The affordable Avanza

The Toyota Avanza is an MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) that began production in Indonesia back in 2003.

If its name sound more Spanish instead of Japanese, that’s because it is. “Avanza” means “get moving.”

Aside from the Indonesian market, the Avanza is sold in the Philippines, and throughout Southeast Asia, South Africa, Mexico, Pakistan, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Middle East, Caribbean, Egypt and even various other African countries.

The Avanza was officially launched in the Philippines in 2012 and received a recent upgrade in October of 2019. It is offered in three variants: E, J, G, and the Veloz.

We take a detailed look into the four variants of this Toyota MPV and find out for what’s the right one for you.

All Avanzas sport a MacPherson Strut with stabilizer front suspension, a four-link with lateral control rod rear suspension, ventilated front disc brakes and leading-trailing drum rear brakes. It also comes with a fin-type antenna, rear reflector, and bulb type rear combination lamps.

The G, E, and J variants all measure the same at 4,190mm in length, 1,660mm in width, and 1,695mm in height. The Veloz just measures a bit longer at 4,200mm in length but is just as wide and tall. Wheelbase is the same among all variants at 2,655mm.

A speedometer, tachometer, digital odometer, and trip meter are also standard across all variants, along with an intermittent windshield wiper, Eco indicator, digital clock, driver + front passenger seatbelts with lamp and buzzer warning, door ajar warning, manual digital and dual climate control, tilt-adjustable steering column with power steering, an accessory outlet, glove box, room lamp, door courtesy lamp, sliding and reclining driver and front passenger seat, and 50:50 split one-touch tumble and slide second row seats.

Standard safety features include a side door impact beam, driver and passenger airbags, anti-lock braking system with electronic brakeforce distribution, two three-point front ELR (Emergency Locking Retractor) seatbelts with pretensioner and force limiter, three three-point second-row ELR seatbelts, two three-point third-row ELR seatbelts, child lock protection (rear door only),  and a child restraint system.

The Toyota Avanza 1.3 J MT (manual transmission) is your choice if you want a no-frills MPV that will take you from Point A to Point B efficiently. It is the only five-seater trim of the Avanza.

It uses a 1.3L 1NR-VE four-cylinder gasoline engine with dual VVT-i (Variable Valve Timing with intelligence) and sends 95hp and 121Nm of torque to a five-speed MT. It sits on 14-inch steel wheels with 185/70 R14 tires.

Headlamps are halogen and come with integrated turn signals, has a black with silver paint garnish on the grille, and silver-painted backdoor garnish.

Inside it uses a 2-DIN CD/MP3 system with Aux-in and USB, and can pair one mobile device for hands-free use. It has two speakers in the cabin.

It comes with a three-spoke urethane steering wheel, urethane shift lever and knob, driver and passenger sun visor, plain rearview mirror, fabric seats with PVC trim, and 15 bottle holders in the cabin.

The Toyota Avanza 1.3 J MT is priced at P743,000.

Up one notch is the 1.3 E MT and four-speed AT (automatic transmission). This is a seven-seater, which means it has third row seating.

On top of the exterior features of the J, it also comes with 14-inch alloy wheels (but with the same sized tires as the J variant), LED (light emitting diode) headlamps, rear wipers, and rear window defogger.

Inside, you can now pair at least two mobile devices to the same 2-DIN system as the J variant.

The urethane lever and shift knob now comes with chrome accent, passenger sun visors come with mirrors, rearview mirror comes with anti-glare feature, 50:50 split-time third row seats, 17 bottle holders in the cabin, seat back pockets, power door locks, and power-adjust sideview mirrors.

Added safety features include two three-point third-row ELR seatbelts, and a remote locking system.

Price of the Toyota Avanza 1.3 E MT is Php 876,000 while the Toyota Avanza 1.3 E AT is priced at Php 919,000.

The Toyota Avanza 1.5 G also comes in two trims, a four-speed AT or a five-speed MT. This is a seven-seater.

Under the hood is a 1.5L 2NR-VE engine with dual VVT-i (variable valve timing with intelligence) that puts out 103 HP and 136 Nm of torque.

Its alloy wheels are now bigger at 15-inches and is paired to 185/65 R15 tires, plus it takes after exterior features of the E variant with a few minor exceptions. Front fog lamps are standard, there are turn indicators on the rearview mirror, gets a black with chrome garnish on the grille, has a chrome backdoor garnish, comes with a rear spoiler, and with and LED high-mount stop lamp.

Inside it has a key-remind warning feature, a silver accent on the instrument panel center cluster, a 6.8-inch infotainment display with T-Link smartphone mirroring (iOS and Android) and can stream music from five mobile devices, and four cabin speakers.

The urethane steering wheel now comes with silver trim and audio controls, shift knob and lever has chrome and silver accents, a mirror on both the driver and front passenger sun visor, fabric seats with visible stitching trim, sun glasses holder, and front personal lamp.

Additional safety feature is the Toyota Vehicle Security System with alarm and immobilizer.

The Toyota Avanza 1.5 G AT is priced at Php 1.012 million while the Toyota Avanza 1.5 G MT goes for Php 969,000.

Introduced locally in 2018, Toyota gave the Avanza its newest and top-of-the-line variant, the Veloz that only comes in a four-speed AT and has the same 1.5L engine of the G variant.

Aside from all the exterior equipment of the G variant, the Veloz exclusively gets a smoked chrome grille and smoked chrome backdoor garnish.

The cabin of the Veloz gets a three-spoke leather steering wheel with silver accents and audio controls, leather shift knob and lever, chrome door inside handle.

The Toyota Avanza Veloz is priced at Php 1.077 million.

The Toyota Avanza comes in seven colors, White, Beige Metallic, Silver Mica Metallic, Gray Metallic, Black Metallic, Dark Blue SE (special edition), and exclusive to the Veloz is Dark Red Mica Metallic.

Photos from Toyota Motor Philippines