Toyota Vios

Overview

We usually associate a car with its manufacturer. It is assumed that if BMW were to make a car, it will be exquisite and luxurious. What if the car came from one of the three Japs - Suzuki, Honda or Toyota? It will be deemed reliable. Same is the case with the Vios. When introduced in the Philippines, the masses were a bit wary of buying this car but then sales started booming. The main reason was the badge. It stands for reliability. The Toyota Vios is one reliable car and due to this, the company has launched its 2019 version recently. Though there is no major update in the latest version, the redesign is to keep the car fresh amongst its competitors. So, how good is the updated 2019 Vios? Let’s check

Interior & Features

Just like the outside, on the inside too, there are changes. These include the new upholstery and added features. The all-black upholstery looks nice and while it kind of brings a gloom into the cabin, you get used to it. The dashboard is new too and it has less glare or let’s say reflection than before. The design is a bit cleaner now and Toyota has done away with the fake wood and leather combination from before. There is auto climate control, rear AC vents, all four power windows, electrically adjustable and foldable mirrors, electrochromic IRVM, height adjustable front seat belts, and more. The seats themselves have been redesigned and Toyota claims that they are much firmer than before. This helps with long distance journeys as you are much more at ease here then. The side bolsters too help keep one in the seat and hug you from the sides. The 7.0-inch multimedia system has better sound quality and while there is still no Android Auto or Apple CarPlay compatibility, it gains MirrorLink. The dashboard materials feel soft to touch. At the back, the angle of the seats suggest relaxed. This means one is expected to use the car as a chauffeur driven vehicle too. There is enough shoulder room for three. Legroom too isn’t bad either. The boot too swallows up luggage quite well. 

This is a Toyota and it is meant to be built well. No complaints from this department then.

Exterior

Somehow, we get this feeling that Toyota is now heading towards designing its cars to please the youth. The Toyota Vios 2018 is a very good example of this philosophy. The car not only looks good but it also cuts a smart figure. It is like James Bond. Dashing as well as athletic at the same time. The front has received most of the updated design and it now looks cohesive enough. The projector headlights flanked by the daytime running lamps looks good. The two-slat grille also gels well with the overall design theme. Toyota has restricted the use of chrome to the grille and not to the air intake borders. The fog lights though are underlined by a chrome strip. A look and you realise that the bonnet too has a slight bulge, not so much to be called a power bulge though. Frankly, though, Toyota could have done much better than provide us with a staid alloy wheel design for the 16-inch wheels. The rear of the car looks formidable, much on the lines of the bigger Corolla. Speaking of big, the dimensions of the car remain the same at 4,410 mm in length, 1,700 mm in width, and 1,475 mm in height. The wheelbase too stays same at 2,550 mm.

Ride & Handling

Toyota uses MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the back. The bias is expected to be more with the ride quality as Toyota is known to tune its vehicle for comfort than outright handling. However, recent Toyota cars also have decent go ability around corners. So, the Vios shouldn’t disappoint there as well. As discussed earlier, the NVH is on the lower side and the new Bridgestone Turanza tyres provide for very good grip as well. The steering wheel is said to be lighter than before and it weighs up at speeds. The disc and drum set up for the front and rear work wonderfully though some customers say that the brakes in the auto version are a bit wooden in feel.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

There are two engine options on offer and both are petrol. One is the 98 PS/123 Nm 1.3-litre naturally aspirated unit whereas the second is a bigger 1.5-litre engine that makes 108 PS of power and 140 Nm of torque. Both the engines can be optioned with a five-speed manual box or a CVT. A new sound resonator has been added to the engines to ensure that they stay silent at all the rpms. This actually works and the engines sound very refined and polished. Toyota claims to have enhanced the fuel efficiency of both the motors in the process as well. No numbers have been quoted though. Expect both the engines to have a 0-100 kmph time in the sub 12 second whereas top speed should be just shy of the 200 kmph mark for the 1.5-litre and around 185 kmph for the 1.3-litre.

As far as efficiency is concerned, one can expect 13 kmpl overall from the 1.5 and 15 kmpl from the 1.3 engines

Braking & Safety

Toyota is offering a lot of value with this new Vios. The safety team has endowed the vehicle with not one or two airbags but seven as standard. Stability Control, as well as ABS with EBD, are also standard. Child ISOFIX mounts too are now part of the standard fare. While this new vehicle hasn’t been crash tested yet, the previous one was. It gained five stars and we don’t expect the new Vios to be any less either.

Verdict

We quite like the Toyota Vios. It has now become one desirable car as well. Just look around any street in the Philippines and you will see dozens of Vios cars moving in and out. With this update and the slight price increase, we are sure Toyota will have more customers flocking their dealerships than before. The Toyota Vios’ main competition is the Mazda 3 and the Honda City. Both these Japanese cars have their own fan following and it is likely that the Vios may just be able to trump them by a fair margin. The margin is the Toyota badge.