New Toyota Corolla Altis due this Friday!

Toyota Corolla Altis

UPDATE: The new 2008 Toyota Corolla Altis has been launched in Malaysia! – click for more details, specifications, photos and pricing.

UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd has revealed that the new Toyota Corolla Altis will be launched this Friday, the 14th of March 2008. The company did not reveal expected prices or specifications, so we will have to wait until Friday to know.

More after the jump.

We can actually refer to the Corolla Altis being sold in Thailand and Singapore, our neighbours to our north and south to have a sneak peek at what we are going to get.

In the two countries, the Altis remains a 1.6 and 1.8 litre engine capacity car, despite its other C-segment competitors moving up to the 2.0 litre range. The 1.8 litre engine produces 132hp at 6,000rpm and 170Nm of torque at 4,200rpm, while the 1.6 litre produces 107hp at 6,000rpm and 145Nm of torque at 4,400rpm. These engines are mated to a 4-speed auto. Neither of our neighbours get the new Dual VVT-i engines which produce 122hp and 136hp respectively for the 1.6 and 1.8.

The suspension uses a MacPherson strut setup at the front and a torsion beam with coil spring setup at the rear. All in all, the new Altis may seem rather boring to some as its competitors now come with dual-overdrive 5-speed autos or CVT gearboxes, and have multi-link suspension setups at the rear.

Nevertheless the Altis will have its own set of buyers who prefer Toyota’s perceived reputation for reliability and comfortable drive. Another card Toyota could play is equipment – the Malaysian Altis could beat the Civic and Lancer in terms of equipment levels, such as front sensors (instead of just reverse sensors), and powered seats.

Indicative pricing given by showrooms currently stands at about RM102K for the basic 1.6E up to RM120K for the top of the range 1.8G with bodykit. There are some showrooms with the cars there already – ask nicely and you can see them.