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.

The New Toyota Vios Open For Booking

UMW Toyota has opened its order book for the latest econobox, Vios. Together with that, Toyota has also released the pricing, which is surprisingly sports virtually no increased at all, and the low-end version is even a few ringgit cheaper. As widely known, the new Vios is coming in October in its usual J,E,G and Sportivo trim level. Price starts at RM73,300 for manual-geared J, RM77,300 for 4-speed auto J, RM82,900 for E, RM88,500 for the G and topped by TRD Sportivo version at RM93,200.

Despite the various trim and price level, all version are powered by an identical 1NZ-FE 1,497cc 4-banger kicking 109PS@6,000 and 141Nm@4,200rpm of power and torque respectively. Apart from the cheapest J version which is available in 5 speed manual guise, the rest of the version including the automatic J is available solely in the now-legendary 4 speed automatic transmission.

The carried over drivetrain is accompanied by an all-new body, which is significantly bigger than before. Length has grown by 110mm to 4,410mm, height increased to 1,475mm, 15mm higher while width and wheelbase remains 1,700mm and 2,550mm respectively. The newfound dimension gives it extra cabin and boot capacity also grows by 4L to 474L.

As before the grades gives you an additional equipment level for your own pleasure. The J gets you a car and not much else, while upgrading to E buys you retractable side mirror with LED, indicator, front fog lamps, 2-tonne upholstery for the cabin, foldable rear seat and integrated audio system instead of aftermarket 2-DIN unit. Going further to G variant will get you chromed front grille, projector headlamp, ivory interior color which is key-less in access, starter button, leather upholstery and 6 speaker audio system. TRD Sportivo is basically a G in sports mode, indicated by darker chrome grille, TRD bodykits, black leather upholstery, smoked headlight, sport meter and red stitching on the steering.

New Avanza is coming to Malaysia & latest Toyota promotion

The new Toyota Avanza, which was launched in November in Indonesia, is coming to Malaysian shore soon. UMW Toyota has run a teaser on their website <here>. The car of course is no stranger to all my blog reader here, as I have put a comprehensive technical coverage on the new Toyota Avanza. You may want to proceed to the review of the new Toyota Avanza <here>.

For Malaysian market, the 2012 Toyota Avanza will comes in 4 variants, as listed below:

• 1.3 E (MT) = RM63,864
• 1.5 E (AT) = RM71,864
• 1.5 G (AT) = RM76,590
• 1.5 S (AT) = RM78,865

All prices quoted are for individual registration and for non-metallic paint only. More after the jump.