Owner Review: Comfort and Laid-back - My 2008 Toyota Vios NCP93

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Basic information

2008 Toyota Vios NCP93

Reason why I bought this car

I guess my reasoning would be the same as everyone else who bought cars within the same category as this one ie. for daily commute bla bla. My wife is the one who drive this car most of the time. Just need something safe and reliable for her and the kids. I on the other hand prefer to blast down the highway in my old trusty Honda Wave125 superbike.

Car selection process

• I had a budget of: Less than RM 40k

• Models that I have considered include: Nissan Almera and Honda City GM2/3

The reason why I choose this car

The Honda City was out of my reach at the time as it was priced way above RM40k. The Almera was the front runner for a long period of time. But then again Nissan, Honda and Proton have been the staple of my family motoring over the years.

Time to introduce something new to the pack. Anyway the previous owner was a chinese lady. She was generous enough to provide everything that came with the car from the user manual to jumper cable. Bless her heart.

User experience

• I have already done 60,000km. 

This is a comfortable cruiser. There's no denying that. You can churn miles upon miles in it while the car cocoon you and your passengers in relative comfort. It has good cabin and boot space.

I made several trips to KL and Kota Bharu before the pandemic and the only reason I made stops was because I have a small bladder. I never tried it in this car but I'm sure I can make a trip from Penang to JB in lesser stops compared to my older cars.

Having said that however, I do want the car to exhibit more body control. It leans in corners a bit too much. The floaty ride this car produces somehow make me feel the car is going faster than it actually is. Probably a good thing though. Best to spend my money elsewhere than to pay summons.

NVH-ise, it does let in more wind and tyre noise. And the engine is quite vocal. Something that my old Honda City SX8 doesn't have.

Oh, a couple of more horsepower would be appreciated. Then again this is an econobox. I can't expect much from it.

I don't keep track of this car's fuel consumption for some reasons. I did it almost religiously for my older cars. I'm too lazy to do it on this car. Subjectively I think the consumption rate is good. From Penang to Kota Bharu on a full tank, I only need to refuel on the way back. Even then it cost me only around RM30 to fill the tank back to the brim. The fuel price at that time was RM2.30/l if I'm not mistaken.

Traditionally, I would upgrade the car audio system whenever I purchase a car. I didn't do it for this car. The factory installed Pioneer made system is surprisingly good. The speakers produce the highs and the lows with such aplomb that you'll be forgiven to think that the speakers are two way system complete with tweeters and woofers when in fact they're actually basic full range speakers. I do intend to change the headunit though. I converted all my CDs into audio files and store them into hard drives. I need a player with USB port. And maybe radio with RDS. Android would be nice too.

It's very easy to get a good driving position in this car. This is something that I remember fondly when I still drive the Wira (two of them as a matter a fact and I like the carburetted version more than the EFI version but that will be another story). I borrowed a Saga VVT for two weeks  when the Vios was involved in an accident. I never got the driving position that I like with that car. Saga method of adjustment is just plain weird.  I do have problem with the Vios's thick A-illar. It's difficult to see around it.

It took a while for me to familiarize with the centrally located instrument binnacle but in the end, I began to appreciate the arrangement. It's weird but at least I no longer had to choose between having the steering wheel adjusted to my liking and the meter cluster legibility. 

I am quite impressed with the paint. I currently renting a flat and thus have to park the car under the sun most of the time. The paint hold up really well under such harsh condition. The time for a polish and a new coat of wax has dawn upon the car however. It may probably be done by the time this is published. I'll probably have the car repaint once we move to our own house.

This car is cheap to maintain. Yes there are a few parts that are quite expensive but they don't fail often and they're very few. So far I've changed the alternator and the brake master pump. Those were the only major repairs I needed to do. I was surprised that Toyota didn't dictate the ATF changing schedule. It mentioned in the user manual that the ATF used is for lifetime. I changed the oil anyway every 40k km. No harm in being cautious. And the ATF isn't that expensive so it would be false economy not to change it.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Comfort biased suspension.
• Light and airy interior.
• Good factory installed audio system.
• Enough space for a family of four and the luggage.
• Cheap to maintain.

Cons

• Not so great handling.
• Wind and road noise a bit on the high side.
• Thick A-illars
• Engine could have more grunt.

Ratings

Total Score: 4
Performance: 3
Quality & Features: 4
Space: 4
Ride Comfort: 5
Fuel Economy: 4
Price & Cost: 4

Summary

It's a simple car. It's laidback. It's adequate. It has no frills. It has zero complexity. Me and the wife are in our mid 40s now. This car could be our retirement car. I do have plans to get another one though. This time it will be a small hatchback.

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