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2010 Toyota Vios facelift launched in Thailand!

March 10, 2010 at 12:29 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota

The facelifted Vios is now officially on sale in Thailand, and the Malaysian market launch should come soon after. There are not much changes externally – just the usual suspects of changed parts such as the front bumper design, grille, rear tail lamp, and a chrome strip on the boot lid. The engine remains unchanged – it is still the 1NZ-FE DOHC putting out 109 PS and 141Nm of torque.

8 models are available in Thailand, more than what we get here. Interestingly they have this version with a bodykit which I presume will make its way to Malaysia as the top of the range TRD Sportivo model (or we might get a different bodykit design), but what’s interesting is not the bodykit. It’s what looks like an aftermarket-ish Heads-Up Display module that displays the car’s current speed on your windscreen. Interesting gimmick!

Another photo reveals a new AUX input for the radio so you can connect your external MP3 players. Would be better if there was a USB port instead for the audio data to be sent to the stereo digitally. And of course finally, there’s an engine start/stop button which hints at keyless entry and go.

I personally don’t know when we’ll see the facelifted Vios launched in Malaysia but it should be very very soon. Shortly after a teaser was posted on their website in early February, the teaser page was then updated with a thick white outline of the car replacing an actual photo of the car that was there before.

Look after the jump for a full photo gallery of the Thai car. Note that specifications and other details such as bodykit design might be different from the Malaysian market.
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Toyota FT-86 concept gets a proper family portrait

March 8, 2010 at 12:59 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Cars, Toyota

The Toyota FT-86 Sports Concept made its European debut in Geneva, and although it was tucked away in a corner, received plenty of attention. I observed a young boy looking at the rotating FT-86 longingly for a good 20 seconds, and wondered “there’s no reason why Toyota would not want to produce this car” especially after the great reception it got for the AE86′s spritual successor.

Compact dimensions, lightweight, boxer engine, six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive – there’s little not to like for the enthusiast, and Toyota adds to the yum factor by showing us a family portrait of the FT-86 with past masters such as the Supra, Celica GT-Four and of course, the AE86. Those cars have no decendent in today’s Toyota lineup, which has nothing to entice enthusiasts, something Akio Toyoda himself is intent of changing. I personally hope that the present troubles the company is facing won’t derail its plan to bring “fun” back into driving.

For now, enjoy the official images of the FT-86 after the jump; some of them look good as wallpapers!
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Toyota Auris HSD – production car unveiled!

March 2, 2010 at 2:17 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Toyota

This is the production version of the hybrid Toyota Auris HSD, which debuts at Geneva this week. Gone is the weird blue dashboard of the concept car. Two versions will be offered in Europe – one which does 89g/km of CO2 in emissions and 74.3mpg while another does a wee bit less eco-friendly numbers at 93g/km of CO2 and 70.6mpg. on the combined cycle. But Toyota’s press release only mentions one engine variant – the 1.8 litre VVT-i with an electric motor so I have no idea what makes the numbers different.

The Hybrid Synergy Drive system’s 1.8 litre VVT-i engine is mated with a 60kW electric motor. The 1.8 litre engine itself only makes 97 horses at 5,200rpm and 142Nm of torque at 4,000rpm, while the 60kW motor makes a peak torque of 207Nm between 0rpm all the way up to 13,000rpm. Peak combined output is 134hp. But of course if the Auris HSD is anything like a Prius, during a drive everything just works in the background and all you feel is a CVT-like engine note accompanied by a very soft electric whine depending on what mode the system is in.

Compared to a regular Auris, the Auris HSD is lightly more aerodynamic at 0.283 Cd compared to 0.290 Cd. The Auris HSD’s upper front grille opening has been optimised to promote a smooth flow of air over the upper half of the body, and the lower grille has been made larger to reduce airflow resistance and improve engine cooling efficiency. The flat, vertical surface of the corners of the front bumper corrects the airflow as it passes over the front wheels, helping minimise turbulence in the wheelarches. Ride height has been reduced by 5mm, and finally the alloy wheels are of a special aerodynamic design and are wrapped with low rolling-resistance tyres.

Look after the jump for a hi-res gallery.
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Akio Toyoda: “Our pace of growth was too quick”

February 25, 2010 at 1:18 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under International News, Toyota

As we previously reported, Toyota president Akio Toyoda was summoned to Washington to attend a hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on February 24 titled, “Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public At Risk?”, which the boss of the world’s biggest car company dutifully accepted.

For the hearing, Toyoda, grandson of the company’s founder, had to submit a written testimony and be prepared to provide a five minute opening statement and answer questions posed by Members of the Committee. He’s probably facing some serious grilling this very moment, and while we don’t know what’s going on in Congress, here are some standout excerpts from his written testimony:

“Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick…Toyota’s priority has traditionally been the following: First; Safety, Second; Quality, and Third; Volume. These priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements as much as we were able to before…and our basic stance to listen to customers’ voices to make better products has weakened somewhat”

“I am the grandson of the founder, and all the Toyota vehicles bear my name. For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well. I, more than anyone, wish for Toyota’s cars to be safe, and for our customers to feel safe when they use our vehicles”

Personally, I feel that Toyoda’s apology is heartfelt; he is not in an enviable position, having to bear the brunt of the public’s anger even though most of the “confused priorities” were in place before he took office mid last year. I was sitting in the front row of the packed press conference at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, listening to Toyoda share his dreams of bringing back fun and driving pleasure to Toyota, thinking that he’s the perfect man to lead the world’s largest car company – how many car company presidents go racing after all? But I fear that with more pressing problems on his plate, his original misson might be sidetracked. And that’s a loss to car enthusiasts across the world.

Read Toyoda-san’s written testimony after the jump
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UMW Toyota Motor: Malaysia not affected by Corolla, Camry and Tacoma recall issues

February 19, 2010 at 5:23 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Toyota

UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd has issued a statement regarding the Toyota recalls in the US. The following are extracts from the press release they’ve emailed us, and you can find the press release in full after the jump:

  • Toyota Motor Corporation Japan has confirmed that the Toyota Corolla models in Malaysia and other regions are not affected by the power steering issue, as different components are used compared to the American market models.
  • UMW Toyota says they have received no complaints on power steering for this Toyota Corolla model in Malaysia.
  • The Toyota Tacoma driveshaft problem does not affect Malaysia as it is not sold in Malaysia and is completely different from the Hilux pick up sold by UMW Toyota Motor Sdn. Bhd., and uses different driveshaft parts.
  • All Toyota Camry models sold by UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd are not affected by the Toyota Camry power steering hose and front brake tube inspection.

Look after the jump for the full press release.
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Akio Toyoda to “testify” at US Congress hearing on sticky accelerator recall issue

February 19, 2010 at 11:58 am By Danny Tan Filed Under International News, Toyota

As if he has not enough problems on his plate, Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, will now fly to the US to attend a hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on February 24 titled, “Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public At Risk?”. Toyoda, grandson of the brand’s founder, probably did not have much choice as he was formally invited (more like summoned) to America by Chairman Edolphus “Ed” Towns.

In the invite to Toyoda, Towns wrote: “There appears to be growing public confusion regarding which vehicles may be affected and how people should respond. In short, the public is unsure as to what exactly the problem is, whether it is safe to drive their cars, or what they should do about it. To help clarify this situation, I am inviting you to testify.

“You may submit written testimony for the record, of any reasonable length. In addition to your written testimony, you should be prepared to provide a five minute opening statement and answer questions posed by Members of the Committee.”

Sounds like a grilling in store, but Toyoda is not shrking off the responsibility and will “stand in the dock”. “I look forward to speaking directly with Congress and the American people,” the TMC president answered.

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Toyota to unveil 2010 RAV4 and production-ready Auris HSD in Geneva

February 16, 2010 at 12:32 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Toyota


2010 Toyota RAV4

Toyota has announced that it will launch the 2010 RAV4 compact SUV as well as the production-ready Auris HSD at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

The front end of the RAV4 is now treated to a more aggressive styling along with revamped headlights and a redesigned grille with more chrome. Toyota also said that the interior has been ‘refined’ as well.


Toyota Auris HSD

The Auris HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) is a C-Segment full hybrid that will be built at Toyota’s Burnaston factory in the UK. The company said that the hybrid vehicle will go on sale across Europe by summer this year.

Apart from these two cars, Toyota will also showcase the Prius Plug-in Hybrid as well as the FT-EV II electric vehicle concept. AE-86 fans in Europe not to worry, the company will also present FT-86 sports car concept at the motor show.

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2nd gen Toyota Passo launched in Japan!

February 15, 2010 at 1:04 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota


Toyota Passo

Toyota has launched the 2nd generation Toyota Passo in Japan, and it now comes in two ‘body styles’ called the regular Passo and the Passo + Hana which is supposed to be the more stylish and upmarket model with features such as projector headlamps. They seem to be taking an “Alphard and Vellfire” or “Noah and Voxy” two styling for one model approach to alot of their JDM models now.

The car has alot more curves to it now, compared to the first generation Passo which was cute but had alot of straight lines in its design language such as in the headlamps and the way the front hood met the bumper. But most of us were just never familiar with that as Perodua had softened those lines in the Myvi, for example the Myvi’s headlamps are more rounded and the front hood became more shapely.


Toyota Passo + Hana

In Japan, the new Passo will be available with either a 1.0 litre or a 1.3 litre engine. The 4-speed auto has been phased out – now all models including 4WD versions come with a CVT transmission. The 1.0 litre uses the 1KR-FE that produces 69 PS (51kW) at 6,000rpm and 92Nm of torque at 3,600rpm.

The 1.3 litre engine is the new 1NR-FE which replaces the K3-VE in the previous generation car. The 1NR-FE now has dual variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust valves. Power output is 95 PS (70kW) at 6,000rpm and 121Nm of torque at 4,000rpm, which is up from the K3-VE’s 86hp (64kW) and 116Nm.

As with the previous Passo, it is a shared model with Daihatsu. A wheelbase of 2,440mm which is the same as the current Passo/Boon/Myvi models hints that most of the platform has been carried over, probably with some refinements here and there.

Will we see this new Passo coming to Malaysia as a new Myvi? The other question is how much of the Japanese model will get transferred over in the process – will we get the new Dual VVT-i engine, the CVT transmission and the column-mounted shifter?

In any case, look after the jump for a full gallery showing you front, rear, side and interior views of the new car.
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Toyota uploads recall safety videos

February 13, 2010 at 10:08 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Toyota, Videos

Toyota Camry

Toyota posted up four videos related to its ongoing recall crisis. The first one and probably the most important one if you own one of the affected Toyotas is a safety instruction video letting you know what to do in case your Toyota’s accelerator pedal goes bonkers on you and won’t release when you take your foot off it. The rest are to do with the floor mat recalls, how an electronic throttle works, and how the pedal assembly works (and why it sometimes sticks). Look after the jump to watch the videos.
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More issues crop up with North American Toyotas

February 11, 2010 at 1:28 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota

Toyota’s recall drama continues with potential problems with both the popular North American Camry and Corolla models. Toyota reported this week that early 2010 model year Camrys with 4-cylinder engines (2.4L model in North America) could have a power steering pressure hose of an inappropriate length. If this condition exists, a crimp on the power steering pressure hose may come in contact with the No. 7 front brake tube.

This could eventually wear a hole in the brake tube. You can probably guess what happens next – all the brake fluid leaks out and this will lead to the brakes being unassisted. You will probably still be able to brake if you slam it hard enough but since it is unassisted, stopping distances will increase significantly. Toyota reports a total of 7,300 units of 4-cylinder Toyota Camrys are affected. The recall inspection and fix will involve a Toyota dealer inspecting and if necessary adjusting the space between the brake tube and the power steering pressure hose crimp.  Based upon the inspection results, the dealership may need to replace the brake tube, at no cost to the customer.

The next issue is with the Toyota Corolla and it sounds like quite a bad experience for drivers with affected Corollas. The NHTSA has receiver over 80 complaints about the 2009-2010 model year Toyota Corolla, citing steering issues. Affected cars are apparently hard to keep inside a lane without wandering around unexpectedly. Some users have described the effect to be similiar to aquaplaning, where your steering just veers left or right by itself. Others have compared it to driving on black ice. The driver has to really use their arms to keep the vehicle straight, and this can get tiring.

The NHTSA will be investigating these complaints and if necessary we might just end up seeing yet another Toyota recall announcement. Toyota spokesperson Ed Lewis says “we have not received any official communication regarding an evaluation of Corolla. We will cooperate, of course, with any inquiry the agency has.”

I don’t really expect Malaysian Toyotas to exhibit any of these issues as we have different suppliers and our cars are right hand drive (American cars are left hand drive), which means the steering rack, hoses, and etc would probably be installed quite differently in the engine bay.

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