New cars coming from Toyotas are simply too horrible to look at. For example the current new Avanza. Any models below the 100k mark from Toyotas are shit.

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1. it is easier to manufacture, and definitely cost lower.

2. It has fewer components, thus lower repair costs. Imagine the pain to change many bushes or suspension arms beginning in 4th year and again and again in the following years.

3. They have less contact points to the chassis so less noise and vibrations are transferred into the car when running a hump. cars using torsion beam tends to enjoy a quieter ride, unless of course a lot of sound deadening material is used which means adding more weight to a car.

4. The design does not take up much space, so the cabin can be made larger and create more comfort for rear passengers.

5. being smaller with less components means they are lighter as well, especially in the unsprung weight area. This improves acceleration as well as fuel economy.

this is why current vios weighs around 1,050kg while current city weighs around 100kg more. city has more power but 0-100kmh for both cars are the same, while vios has better FC in city drives.

among cars using this include
1. Saab 95 (1970s)
2. Mitsubishi Galant Super Touring (1984)
3. Honda Jazz (2002)
4. Toyota Vios
5. Nissan Latio and Livina
6. Kia Forte
7. Kia Carnival aka Naza Ria
8. Chevrolet Aveo
9. Toyota Corolla
10. Toyota Estima
11. Peug 206/207
12. Opel / Vauxhall Astra
13. Citroen C4/Xsara

even VW Golf uses them (not the current Mk6, but previous Mk5). What VW says about torsion beam is stated in their website

“The torsion beam rear suspension has proved to be the most economical layout for non-driven rear axles. Two trailing arms are linked by means of a cross member, which also serves as an anti-roll bar. The advantages of this layout are good directional stability when cornering and a compact design, making for convenient use of space at the rear.”

it may not be as good as multi-link or double wishbones set-up but in their flaws, it has its own advantages.

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Toyota evidently believe their 12 yr old 1NZ-FE can do wonders… which is largely true given the feather light nature of JDM Toyotas…

FYI, that big eyed Gen9 Hipporolla 1.6L that was once sold in SG from 2000-2003 has a kerb weight of just 1030-1050kg! Yes, that’s 1.05tons…. for a 1.6L Corolla??

The Altis 1.8 from 2004 onwards came in at approx 1.2 tons even though it is built on the same platform…. the difference between JDM specs and official western market specs Corollas is clear…

And of cos the FD1 came in at almost 1.3tons… :)

I won’t be surprised this new POS weighs in at 1.05tons as well if not lighter

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yes, the easier way to make something strong is to use more steel, but nowadays, manufacturers have a good range of materials that lower weight without compromising strength and crash worthiness. (ie. high strength steel, composites, magnesium alloys) and better CAD designed crash cell.

That said, manufacturers will continue to get tempted to compromise safety here in malaysia, where there is little in the way of standard MINIMUM safety requirements.
Lack of airbags, undersized brakes and lack of ABS/TC.

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A Japanese Corolla with Vios engine. That’s just sad

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FYI torsion beams are indeed employed to keep manufacturing cost down. complex suspension designs such as 4 wheel doubble wishbones as once used by Honda in their FDs are the best of the best.

Torsion beams sacrificed some at the limit handling powess with the rewards of lower manufacturering cost but still offering a comforable ride.

Torsion bars/beams setup is, in theory, NOT a true IRS… extreme wheel movement in one axle will affect the other.. and becos of its higher unsprung weight, going through round roads quickly will result in lots of axle hopping as the simple torsion beam needs time to settle down.

The trouble with Toyota’s setup is that the Gen9 Corolla chassis (ie, ZZE) is too soft and wobbly as compared to other leading manufacturers who used torsion beam setups as well. I don’t think I need to eleborate much la, I’m sure the majority of you here have owned or at least driven a Gen9 Altis before.

You can feel the chassis twisting whenever you try to pull a fast corner….and with a slow responsing torsion beam, you can feel lots of banging and kickbacks from the rear of the car whenever you try to do fast corners.

You don’t feel such things happening in the new Elantra :D

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OK I stand corrected and updated on this.. So one can’t buy a new Korean car in Japan anymore…

But what about the competition from America and Europe? I understand both GM and Ford are pushing their products very hard in Japan, with a big help from the US gov of cos. I understand Japs can buy a new Mustang and Camaro in Jap readily from any Ford and GM dealer. And Japs gov is great in that they don’t restrict registration of LHD vehicles in their country…. so there’s no issue.

Park the Cruze, new Malibu, Focus, Fusion or Taurus next to this POS… I mean seriously who will buy the Axio??

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But your Proton notorious reliablity issues and the continue use of cheap, brittle interior parts will make sure that Toyota, no matter how crap they ended up to be, will still be at least one notch higher than Proton when all things considered… :)

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