Owner Review: The ultimate underdog- My Avanza (first generation) ** This article is published on WapCar Community, represent the opinion of users. Click the link below to enter the community for car enthusiasts in Malaysia
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Basic information about my car:
Avanza (first generation)
Reasons why I bought this car(purpose):
This vehicle became part of my family in 2006, when my parents bought it as a second-hand family car with the price of around RM60,000. The car is coated with gold in colour and some green stripes at the side door, followed by 13” diameter and 5” width tyres.
The rim looks like black spare-tyre rim (the ugliest you can ever imagine) and is covered by a white hard plastic with a lot of scratches on it. Throughout many years, we have not taken good care of this car, hence the exterior looks horrible with faded colours, scratches, and small dents all over the car.
Interior:
The interior is unattractive as most of the parts are made of black hard plastic and black fabric seats with dark blue stitching. In my opinion, it is necessary to upgrade the soundproof system for any vehicle with VVT-i engine as it is so loud I have to turn the audio volume louder to cover up the roaring noise.
Overall, the car is quite spacious in the middle row compared to Vios or BRV while the backseat is fine to fit 2 people. However, the height is definitely insufficient for a guy who is 170cm in height or taller as I personally knocked my head for many times at the backseat whenever the vehicle was passing road bumps.
Surprisingly, the audio system of this car is undoubtedly much better than many local cars (Aruz, Myvi, X70 and many more) in terms of bass and clarity.
Engine Performance:
Talking about the engine power output, it punches beyond its 1.3cc 4-cylinder VVT-i engine with a linear output and moderate torque. Even though the output response is slightly longer than a sedan car, it still manages to beat other 1.5cc cars on the highway.
The Avanza is seemingly a perfect match to a 5-speed manual transmission although sometimes I have some difficulty switching gear from neutral to 1 or reverse. The output response is slightly slower than sedans, but if you manage to switch the gear at the right speed, the car goes smoothly without any jerks or shakes at all.
Having owned a manual car, this is an interesting driving experience as I got the opportunity to learn about launching a manual car despite the fact that the acceleration is not as good as I expected. Throughout my driving experience, the car managed to hit 170km/h on the highway 4 years ago, but the steering was very shaky and the engine noise was deafening.
It was a crazy trial when I was young and naive, so I do not advise people to do it. However, the 1.3cc engine is quite underpowered to carry 7 passengers to climb Genting.
Handling Performance:
For daily driving, there are not many issues with the handling. Currently the car has no power steering as I am too stingy to fix it and it does not affect my driving experience very much. In my humblest opinion, I find it better in handling than some of the MPVs including Perodua Aruz, Alza, Proton Exora, and Nissan Livina. However, the tires are undeniably too small as I find it slippery when driving under the rain.
Superb Reliable Hardware & Accessories:
The engine, gearbox and suspension system are all designed and manufactured to the highest standard for durability. The quality of this car is commendable as there have not been many major breakdowns since we bought the car.
The lower arm is quite reliable, but the shock absorbers are very stiff particularly on the backseats. But now I rarely drive this car anywhere further than 300km away from my home because the airbag is unavailable in this car.
Below is the list of major breakdowns of this car：
● Brake jammed (2021 – RM900+)
● Fan belt snapped (2020)
● Cooling coil blockage (2019)
● Gear knob broken (before 2010 – no idea how my mother drove that time)
User Experience
● The car have already done beyond 200,000kms from 2004 to 2021.
● My average fuel consumption is between 13-15km/L depending on how heavy footed I am. The overall mileage I can get out of a full refilled tank (~38L per refill) is close to 530kms (don’t forget that this is a 17 years old car).
● Driving a manual means that you are going to experience “leg day” whenever there is traffic congestion.
Pros and Cons
Pros of my car
- Low maintenance cost
- Spacious (used to carry anything you can imagine)
- Super durable on the core items
- Audio is even better than the current Myvi (Come on lah Perodua)
- Fuel efficient (1.3 Manual)
Cons
- Tyre is rather small, might slip during rain so remember to check your tyre’s condition
- VVT-i engine is super loud
- Zero sound-proofing
Total Score: 4.1
Performance: 3
Quality & Features: 5
Space: 4.5
Ride comfort: 2.5
Fuel Economy: 4.5
Price & cost: 5
Lastly:
Without a doubt, the Avanza is still indisputably better compared to Honda BRV. I will still recommend people to continually support Toyota due to their crazily long-lasting build. This almost 20-year-old Avanza just refuses to die, to the point I am praying that someone will wreck / ram this car whenever I am not in it so I can claim total loss and have an excuse to buy a new car.
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