The 2013 Toyota Vios was unveiled in March at the 2013 Bangkok International Motor Show in Thailand. The third generation Vios is currently available in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The sedan gets significant styling changes over the previous model. The styling cues are borrowed from the all new Corolla, which looks sharp and sporty. Both the exteriors and interiors get updated with heavy changes. The 2014 Toyota Vios is prepared as a global model by Toyota and gets increased height and length, which results in improved cabin space.
The front end of the Toyota Vios gets a wide chrome grille that extends to the angular shaped headlamps. The sporty front bumper integrates fog lamps as well as optional LED daytime running lights. The side profile reveals sharp lines running across the body. The rear end gets a huge set of tail lamps with an interconnecting chrome garnish. The overall design has achieved a low drag coefficient of 0.28, which improves air resistance, straight line stability, ride comfort and fuel efficiency. The interiors get an option of beige and black combination and all black theme.
The Toyota Vios also gets a TRD Sportivo kit, which is treated with sporty elements such as body skirts and gun metal finished alloy wheels. Powering the Vios is a 4-cylinder, 1.5-litre petrol engine that produces 109 PS of power with 141 Nm of torque, mated to an option of a 4-speed automatic transmission and a 5-speed manual gearbox. It is available in three trim levels in Malaysia and the starting price of the Toyota Vios in Malaysia is RM 73,200 (Rs. 14 lakhs), while the range topping variant retails for RM 88,500 (Rs. 17 lakhs).
Toyota has no plans to launch the Vios in the Indian market. Although the vehicle sits below the Corolla in the company’s portfolio, the Japanese automaker feels the Vios is too upmarket a product for Indian consumers. Thus Toyota offered us the Etios instead. Had Toyota decided to bring the Vios instead of the Etios, the C-segment would be very different indeed.
