Owner Review: A comfortable yet fun ride - My 2015 Toyota Vios TRD Sportivo

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Basic information about my car:

2015 Toyota Vios TRD 1.5s

Reasons why I bought this car(purpose)

1. Solid car built.
2. Most reliable Non-national Car
3. Reasonable maintenance price and easily to get spare parts.
4. Looks sporty

Car selection process

● I had a budget of: below 100k

● Models that I have considered include: Honda City, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Cerato 

Reasons why I chose this car

1. Branding of the car
2. Good handling and fuel consumption
3. Realibility for long use
4. Equipped with TRD accessories and looks sportier

User Experience

I have done: 109,000 km

First few years of ownership are rather positive ones. Bought it for 90k after rebate of 5k in Nov 2015. As one of the reasons I bought this car is due to the trusted Japanese brand, any negative sides of the car can be easily forgiven. The car is able to fulfill the desire of owning a Japanese branded car and holding the comfort leather-wrapped seat l gave me a lot of satisfaction from my previous ride, which is a Proton Wira 94. It definitely feels like an upgrade. Solid 'thud' sound when closing the door, the feeling when closing the boot, red-illuminated light at the front legroom both driver and passenger side had highlighted the sporty looks in a cockpit, solid tactile feel of the buttons on the steering wheel and red background panel meter, also touch screen 7 inch Pioneer audio system with 6-speaker are all the things that make this car feels a 'class-above' (as how I feel) compared to other Japanese make. Except for the Mazda brand.

The car offers good handling around corners, and comfortable drive for both passenger and driver that makes this the ideal family B- segment car. Due to it’s comfy absorber, there is some compromising with the High-speed cruising stability where it will slightly feel some wobble especially cruising in a highway where sometimes you could feel the car is wobbling especially when overtaking a big vehicle such as truck or bus. In city driving, I feel the suspension tuning is on the soft side where the body rolls and twitches quite a lot when going through some corners and speed bumps, which I frequently bottom-up through some higher bumps. I have spent almost 1k installing stability items (Antiroll-bar, Front tower bar, bigger 15” sport rim) and the issue settled.

4-Speed auto gearbox nothing much to complain about  as it served superb for those having aggressive type of driving. The gear shift response felt similar to driving a manual car where you could drop to 3rd gear for uphill and even 2nd gear for taking a sharp corner. Surprisingly the response was on the spot where you could feel the engine braking performed well. Although it does not have sport mode like other models, the VVT-I engine reacts intelligently where it could deliver the power whenever u want. This is the best feature when you need to  overtake and turn out from a junction road.

Fuel consumption is 35 Liter (RM60 Ron 95) for a full tank and gives you almost 500km with daily use 60km per day with 30/30/40 city/highway/B-Roads driving. As for me this is an economic B-Segment car.  
Maintenance cost is at reasonable price where major service 80k take me below than 1k Minor service (Every10000km) can cost up to RM 300 (Engine Oil Semi synthetic) and Major service (Every 30000km) can cost up to RM 500 (ATF/Engine Oil/ATF Filter). 
Throughout the 6 years of ownership, I had replaced the air-cond (cooling-coil) that cost me RM850 and front brake pad RM300 as per mechanic claimed it as wear and tear after 5 years. Other than that is just routine wear and tear.
Overall, it is a solid car with a simple drivetrain. It is a fun car with the most reliable brand. Good handling and chassis. 

Pros and Cons

Pros of my car

1. Solid handling
2. Good chassis
3. Comfortable feel
4. Cheaper maintenance and long lasting parts

Cons 

1. Simple drivetrain
2. Not having latest safety feature compared to latest Vios model
3. Less stability on high speed
4. Rear passenger seat a bit compact compared to Honda City/Nissan Almera

Ratings:

Total Score: 4

Performance: 4

Quality & Features: 4

Space: 3

Ride comfort: 4

Fuel Economy: 3

Price & cost: 4

Summary:

Vios TRD (3rd Generation) the last emperor for TRD generation (Now GR batch) with a fun and exciting drive.

Interesting events:

The TRD/GR version needs to have a fully equipped sport mechanism (sport absorber/stability bar) similar to the latest GR-Yaris spec rather than  having normal accessories with badges of TRD/GR logo here and there. Surely if Toyota can make something with this Vios will be top rated for B-segment cars.

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