the jump.

Toyota Vios 2013 Arrived in Malaysia - 4 Trims, 1 Engine, RM73k - RM93k

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.

Toyota 86 - Malaysian photo gallery

Enough of dwelling of the specs of the Toyota Hachiroku, enough of technical low-down on 475mm c.o.g height, and if you want to know the price, it is good quarter of a million ringgit in Malaysia. So for now, just keep staring at these beauty. For technical details, refer to our previous posting HERE, THERE, OVERHERE & OVERTHERE 

 More photo of the Hachiroku after the jump.

All-new Toyota Camry now in Malaysia - from RM149,900 for 2.0L 4-speed automatic

UMW Toyota has launched the latest generation of Toyota Camry to Malaysian market at the end of last week. Codenamed XV50, the new Camry wears an all-new outlook both to the interior and exterior, and received one new set of drivetrain too. This time around for the 7th generation, Toyota Camry is assembled locally, as opposed to Thai-CBU for the XV40 generation. Like the previous generation too, Toyota is offering two variants for the 2.0L, namely 2.0E and 2.0G. The range topper is now 2.5V, displacing the previous flagship 2.4V. Prices are RM149,900, RM157,900 and RM180,900 respectively for the variant listed above.

Compared to the current XV40 Toyota Camry, it seems that Toyota has goes for another major shift in styling philosophy again. Some are deemed progression while some are not so. The XV50 Camry has eschewed the current car detailing, instead leaving a spartan-kind of look. The front end is dominated by the angular hood leading edge that is very sharp, lending a strong presence, majestic even. This is accentuates further by the strong edgy headlamp and a prestigious looking radiator grille. Toyota has put some effort is cheering up the grille by incorporating some indenting on the outer edge of the slats, giving it a more chiselled look.

The rear end meanwhile has ditched the current car shapely taillight. In comes a relatively simple item, with simple internals too. At least, the clear lens part is aligned with the trunk lid garnish, unlike our home grown Preve. Anyway, despite the look, it is actually LED item. There is also a faint character line running along the belt line of the door, continues until near the taillight before splitting into two, one that dives down along the taillight housing towards the bumper, while the other one joins the trunk lip edge. The rear end can somehow me summarized as quite simplistic in looks with minimum garnishing to spice up the look. Judging by the target market of the Camry, it is considered as an OK move.

In terms of dimension, the new Camry is 4,825mm long, 1,825mm wide and 1,470mm tall. The wheelbase is 2,775mm. Compared to the old Camry, the new one is 5mm wider while the rest of other exterior dimension is carried over. Despite the similar dimension with its predecessor, the new car is more spacious inside such as 13mm more rear legroom, thanks to repackaged cabin and re-sculpted seat back. Boot volume now stands at 515L, which is 11L more than before. 

In chassis department, the new Camry rides on a rehashed platform, so it continues to ride on McPherson struts up front and dual-link at the back. Braking is assured by the ventilated disc at the front, while the rear wheel is stopped by the solid disc. Power steering is electrically-assisted item for an added economy and efficiency. The 2.0L car is shod with 215/60 R16 while the range topper 2.5V is loaded with 215/55 R17 tyres and rim combo.

In terms powertrain, the new Camry range is a mixture of an outgoing (which already can be said even the XV40) and the new. The range starter is 2.0L 1AZ-FE engine punching out a trusty 148PS@6,000rpm and 190Nm@4,000rpm of power and torque. The drive is channelled via the antique 4 speed automatic gearbox. I honestly think if Toyota really needs to contain the cost, they should reconsider using the older 3 speed auto, drum brakes and material colored bumper! On the brighter side, the range topper is powered by a new 2AR-FE 2,494cc 4 cylinder engine. Kicking out 181PS@6,000rpm of power and healthy 231Nm of torque at 4,100rpm, this version is mated to 2012-spec 6 speed automatic transmission. More details and photo after the jump.

In Photo - Toyota Prius C at AEON Rawang

Toyota Prius C (or Aqua in its homeland) is Toyota's foray into the hybrid supermini. Thanks to the tax-incentive (meaning tax free) in Malaysia, Prius C can have a competitive price, just like other foreign supermini in Malaysia, making the extra price of hybrid car goes unnoticeable. Prius C was introduced in Malaysia in February 2012, a very quick move by local UMW Toyota judging by the fact that the car was introduced to Japanese market only in December 2011. Below are some galleries of Toyota Prius C, caught in AEON Rawang.

To recap, externally, Prius C is  3,995mm long, 1,695mm wide and 1,445mm tall, and rides on a wheelbase of 2,550mm. The car is powered by 1.5l gasoline engine hooked to THS-II, Toyota hybrid drive system. Under the Japanese test cycle of JC08, the Aqua will return 35km/l, while in 10.15 mode, it returns a staggering 40km/l. The new hybrid powertrain is 40kg lighter than the unit in Prius. The petrol lump produced 73PS@4800rpm and 111Nm@4000rpm while the electric motor punched out 61PS and 169Nm. With some algorithm involved, total power output is calculated to be 101PS. Interior photo and the 260L of bootspace photos can be viewed after the jump.

The new Toyota Camry - coming in June from RM152,000

The new generation Toyota Camry will be launched in Malaysian market in June Three variants with two engine option will be offered here; 2.0E, 2.0G and 2.5V. The 2.0L version is carried over wholesomely from the current Camry, meaning that it will offer 148PS@6000rpm and 190Nm@4000rpm of power and torque and will be hooked to an "advanced" automatic transmission that comes with amazing four forward ratio. Yes ladies and gent, it is 4 speed auto in the year 2012! What don't they just hook it up with the CVT from current Altis 2.0L. Every car maker should be "like" Proton. In order to get away from the world of competing gear ratios, it is better to just use CVT with its infinitely variable gear. You can specify 21 preset ratios if you want!

The 2.5L version however is more like 2012 car. The car is powered by bigger 4-cylinder lump with 2,494cc kicking 181PS@6000rpm and 231Nm@4100rpm. Drive is channelled via 6 speed automatic gearbox.


Orders for the all-new CKD Toyota Camry is now accepted at all Toyota sales outlet. The price starts from RM152,000 for the 2.0E, rising to RM160,000 for the 2.0G and finally topping the scale at RM183,000 for the 2.5V. There is a hefty price increased over the current model which also is a CBU, so Toyota better has an explanation in terms of better equipment level etc. The carried over of archaic transmission will not help either. But this is only the ramblings on non-Toyota buyer, for those who's buying, a T badge worth the world no matter to what thing it is fixed to! More details including the detail specification after the jump.

Toyota Prius C di lancarkan di pasaran Malaysia

UMW Toyota hari ini melancarkan model hibrid terbarunya, Prius C ke pasaran Malaysia. MMN telah mengulas tentang model hibrid terbaru Toyota ini pada November tahun lalu, semasa ianya di lancarkan di pasaran Jepun dengan menggunakan nama Toyota Aqua, klik sini untuk artikel.

Model in di kuasakan oleh enjin 1NZ-FXE 1,497cc Atkinson cycle yang di hubungkan kepada sistem hibrid Toyota THS-II. Enjin petrol 4 silinder dengan mekanisma VVT ini menghasilkan kuasa sebanyak 73PS@4,800 rpm and tork 111Nm@4,000rpm. Motor elektriknya yang dikuasakan oleh sistem bateri Nikel-Metal Hydride mengeluarkan 61PS and 169Nm and kombinasi kedua-dua sumber kuasa ini menghasilkan 101PS. Toyota Prius C menggunakan sistem transmisi CVT. Bagi pasaran Jepun, Toyota telah mengisytiharkan kadar penggunaan minyak sekadar 40 km/L untuk 10.15 mode, manakala bagi cycle Eropah pula, kadar penggunaan minyak 26.5 km/L masih boleh di banggakan. 

Dari segi saiz, Toyota Prius C lebih kecil daripada Honda Insight yang merupakan pencabar terdekatnya dari segi harga. Dengan dimensi panjang keseluruhan 3,995mm, Toyota Prius C jauh lebih pendek berbanding Insight yang berukuran panjang keseluruhan 4,390mm. Lebarnya ialah 1,695mm and tinggi 1,445mm. Wheelbase ialah 2,550mm. Selain dari menyediakan ruang kabin yang mencukupi, Prius C juga praktikal dengan saiz boot 305L yang juga fleksibel dengan seat belakang yang boleh di baringkan dengan nisbah 60:40.

Untuk pasaran Malaysia, UMW Toyota telah melengkapkan model Prius C ini dengan tahap aksesori yang agak komprehensif terutamanya dari segi keselamatan di mana  Prius C dilengkapi dengan 7 beg udara, 3-point tali keledar untuk ketiga-tiga penumpang belakang, ISOFIX di kerusi belakang, sistem traction control, ABS dan juga EBD.

Dari segi kelengkapan dalaman pula, data-data kereta di sampaikan kepada pemandu melalui skrin TFT 3.5". Sistem audio pula adalah bersaiz 2-DIN yang memainkan MP3, USB, iPOD, radio dan CD.

Untuk chassisnya pula, Prius C menggunakan sistem suspensi yang biasa bagi kelas ni, iaitu McPhersons Strut di hadapan and torsion beam di belakang. Sistem kuasanya menggunakan sistem elektrik, manakala breknya pula menggunakan cekera di hadapan dan drum di belakang. Saiz tayar dan rim adalah 185/60 R15 dan tayar simpanan juga turut menggunakan saiz yang sama.

Walaupun jauh lebih pendek daripada model Insight, namun Toyota Prius C ini juga lebih murah sedikit berbanding model laris Honda hibrid itu. UMW Toyota meletakkan harga RM 97,000.

Untuk lebih informasi tentang Toyota Prius C, sila rujuk artikel MMN yang terdahulu di sini.

Sumber gambar: Paultan.