We were invited by UMW Toyota for a short trip to Desaru, Johor to try out the all-new 2019 Toyota Vios. This is the fourth generation Toyota Vios and according to Toyota, it is almost all new with only a small percentage of carry over parts in terms of its overall platform and styling. The Vios you see here is also sold as a Yaris ATIV in certain markets. Quite confusing but no need to get worked up over it. We all tried out the Vios 1.5 G spec to see how well it performed and we made a video review about it as you can see below.
Here in Malaysia, and in Singapore, this car gets the 1.5liter Dual VVTi 4 cylinder engine coupled to a 7 (virtual) speed CVT gearbox. This 107ps 140Nm engine powers the front wheels and it nippy enough around town. It makes enough power for a car of its segment and you can't complain about it as this is a compact sedan, not a sports car. Anyway, the powertrain and the drivetrain are refined, and the CVT acts more like a regular torque converter making it less droney at high rpms than competitor CVTs which like to hold the revs too long until refinement goes out the window. This is a good combo.
The ride is good and the NVH levels are also great. Being a Toyota, it can be comfortable transport for everyone as long as you keep it punting along at decent speeds and not at 30 to 50kmh over the Malaysian highway speed limit. Here, at these higher speeds the Vios is suceptible to its slightly numb steering which makes things feel floaty especially if you are passing a large vehicle like a bus or a truck. Put the drive mode to SPORT and the steering weighs up and its better right up to 150-160kmh. Better, but would still benefit from thicker roll bars or even lower profile and wider tyres (at the detriment of the nice ride).
Anyway, it is quiet, refined transport with ample space inside as well as a large boot. It isn't a sports car as I said in the video. It is well screwed together and your wife or girlfriend will love it for being easy to drive. As its a Toyota, everything seems to fall in place easily although I found I needed a little more time to get my driving position sorted. Once I did that, it was alright.
Now if you look at the video, a long one this time you will notice that most of the Active Safety features work fine. I liked how the Multi View (360) Camera works even at high speeds rather than just for parking. It can be turned off via a button at the left of the steering wheel. The Rear Cross Traffic Alert works for the new Vios. It detected a car just as we were reversing. As for the BLIS or blind spot monitor, it seems to work when it wanted to. Needs a little tweaking but since we were actually driving this car prior to its launch, (sometime very soon), this could be down to some fiddling at Toyota's new manufacturing plant in Bukit Raja. So no major complains...but do see the video for a little more points about the Vios.
At around RM90,000+ (after options for this G spec - RM87,000 before), the Vios 1.5 G tested here may be a little on the pricey end. It comes in at this higher price due to the equipment levels as weel as the optional bodykit you see here as well as the DVR player (which has some good and bad stuff too - see the Video!).
The competition this new Vios faces aside from the traditional B segment sedans like the Honda City and the Proton Persona (as well as the Nissan Almera to an extent) are the new affordable SUVs. These ride riding vehicles have taken over most of the larger segments, and here, it may face some challenge even from within, with the Toyota Rush as well as its once or twice removed cousin, the Perodua Aruz.
So while this may be Toyota's best Vios yet, it has come at a time where the times are a changin' and where the competition is stiff. Watch the video to find out more!
Our red fully specced out Vios with a fully tarted out 3rd gen Vios at the Johor Premium Outlet
Refined 1.5liter DVVT petrol engine - which is coupled to one of the better tuned CVT gearboxes. While I do not really like CVT boxes, this one behaves like a normal torque converter, which means Toyota did some work with it.
Rear seats are darn cozy but could do with a little more lower back support. But the ride is good and it is quiet at normal speeds. Only some slight rustling of the wind at over 140kmh. Which isn't the speeds you'd drive most of the time.
Dashboard is well designed and everything is where it needs to be, except that there is some glare hitting the instrument cluster if the sun is high up in the sky. And the ECO and Sport mode button is to the right of the steering wheel just below the starter button. Use the Sport mode if you intend to drive faster than 120kmh as it weighs up the numb steering feel.
...that being said, once we did so, we settled down to a nice high speed cruise with the occasional wobble when the road gets uneven and there are trucks or buses passing by.
This Vios looks the most well designed out of all the Vios that came before. I suppose its because it looks the most sporty (yet it isn't a sporty car) and that it is very refined too.
We managed to test it over 450km on the first day and then another 400 over km on the trip back. Our initial findings held up during the journey back as was reported in YouTube video review. Go watch it!
USB Ports at the rear seem to be slow chargers. No rapid charging here which means that it will just keep enough juice to maintain your smartphone and tablet's batteries so that your kids don't start crying due to lack of repeated 'Baby Shark' or Barney reruns.
Here is a Toyota Yaris ATIV spotted in Phuket. Similar except for the lack of a bodykit.
#Toyota #Vios #Malaysia #TestDrive #allnewVios
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2 comments:
I first sat in a 2019 Vios in a mall and the interior was quite dark. I was wondering what was at the bottom of the centre console from the back. Only in my second experience did I realise it was USB ports.
Dark because the target customers are younger Malaysians...and they prefer dark interiors. Yes. Watch the video on youtube. The usb are slow charging.
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