Advertisement

2011 Toyota Hilux updated with new face at the Indonesian International Motor Show

July 22, 2011 at 12:45 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under 2011 Indonesian International Motor Show, Cars, Toyota

The new facelifted Toyota Hilux has made an appearance at the 2011 Indonesian International Motor Show, right after making a rather quiet appearance in another motorshow in Australia earlier this month.

Like in Australia, the 2.5 litre engine has been updated to the new version featuring a variable geometry turbocharger, now producing 144 PS and 343Nm of torque. That is only for the double cab though, as the single cab model continues to soldier on with the older 102 PS engine.

We’ve covered the changes before through the images released from the Australian show – a totally new front end, a revised upper dashboard design, a new 2.5 litre engine, and so on. I am sure the question you are all asking are when will UMW Toyota introduce this latest design in Malaysia?

On UMW Toyota’s Malaysian Toyota website, we still see the old Hilux pictured while the current Fortuner’s image has gone blank into ‘teaser mode’. A scrolling message on the Hilux page says “The new Hilux 3.0G is coming soon” – does this mean UMW Toyota is only going to apply the facelift to the 3.0G model for now?

It certainly seems like it, otherwise they would just say the new Hilux is coming soon without specifying the engine variant.

Look after the jump for live pix of the facelifted Toyota Hilux from the 2011 Indonesian International Motor Show.
[Read more...]

8 Comments      

Subaru to revamp Oizumi plant – boxer engine production to grow 160% by 2015, and Toyota FT-86 to be built here

July 19, 2011 at 1:02 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Subaru, Toyota

Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru cars, has announced that it is refurbishing its Oizumi plant in Gunma Prefecture, Japan with a view to expansion of building capacity and a switching of product manufacturing lines. It is set to spend around 40 billion yen to do so.

The company is set to withdraw from its mini-car development and production, and will switch over to building larger vehicles. From next year, through an OEM agreement, it will begin buying minicars from Toyota group member Daihatsu and selling them as Subarus.

The plant at Gunma, which currently has a build capacity of 80,000 vehicles a year, will be upgraded and output will be almost doubled to around 150,000 units annually. Oizumi will be primarily responsible for building the new sports cars planned and designed by Toyota and developed by Fuji Heavy, namely the Toyota FT-86 and Subaru 0846, which is set to begin sales as early as spring next year, reports say.

Though the lineup is as yet unfinalised, the plant is also set to build other models in the Subaru lineup, such as the Legacy, the Impreza and the Forester, to fully utilise production capacity.

Elsewhere, the company is aiming to increase its production capacity for its boxer engine by 160% to 820,000 units a year by fiscal 2015, the reports add. It will start changing production lines for its older engines with lines for the new third-generation, horizontally opposed four-cylinder boxer, which debuted in the Forester last October and is available in 2.0 and 2.5 litre displacements.

With the intention to sell 900,000 vehicles worldwide in 2015, the company has determined that a substantial increase in engine build output is needed to match those numbers. Subaru is also looking at doubling its build capacity for its CVT transmissions to between 700,000 and 800,000 units.

15 Comments      


2011 Toyota Hilux facelift – exterior and interior pix

July 15, 2011 at 9:46 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Toyota

Here’s the official lowdown on the new Toyota Hilux facelift, which had its world debut recently at the Melbourne motorshow this month. The Hilux facelift for 2011 gets a big redesign at the front, now featuring a bolder and sharper face, pretty much all-new from the A pillar to the front.

The interior gets a new upper dashboard design with a new horizontal centre instrument cluster. The image you see here also features a Toyota Touch 2-DIN 6.1 inch touch screen color LCD head unit.

In Australia, the Hilux is available with a 2.5 litre D-4D engine intercooled engine with a variable geometry turbocharger, making 144 horses at 3,600rpm and 343Nm of torque at 2,000rpm. Although new in Australia, it isn’t a new engine as it has been already available in Thailand as early as 2009. There is also a larger 3.0 litre diesel, which power output remains the same over the pre-facelift model.

Both the 2.5 and 3.0 litre diesels are now Euro 5 compliant, thanks to the addition of a diesel particulate filter.

Look after the jump for the rest of the pix.
[Read more...]

49 Comments      

Toyota joins Linux Foundation as gold member

July 15, 2011 at 1:20 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Toyota

Pretty soon, Toyota’s in-car entertainment and communication systems might use the same base operating system kernel as your Android smart phone or the operating system of the server that runs this website.

Toyota Motor Corp has joined the Linux Foundation as a gold member – the first automaker to formally participate in the non-profit organization. A gold member is required to pay an annual fee of US$100,000. This announcement comes soon after a consumer electronics manufacturer joined the foundation as a gold member for the first time – Panasonic Corp.

“Linux gives us the flexibility and technology maturity we require to evolve our In-Vehicle-Infotainment and communications systems to address the expectations of our customers. The Linux Foundation provides us with a neutral forum in which we can collaborate with the world’s leading technology companies on open innovation that accelerates that evolution,” said Kenichi Murata, Project General Manager, Electronics Development Div. 1, Toyota Motor Corp.

Other than Linux being used in Toyota’s in-car computers soon, such is the flexibility of the operating system that Linux can even be used in Toyota’s diagnostic tools at the service center.

7 Comments      

New Toyota Hilux facelift set for unveiling this month!

July 13, 2011 at 1:07 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Toyota


Click to view enlarged image

We’re probably due to see the entire Toyota IMV range facelifted at the Indonesian International Motor Show later this month, but here’s a preview for you – the first product photo of the new facelifted Toyota Hilux, which is also on display in Australia this month.

The front end now features a stronger, edgier grille, but the changes kinda stop there. I’m expecting the Hilux to continue to be offered in the 2.5 litre and 3.0 litre D4-D turbodiesel engines, and in certain countries also a 4.0 litre V6 petrol.

63 Comments      

VIDEO: New Toyota Camry SE, XLE, Hybrid secretly filmed!

July 5, 2011 at 10:17 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota, Videos

The current Toyota Camry was first shown to the world, and brought to Malaysia, in 2006, with our version receiving a facelift in 2009. It has been five years already, and a new generation Camry is due. Here’s a secretly filmed video of the supposed new 2012 Camry being shown to a crowd with fanfare, rolling out to the tune of Katy Perry’s Firework.

Three cars are wheeled on stage, and they are the Camry XLE, SE and Hybrid. XLE and SE are trim names for the US market, and this video is likely to be secretly filmed from the States, probably at a dealer convention or something similar. The Camry’s biggest market is North America, and the previous gen car made its motor show debut there as well.

Anyway, there’s not too much that we can see, as the cameraman couldn’t get enough zoom on it. His “toyotaenthusiast” youtube account doesn’t describe much too, and it looks to be created just to upload this video. We’ll leave you to dissect and analyse the car, but bear in mind that the version we’re going to get should differ in styling from the North American car.

There’s also a grainy photo circulating online that’s claimed by some to be of the 2012 Camry. Look for it after the jump.
[Read more...]

78 Comments      

2012 Toyota Camry to get fall debut – gets teased in a video featuring Akio Toyoda himself!

July 2, 2011 at 2:08 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota

The next generation 2012 Toyota Camry is set to be unveiled in fall this year, according to a teaser video by Toyota featuring the company’s president Akio Toyoda himself. The teaser video is for the US market – and it just shows how important the Camry is to Toyota when it comes to the US of A, that Mr Toyoda himself appears in the video. I suppose it is a way for him to add a personal touch.

We don’t really know if our Malaysian market Toyota Camry replacement will have anything to do with what will be unveiled in the US this fall though, as even in the current generation, the US Camry and our Camry have completely different styling. The US Camry is the “real Camry” so to speak, while our Camry’s design was derived from the Australian Toyota Aurion design.

Perhaps in this new generation, the two Camry designs might be unified?

72 Comments      

Toyota Vios 1.5G Limited launched, TRD Sportivo updated

June 29, 2011 at 3:07 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Toyota


UPDATE: Live gallery added after the jump.

Today’s launch should come as no surprise to readers of this website, as we’ve earlier posted up the brochure, specs and price list of the Toyota Vios 1.5G Limited, the latest variant of Malaysia’s best selling non national badged passenger car. Besides the G Limited, UMW Toyota has also refreshed the range topping Vios TRD Sportivo. Now, the Vios range numbers six variants.

The G Limited sits between the 1.5G and the TRD Sportivo. It sports a refreshed front grille that will also appear on all Vios variants, except for the TRD Sportivo, which gets a honeycomb mesh design and TRD Sportivo logo.

Both the G Limited and TRD Sportivo wear aerokits to differentiate them from lesser variants – both are five-piece items consisting of front and rear spoiler, bootlid spoiler and side skirts – but the G Limited’s aerokit is a newly designed set.

Both trims come with 15-inch alloys with 185/60 tyres, but the G Limited’s 12-spoke wheels are in dark silver, in contrast with the TRD’s seven-spoke bronze coloured items (they were previously in dark silver). The G Limited rims will also feature on the G.

The Deep Amethyst Mica Metallic colour you see here on the G Limited is new; it replaces the discontinued Grey Mica Metallic. Silver Metallic, Coal Black, White and Medium Silver Metallic colours have been carried over.

Both cars feature leather seats. The G Limited’s cabin is in a lighter beige hue with chrome accents, in keeping with its “luxury” positioning. In contrast, the TRD Sportivo, which previously didn’t feature leather, gets black perforated leather with red stitching (also on the steering and gear knob) for a sportier feel.

The front seats also have TRD Sportivo embroidery plus “dual density foam” that gives “better support for reduced fatigue”. For the Vios 1.5E, dual-tone (dark grey and blue shades) seat fabrics are new.

Owners who want better handling can order the TRD Sportivo suspension kit, which is now available as option for all Vios variants. The kit consists of coil springs and shock absorbers with revised spring and damper rates, tuned by TRD Asia for local conditions. Ride height is lowered by 10mm as a result.


Click to enlarge price list

Price wise, the G Limited will cost you RM 89,600 (OTR plus insurance), RM2,300 more than the G. The TRD Sportivo is still priced at RM92,000, so it looks like the addition of leather seats did not push up the price. As with all UMWT vehicles, the Vios comes with a 3-year/100,000 km warranty. The service interval is 10,000 km.

Full live gallery from the launch is after the jump.
[Read more...]

180 Comments      

Indian market Toyota Etios Liva takes on the Maruti Swift

June 28, 2011 at 4:57 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, India, Toyota


Click to enlarge

Toyota has launched its first ever hatchback in India, the Etios Liva. A five-door hatchback version of the earlier Etios compact sedan, the Liva is being branded as a “Q-Class hatch” with the “Q” supposedly standing for “legendary Toyota quality”. Priced from Rs 3.99 lakh, the Liva will have to lure Indian buyers away from the popular Maruti Swift and the Nissan Micra, among other hatchbacks.

There will be four trim levels for the Liva, but all share the same 3NR-FE, four-cylinder 1.2L petrol engine. This DOHC unit makes 80 PS and 104 Nm of torque. It’s not much, but the peak figures are developed at relatively low rpms – 5,600 rpm for power and 3,100 rpm for torque, which is a suitable for a car like this. It’s exclusively paired to a five-speed manual gearbox – no auto option is available.


Click to enlarge

The suspension is par for the class – front McPherson struts and a rear torsion beam – while the brakes are ventilated discs up front with rear drums. Lower spec versions ride on 14-inch wheels while the costlier ones come with 185/60 R15 rubber.

The Etios Liva is 3,775mm long and 1,695mm wide, which makes its footprint slightly larger (15mm longer, 5mm wider) than the Suzuki Swift. The Toyota’s 2,460mm wheelbase is also longer than the Swift, and by a substantial 70mm, so it wins the space war. Boot volume is 251 litres.


Click to enlarge

Toyota will be selling four trim variants – J, G, V and VX. The equipment list isn’t very long on the baseline J, which gets air con, body coloured bumpers, digital trip meter, wheelcaps, a cooled glovebox and an engine immobiliser. The G spec adds on electric power steering with tilt, power windows, central locking, intermittent wipers and a 12v power outlet.

One step up is the V, which has niceties such as a tachometer, 2-DIN CD/MP3/USB player, driver seatbelt warning, fabric door cards, rear wiper and washer, rear window defogger, fog lamps and 12-spoke alloys. The Rs 5.99 lakh VX gets the two-tone cabin you see here, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, chrome door handles, and chrome shift knob. Dual airbags, ABS and EBD are optional on the G but standard on the V and VX.

An inexpensive Toyota hatchback like the Liva is bound to sell well here, but don’t count on it coming for obvious reasons.

41 Comments      

UMW Toyota to introduce new Vios G Limited model

June 28, 2011 at 1:15 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Toyota

It looks like UMW Toyota will be revamping its Toyota Vios line-up soon, with teasers of the new range already on its website.

Something new is a variant called the Toyota Vios G Limited, which is teased on the website with black and white outlines. Based on the preliminary specs teased on their site, the G Limited is similiar to the G but adds a bodykit and a more prominent front grille.

We chanced upon an actual full image of the Vios 1.5G Limited completely by chance, as our team spotted a man carrying a brochure of the new car walking past us as we were having a drink at a mamak. We quickly took the opportunity to snap a photo of it.

Look after the jump for a small gallery of details of the Vios G Limited, including a detailed table comparing the specs of the Vios G Limited, the G and the TRD Sportivo models.
[Read more...]

179 Comments