What to expect from the updated Toyota Vios?

Finally, the word has come out, the all-new Toyota Vios is going to be unveiled in the country at the upcoming Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show (KLIMS). UMW Toyota, the official distributor for Toyota in Malaysia, will start taking orders for the new Vios from 22 Nov 2018, which is a day before the 2019 KLIMS begins.

The new Toyota Vios is not really new as Toyota has already launched it in Singapore and Indonesia, so we do have an idea about what it is going to be like, give or take. Most likely, Toyota will bring this new car in two variants in Malaysia - G and E. We are pretty excited about Toyota’s new car and here is what to expect from it.

Exterior

You can’t deny the fact that the Toyota Vios is an extended version of the Toyota Yaris. Or you can say that it as an elder sibling of the Yaris, which is a popular hatchback that is sold in Thailand and is speculated to be launched in our country next year. Basically, the latest Vios is the Toyota Yaris Ativ, which is the sedan variant of the Yaris hatchback.

For the new model, Toyota has added a pair of LED daytime running lights (DRL) below the large headlights. These do look pretty decent and would help you differentiate the new car from the old one. By the way, we really like the large headlamps of the Vios. They give a huge road presence and make the car stand out from the crowd. We are also going to have 15 and 16-inch alloy wheels. The latter would carry a dual tone colour scheme and would be available with the ‘G’ variant of the new Vios. The other extra feature that the G model would have over the base model is the LED tail lights. This would further enhance the beauty of the large two-piece combination tail light cluster that very much compliments the sizeable headlamps. The rest of the car remains unchanged.

Interior

For the interior, it is being expected that Toyota would add a few new features. The E variant would have a 6.8-inch DVD-AVX infotainment system and auto air-conditioning. We could also see paddle shifters and an electrochromic rear-view mirror in the G variant. There is a chance that Toyota would also include a 4.2-inch multi-info display and an Optitron instrument cluster as well as a six-speaker audio system with the G variant.

Engine

Like the rest of the features, the engine of the all-new Toyota Vios for Malaysia is expected to be the same unit that we have seen handling duties in the same car in Singapore and Thailand. This means that the Toyota Vios specs would have the 2NR-FE 1.5-litre Dual VVT-i engine that has been tuned in a state to churns out 105 hp at 6,000 revs and 140 Nm at 4,200 revs. The transmission coupled with the engine is a CVT unit.

Safety features

Toyota has provided a good number of safety features in its cars in the past, and looking at its track record we think that the new Vios would be given a similar treatment. We are expecting to see safety features like 7 airbags, Parking Sensors, Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Hill-start Assist, and Blind Spot Monitor equipped with Rear Cross Traffic Alert to be provided in the new Vios.

These were some of the features that are being expected to be included in the upcoming Vios. The Toyota Vios price that is being guessed for the two variants - E and G - is RM 85,000 and RM 91,000 respectively. There is not much time left when Toyota will officially launch the new Vios in Malaysia. It would be then when we would get to have the official specs and features of the new car. So, stay tuned for that.