Auto Insider Malaysia

Yesterday, UMW Toyota Motors Sdn Bhd has finally unveiled its all new 3rd generation Toyota Vios at downtown Kuala Lumpur. The locally assemble Toyota Vios were featured with a total of five variants mainly J(Auto and Manual), E (Auto), G (Auto) and the top of the line TRD Sportive (Auto).

To date, UMW Toyota have sold more than 265,000 units of Toyota Vios from its 1st generation and this ride of success can be seen on this new model where it has garned more than 8000 bookings to date. This new Vios was developed with the concept of "Value Beyond Belief" where it continues to the same attributes of its predecessor which is fuel economy, low cost of maintenance, quality, durability and reliability and value for money.

The all new Vios has adopted a new "Keen Look" front end design which gives a more dynamic look and having a more sculptured 3D design. The width of the body of this new model has grown up by 110mm and the roofline is also 15mm higher. While most of the overall dimension has grown up, the wheelbase of the car still remains at 2550mm. Even though the wheelbase remains un changed, improvement has been made inside the cabin with the front passenger seat is now thinner but giving the same support thus releasing more legroom and knee room for the rear passenger.

The headlamp of the all new Vios features a standard manual leveling adjusted headlamp with the lower end variant (J and E) features reflector headlamp while the higher end variant (G and TRD Sportivo) features projector headlamp as standard. Beside the new headlamp, the rear combi lamp also features a wrap around design with the rear bumper corner rise towards the lamps which emphasize the wide feel of the whole rear body and providing a more solid look.

The boffin at Toyota also has redesign the roof of the car which is now features a catamaran shape that function to help streamline the airflow over the top of the car benefiting acceleration and also fuel economy. The same roof design can be seen on other Toyota models such as the Prius C and also the Toyota Prius. Other aerodynamic enhancement features in the all new Vios includes small aero stablising fins that has been added on the side mirror body attachment and also at the side of the rear tail lamps where this will help vortices exert pressure to stablise the car's posture, enhancing straight line stability.

In terms of sport rims, all variants now features 15 inch lightweight alloy rims as standard with the TRD Sportivo features a deep bronze sportier wheels while the G features a multi spoke design and the E and J variants features a more prominent 8 spoke allow wheels.

The body structure of the all new Vios also has seen a lot of improvement where the approach was to use more high tensile steel with the amount increase from 30% to 56% thus enable a more weight diet of 10 to 30kgs depending on the variant. The rigidity has also been improved with more than 100 new spot welds points with most of the weld around the door openings. Besides that, the Toyota engineers also focus on improving the NVH with the introduction of acoustic glass to reduce wind noise, a redesign engine mounting to reduce engine noise and also optimal positioning of insulating materials inside the dashboard to cut the mid and high frequencies. Besides that, insulation pads was also placed at the underside of the bonnet to reduce transmission noise and asphalt sheet was placed on the floor to reduce low frequency noise and resonance to keep the noise levels low.

In terms of the suspension layout it is now consist of independent L-arm MacPherson struts at the front with stabilizer bar and torsion beam suspension at the rear which also equips with a rear stabilizer bar. This results to a more linear feel in the steering and better stability at high speed which also reduce the body rolls and improved comfort.

Besides that, the new Vios now features an Electric Power Steering (EPS) system which varies the load of the steering depending on the speed of the car. The audio section also has seen changes where the TRD Sportivo, the G and E variants integrated audio unit has a uniquely shape front panel and piano black ornament with fine dimple grain which in turn prevent from scratches and also finger print marks. The high end variant which the TRD and G spots 6 speakers audio system while the E and J variant only have 4 speakers to blast away the sounds. If this is not enough, buyers of this all new Vios can opt for the optional 2 DIN 7 inch DVD player with navigation features or the 5.8 inch 2 DIN DVD player. All these optional 2 DIN player comes with the reverse camera as standard features.

In terms of safety features, the active safety comes as standard in all variants the Anti Lock Braking System (ABS) which also features Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA). Besides that, reverse sensor also comes as standard features. In terms of passive safety, all variants comes standard with Dual Front SRS Airbags with head and side impact protection structure and also with whiplash injury lessening front seat. As for the seat belt, 3 point ELR for both front passenger also rear passenger with the former also equip with pretensioner force limiter. As for parents with small children, the rear seat now comes equip with ISOFIX mounting point with top tether as standard.

To deter the car from theft, the new Vios now comes with immobilizer with siren backup batter, and also a very sensitive cabin sensor and also tilt sensor which detects if the car is going to be carjacked. Besides that, UMW Toyota also provides an optional add on of Toyota Premium Security and Solar Film which is glass scatter resistance or Standard Solar Film and Essential Solar Film. All the three optional variant comes with 7 year warranty and it is applicable for transfer of ownership.

As for the creature comfort, the all new Vios features a front and rear power windows with the driver side equip with auto up/down and jam protection. In terms of the seat material, the high end variant which is the TRD Sportivo and G variant comes with perforated leather where the former dress in black with red trim and the latter was dress in dark ivory colour. As for the E and J variants, both variants comes with fabric seat with the former dress in a more upmarket 2 tone (grey and black) fabric where the letter comes with only black fabric. The TRD, G and E variant also comes with 60:40 split rear seat and for the J variant only comes with fixed rear seat. Another touch of luxury comes as standard for all variants except the J is the rear armrest with cupholders. In terms of the steering wheel, the TRD and G variants is wrapped with leather with contrasting red stitching for the former and for the E and J variants it features the normal Urethane type steering wheel. All variants features the same 3 spoke design and it is tilt able but not reachable type. The dress of the gear knob also features similar options as per steering wheel offering depending on its variant.

Lastly, in terms of the powertrain, Toyota has opted to the trailed and tested 1NZ-FE engine which is the familiar engine that was seen powering the Vios in the last two generation. It is also featured with the same four speed gearbox where the combination of the powertrain pushes 109PS with 141Nm of torque. Even tough with familiar powertrain, UMW Toyota has indicated it is now 5% more fuel efficient through the overall car weight diet programme and also an improve aerodynamic efficiency.

As for the colour options, there are five colours to choose from with the new colour Quartz Brown Metallic which is to me the best colour that brings up the stylish design of the car, Medium Silver Metallic, Silver Metallic, Attitude Black and White. In terms of warranty, the new Vios comes with 3 years or 100,000km which ever comes first.