Borneo aims to sell over 4,500 Vios this year

[Verve]

my friend bought a low spec vios in malaysia - the earlier model for 70k a few months back ( comes with a free 42 inch plasma tv), im my it is indeed priced close to the verna, getz and the likes - not so in sg i guess

Edited April 11, 2007 by Verve

[Toyo]

The new Vios is equal in price to the Japan made Latio

 

Vios 1.5A - $55,488

http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/auth_car_info.php?AC=782

 

Latio 1.5A - $56,500

http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/auth_car_info.php?AC=349

 

Both are Japanese cars.

 

One is assembeld in Thailand with local Thai parts except for the engine and gearbox.

 

The other is 100% made and assembled in Japan with all Japanese parts.

 

Which would you choose?

 

 

to me, it doesn't matter the car is assembled in Thailand or not.

i had driven 2 of such vehicle and i'm quite satisfied with it. somemore we are all ASEAN country so must support them mah

[Toyo]

Toyota Vios and Honda City are supposed to be budget cars, hence being assembled in Thailand to pass the "cost savings" to customers, yet I see them being priced at mainstream mid sized Jap cars' pricing levels.

 

These budget cars are supposed to be priced at Hyundai Verna and Kia Rio levels.

 

 

Vios and City are much better equipped

[Bkling]

Not being bias but too expensive for this new tomyam Vios. Will get Latio as compared with Vios.

[Shern25]

OK. Let me be the first flamer.

 

I think we should change our mindset when comparing vios with other cars of similar price. Should not think about the vios crampiness anymore as the new vios is nearly as spacious as Altis and somemore with flat floor.

 

Note that the spec width is even wider than latio (1700 vs 1690mm). The new vios comes with 185/60/R15 wheel sets. 15inch! Even the current Altis is only 14inch. Previous vios is 175/65/R14. I recently just change to 185/60/R14 and with wider width and lower aspect ratio, long distance driving over smooth highway road becomes very comfortable and safer. It really fix the rattling when going over 100km/hr. When I drive along the expressway, I am surprised I had been travelling at 120km/h! I thought i am still at 90km/hr because I could not feel the rattling. But mine still 14 inch so acceleration and FC are slightly affected. So with the new wheel stock spec for the new vios, I expect improvement in comfort over the old vios. Acceleration may be the same as the larger diameter wheel should give better acceleration but offset by the heavier weight of the new vios.

 

Another good thing about the new vios is that the direction indicator is at the side mirrors and is retractable and is for all J/E/G versions! That makes the new vios looks executive. Even Civic 1.6 does not have.

 

I believe the sound insulation is same as the old vio. So Latio will win on this one. But if i am to buy the new vios, i will immediately trade in the stock wheel to michelin PP2 to reduce the road noise.

 

Finally, I will choose the new vios over latio based on these factors:

1) Acceleration - I got too used to quick acceleration for the past 2 years that this is one thing I will not compromise.

 

2) Reliability - Toyota is more reliable than Nissan. This is based latest reported statistic. No1 is Mazda, No2 is Honda, No3 is Toyota, and these 3 are quite close in the scores. The no4 position score is a large gap from the No3 position. I don't know where nissan stands. Maybe some MCF members can provide there got the full information.

 

3) More precise handling - or basically I got so used to toyota handling that I will not dive any other brand expect Honda, which should have even more precise handling.

 

4) Space - no longer an issue for the new vios.

 

5) Sound - from engine: i like to hear engine sound, can feel the power. So why the need to insluate it since I like it. from road noise: should be able to minimise by changing tire as mentioned above. And there are many occasions I have avoided collision to motorcycles travelling in my blindspots as I can hear them. So been able to hear clearly the engine from other vehicles is an added safety feature. Why insulate from it. And lastly sound insulation will trade off on FC and acceleration.

 

6) Looks - This is another thing I will not compromise.

　

7) Safety - The old vios is actually a proven safe car. Many people think that people buying vios is compromising on safelty. I beg to differ. Just how many fatal accident we hear on vios, considering the large number of vios on the road. We only hear about vios crumple zone at work. But did people die or crippled in an accident which they could have been protected had they buy latio?

 

I just realised I wrote too long. Will stop here for now.

[Speed_ong]

No matter how many people say complain of poor service from BM, still there will be many buyers for the New Vios. It will outsell Latio by more than 2 times. Latio is already out for more than 2 yrs. No facelift or new model coming soon, so Vios will still lead the way. Maybe until City have a new model coming out, then there will be some competition. No matter how bad u say Vios is compare to Latio. More ppl will buy Vios. Its a proven model. Cheap and good. Too bad its not that cheap now.

[Wilb]

Still prefer the previous vios. Lighter, Faster, Looks better and Cheaper.

 

I will pick the city and latio over current vios. Not a big fan of its design :p

[Toyo]

the new vios actually not bad, i can see alot of improvement over the old model.

except the boot still quite small, rear seat cannot be fold unless go for G model and drink holder on the dashboard blocking the aircon vent

[Quantum]

good review

can you comment why new vios (exculde G model) change rear disc brake to drum brake?

BTW, did you re-tune your speedometer after change wheel 175/65/R14 to 185/60/R14? otherwise your speedometer might not clock your speed correctly

[Jizhou]

The new vios is not bad looking la from the pictures.. and interior wise can say an improvement from the previous model..

And your comparison was great too

 

But actually u could have left out the spec width.. what extra thing can u put with a 1cm gap ahz? Hahaha..

 

Anyway if given the choice and money, i will still spend a little more on getting the latio for its accessories and much better interior. "So far we never heard any vios in fatal accidents", well, i can say its same for latio and latio has been around for even longer..

But if the price drops in future, i would consider the vios as what i need is a box to drive from A to B and back... Currently, i would rather pay more for latio as the price different makes up for latio's accessories..

 

But to conclude, its up to individual as we always say, and we've seen it appear ever so often, one man's meat is another man's poison

[Shern25]

I don't know about why the drum brake. If I am getting the new vios, I will only get the G model. I did not retune the speedometer. Based on the wheel size calculator found in MCF, I will be travelling slower than the speedometer by ~0.5km/hr. So only slight difference.

[Toyo]

Drum brake is more than good enuf.

[Zerstorer]

Personally, I think the best value Vios is the most basic J M model. At that price point it has good cabin space and yet fuel economy to compete with other budget cars ~50k. In fact, if BM bothered to include the 60/40 folding seats into the base model, it would easily qualify as a best seller at the 50K point.

 

Sadly over 6k difference for the G model doesn't change much in the Vios' basic capability.

 

The G model brings itself right into Hyundai Avante, Chevy Optra and almost Nissan Latio territory and ends up a little lacking in terms of interior comforts/refinement and equipment level. I think for this price, BM should at least consider throwing in a bodykit like those found on the Yaris S Sedan in the states to make it look more impressive and sporty.

[Toyo]

agreed. i thk the higher end G model will not sell well, just like the previous S model

[Coltplussport]

I agree with you. At this price, better get Altis or latio premium.

[Toyo]

Latio better. Altis a bit too old liao. due for a change soon

[Quantum]

when and who will be the altis replacement?

Axio? no!

Corolla 10th? Yes!

[Toyo]

yes, its axio