Toyota Vios

Overview

The 2018 Toyota Vios is one of the most sought-after sedans in the Philippines and goes up against the top players like the Honda City, Suzuki Ciaz, and Hyundai Accent. Over the last decade or so, the Vios has almost become a household name and the number of units plying on the road is just abundant. Be it for personal use, ride-sharing fleet or just a taxi-painted unit, this car from Toyota has been everywhere.

And why shouldn’t it be? The brand has always been known for its reliability and features offered in the price range. Plus, buying a Toyota in the Philippines is always a boon for anyone out there. The aftermarket support and the resale value puts the brand over most of the competitors.

Unlike many others, the Toyota Vios is the safest place to be in while any unforeseen accident happens. The sedan recently received a 5-star rating at the NCAP ASEAN safety test with a total score of over 80 out of 100.

Interior & Features

The cabin of the Toyota Vios is a luxurious one to step into, including the base model. Even though there are many vacant spaces on the low trims due to lack of features, the designing and layout suggest otherwise. Toyota has, indeed, worked a lot on making the cabin more urban and upmarket, considering the constant competition from the other manufacturers doing business in the country.

The cabin wears a completely black theme and has a well-settled dashboard. The three-spoke steering wheel of the top-end Vios is wrapped with good quality leather and gets audio switches. Many other features have been added, like power windows and power door lock, along with adjustable side view mirrors.

Up at the dashboard, there is a small touchscreen infotainment system, which is equipped with Voice Controls and MirrorLink. The music system includes connectivity with Bluetooth, USB, AUX-in, etc. The system is routed to a set of six speakers.

The driver’s console is a glossy panel and includes analog speedometer and tachometer along with a small MID (Multi Information Display) and a digital clock. Moreover, let’s not forget, the Toyota Vios offers a very good cargo space, which ranks pretty tall in the entire segment of such sedans.

Exterior

The 2018 Toyota Vios is an extremely sharp sedan and probably tops the chart among its peers when it comes to the designing. The huge, bumper-focused grille has the fog lamps installed at the extreme corner, while the sleek headlamps and the single-slat front fascia look great. The side profile looks luxurious and does not have any muscular black plastic cladding, albeit the bumpers are quite prominently visible.

That said, there are quite a lot of difference between the top-end variant and the base trim when it comes to adding features. The low variants get two-beam halogen headlamps, black-colored wing mirrors, and pole-type antenna. They ride on small 14-inch wheels which are not very wide too. However, the top end model is more like a strict competitor and gets a lot of additional styling cues like projector headlamps, turn signals installed on the wing mirrors, fog lamps, side skirting and rear spoiler. Moreover, even the wheels of the higher variants are 15-inch, 185-section units, which are any day better and more grippy than the smaller ones of the low trims.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

For the Philippines market, the 2018 Toyota Vios is available in two engine trims. The smaller 1.3-litre Dual VVT-i, 4-cylinder, DOHC engine can churn out a maximum power of 98 PS at 6,000 rpm while making a good torque of 123 Nm that comes at 4,400 rpm on the tacho. The other 1.5-litre Dual VVT-i engine is capable of producing a higher power of 106 PS at 6,000 rpm and a peak torque of 140 Nm which comes at just 4,200 RPM.

The power is sent down to the wheels either by a 5-speed manual transmission or a CVT (continuously variable transmission) gearbox. The previous generations of the Toyota Vios certainly had some issues with the fuel efficiency. However, in the latest iteration of the sedan, the company has worked a lot on the things that were missing.

Of course, with a power of 106 PS getting down to the wheels with a decent grunt, the Vios is capable enough to be pinning down oppositions in the same segment. However, when you are cruising on the highway, the accelerator pedal seems a little underpowered because the 0-60 kmph or 0-100 kmph seems a little laggy. Rest assured, the compact sedan is quite the looker and performer for the city roads or at places where the traffic isn’t that smooth.

Braking & Safety

Considering that the safety department is one of the most important aspects of a car from an automobile company, Toyota did not shy away from bringing on some of the best safety features. As a result, the car now holds a 5-star rating at the NCAP.

The safety features on the 2018 Toyota Vios include dual SRS airbags, which are for the driver and front passenger, ABS along with EBD (electronic brakeforce distribution) and Brake Assist. Moreover, there are some other features on offer, like three-point seatbelts for both the rows (three for the second row), front and rear crumple zone, door ajar warning, Child Lock protection, ISOFIX and high-mount stop lamps.

The 2018 Toyota Vios also has a very good suspension setup for the price range, especially tuned by the company. Hence, the car is extremely smooth while running on bad roads and makes the driver feel comfortable picking up high speed as the suspension could soak up any sudden blows coming up. Some other features include TVSS (Toyota Vehicle Security System) and Wireless Door Lock.