Archive for Toyota

Toyota has updated it’s Toyota Allion mid-sized sedan for the Japanese Domestic Market. By JDM, it means it is a car that most likely won’t be seen anywhere outside Japan, unless someone wealthy brings it in at an expensive price so that he can drive a different car. But Toyota really does have some really cool-looking JDM-only cars. Another example of a JDM-only Toyota is the Toyota Will VS. You could consider the Toyota Allion as the Toyota Avensis’ Japanese sibling, as they all use the same platform and share alot of components.

The new Toyota Allion looks less upmarket than the model it replaces. It’s available with either a 109 horsepower 1NZ-FE 1.5 liter or a 136 horsepower 2ZR-FE 1.8 liter engine, and comes in 2WD and 4WD configurations. The most fuel efficient Toyota Allion can go 18 km per liter of fuel, while the least fuel economical version goes 14.4km per liter. Both engines are mated to Super CVT-i transmissions, including the 4WD variants.

The interior is pretty much basic, however there is an Engine Start/Stop button which should prove to be a favourite with gadget-loving Japanese. A gated shifter also adds a stylish touch. You have a few trims to pick from, a red wood, a lighter wood, and etc. No silver aluminium-ish trim in sight though. Many storage compartments – one in the door panel, one between the two front seats in the center console,

The Toyota Allion has a twin brother, one styled more aggressively but is essentially the same car. This other model is called the Toyota Premio, and I will be covering it in the next blog post. These two new models are part of Toyota’s efforts to stop the B-segment sedan market from shrinking further, already it is bad enough that it is not growing. More and more Japanese are more interested in 660cc A-segment cars instead. Toyota is targeting monthly sales of 3,000 units for each model. In the meanwhile, check out more shots of the Allion after the jump.

Related Posts:
Toyota Premio for the JDM market

Click here to read the rest of Toyota launches new 2007 Toyota Allion for JDM

For fans of track videos, here is a video of a Toyoto Corolla hatchback going around a track. It’s 2ZZ-GE engine has been supercharged.

Click here to read the rest of Supercharged Toyota Corolla hatch around the track

Previously, it was reported that a production variant of the Toyota Endo would be produced by Toyota, positioned as a mini city getaround vehicle below the Toyota Aygo. A refreshed near-production concept will be shown September this year at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, and sales would likely begin in 2008.

The production Toyota Endo will be a 3000mm long car and feature 3+1 seating – three adults plus a child who would sit behind the drivers seat.

Related Posts:
Toyota to produce Toyota Endo

Toyota’s Q1 2007 global sales topped General Motors for the first time ever, despite GM’s leading position in markets like China. It also overtook GM in terms of profitability for te past 4 years, earning US$11.8 billion for the financial year ending March 2006.

“Our goal has never been to sell the most cars in the world. We simply want to be the best in quality. After that, sales will take care of themselves,” said Paul Nolasco, a spokesperson for Toyota in the US.

Toyota intends to capture 15% of the global car market by 2010, and this latest milestone indicates a positive advancement towards that goal.

Finally, the actual figures involved: GM sold 2.26 million cars during the Q1 2007 period, while Toyota topped that figure by 88,000 units (how auspicious), selling 2.348 million cars. GM still has a chance to overtake Toyota to get the number 1 position for the financial year though, as Asian sales had a 32% growth over the previous year period, plus it is entering the Indian market soon with a local plant.

Toyota has prepared this special Toyota Hilux Sport Concept for display at the 2007 Commercial Vehicle Show in the UK. It’s powered by a 3.0 liter D-4D turbodiesel equipped with a Toyota Motorsport upgrade which boosts power from 169 horsepower to 200 horsepower. The pick-up truck is further “blinged” with 22 inch wheels, a sporty-design truck top, chrome-finished grille and B-pillars, tinted windows and lights and a special-design front guard.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota Hilux Sport Concept

It seems that we will be able to enjoy the new Vios recently launched in Thailand for less than RM70,000! This is for the lowest spec version of course, which could possibly be offered with a manual transmission. The Edge Daily has an exclusive report that UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd plans to offer the new third generation (second gen in our market) Toyota Vios at a price of just under RM70,000, the first for a brand new Japanese sedan in a very long time.

If all goes well, this is very good news for the rakyat indeed. While still more expensive than our northern neighbours in Tomyamland who get to enjoy the Vios for between RM50,849 to RM69,830, beggars with the NAP over their heads can’t be choosers.

I really have to give it to the guys at UMW Holdings Bhd. They practically have the whole market cornered. The current Perodua Kancil and the upcoming Perodua Viva should conquer the below RM40,000 market, the Myvi rules the RM40,000 to RM50,000 market, and the new Vios will most likely conquer the B-segment Japanese sedan market as well, following the success of the current Vios. The Camry has proven to be a hit despite rumours of deliveries being hit by AP issues, and while the Civic currently reigns in the C-segment sedan sales, there’s no telling what the new Corolla will do to that segment once it is launched. Kudos to UMW’s outstanding performance.

Source

[ LATEST UPDATE: Click here to find out more details on the Toyota Vios that will be available here in Malaysia, straight from the Malaysian press preview launch! ]

[ UPDATE: Toyota is currently having a pre-launch promo campaign for the new Toyota Vios. Click here to find out more! ]

The new third generation Toyota Vios has been launched in Thailand, without much suprise as spyshots of the new Belta on test in Thailand as a Vios have been captured recently. The new Toyota Vios is based on the Toyota Belta, or the Toyota Yaris Sedan, which is currently being sold globally. This means the third gen Vios is now a global model instead of being a regional ASEAN model. You can already see the hatchback version being sold in the Malaysian market, the Toyota Yaris. Of course, trim level and some other variables are changed here and there with the different regions.

Compared to the 2nd generation Vios still being sold in Malaysia, the third gen Vios wheelbase is longer by 50mm at 2550mm, which is also longer than the Yaris hatchback which only stands at 2460mm. It is also heavier, now weighing 1045kg compared to the 2nd gen Vios’ kerb weight of 980kg. The 1NZ-FE engine and 4-speed Super ECT gearbox is retained, producing 109 horsepower and a maximum torque of 142Nm at 4,200rpm. This means you may feel the 2nd generation Vios is slightly more zippy than the 3rd generation Vios once it gets launched in Malaysia.

On the interior, dash layout is pretty much the same as the Toyota Yaris being the same car, and the plus point is it shares the Yaris interior’s abundance of storage space. However it also shares the Toyota Yaris meter panel’s centrally-mounted location, which some dislike and prefer a conventional location.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of New Toyota Vios launched in Thailand

Toyota’s Hybrid X Concept shows us the future of the Toyota Prius, due to be replaced anytime soon. The four door, four seat open space concept has the dimensions of a conventional family car with an overall length of 4,500mm and wheelbase of 2,800mm, and a width of 1,850mm and a height of 1,440mm.

Designed by Toyota’s ED2 European design center in France, it is an evolution of the current Prius design more than anything else, with the unconventional cues that just shout futuristic and hybrid, important in a market where people want their hybrid cars to look hybrid. Apparently knowing they are helping the environment is not enough, they need everyone to know it.

The front has this quirky U-shaped pillars, and the vast area of glass enhances visibility and creates an open space feel. The rear-hinged passenger doors open automatically with the touch of a button. Wheels are worthy of being put on a concept, huge, and flashy at 20-inch wrapped with ultra-low profile 225/40/R20 tyres.

The front headlamps are lit up by LED, and are strangely positioned inside the car on the dashboard, shining out through the front windscreen. These LED lamps can also display graphics and animations to communicate with pedestrians.

This car also wins the Paul Tan award for the thickest D-pillar ever in the history of the automotive industry.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota Hybrid X Concept points to new Toyota Prius

This is Toyota’s latest entry into the Super 2000 Rally, based on the new Toyota Auris, also known as the Corolla hatchbacks in other markets like Australia. The 1,133kg front wheel drive vehicle is powered by a 2.0 liter normally aspirated engine that revs up to 8,500rpm and makes 255 horsepower, which is really a pretty impressive horsepower to displacement ratio.

The new Toyota Corolla Super 2000 Rally Car will make it’s racing debut at the Rally of Canberra in June 2007, driven by Neal Bates and 2006 Australian Rally Champion Simon Evans. Two more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota Corolla Super 2000 Rally Car

Unlike our local 2.5 liter turbocharged non-intercooled Hilux, the Australian Toyota Hilux comes in three variants – a 2.7 liter VVT-i (found in our petrol Fortuner), a 4.0 liter V6 VVT-i as well as a 3.0 liter intercooled turbodiesel. The 4.0 liter V6 is good for 235 horsepower and 343Nm of torque between 2,400rpm to 4,800rpm. To quality for this concept truck to have the TRD badge on it, what Toyota has done is fit a supercharger to the V6. Official power output has not been disclosed, but expect something in excess of the 320 horsepower range.

The bodykit has TRD all over it, with the letters TRD embossed above the front grille. The front bumper has some very nicely done foglamp inserts, and looks perfect for showcasing a shiny intercooler in the central air intake.

Click here to read the rest of Australian Toyota Hilux TRD Concept