Toyota Vios Hybrid review: A five-seater that beats motorcycles at their own game
Some people are in love with cars. Toyota’s new Vios Hybrid isn’t for them, but it is desirably dependable
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[SINGAPORE] Driving the Toyota Vios Hybrid made me recall my wedding, and how it was a modest affair (or a cheapo one, as my mum describes it). The guest list, I kept as short as possible. I borrowed a tux from a chum – and kept that, too.
I think I got away with both, but either way, the Vios Hybrid feels like a car built along similar thinking: Some people want as little fuss as possible, will spend the minimum necessary to achieve their objective, and then trust that nobody complains too much (mothers being the exception).
At S$180,888 with a Certificate of Entitlement, the Vios is currently Toyota’s cheapest car, though it’s still a full petrol-electric hybrid. It sits in Category A, the bracket for smaller, lower-powered cars – and with just 112 horsepower under the bonnet, it fits comfortably there, too.
That sort of power figure tends to keep expectations low (which, as it turns out, is Warren Buffett’s advice on how to have a lasting marriage). Sure enough, the Vios surprises with how lively it can feel. Floor the accelerator leaving a junction, and you might actually make a front tyre chirp.
Not being a sport utility vehicle, it’s actually fairly enjoyable in the handling department, too, with plenty of grip and not much body roll. The slow steering dulls its reflexes, but the little Toyota is otherwise a fun thing to hustle around in.
Of course, that’s entirely at odds with how you’re supposed to drive a Vios Hybrid. Trying to extract driving pleasure from it is like trying to heat up your lunch with a hair dryer – possible in theory, but ultimately pointless.
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Instead, the whole point of the car is its frugality. The hybrid system (which charges itself through regenerative braking rather than a plug) blends its two power sources seamlessly and automatically, leaving you to get on with just driving the thing.
Switch to eco mode, which dulls the throttle and aggressively turns down the air-conditioning, and the efficiency becomes almost absurd. I saw a real-world figure of just three litres per 100 km (or 33.3 km a litre), comfortably bettering Toyota’s already impressive claim of 3.7 litres per 100 km.
On paper, the Vios can extract comfortably more than 900 km from its 36-litre tank. I’ve ridden motorcycles that gulped fuel far more quickly, and none of them had six airbags, five seats and what feels like the motoring world’s most powerful air-con system.
This Vios is more plush than any motorbike, of course, but the cabin materials are hardy rather than luxurious. Sixty-four-colour ambient lighting and contrast stitching signal some effort, but there’s no pretending that the Toyota is for people whose needs are basic.
The seats adjust manually and the wipers don’t turn on by themselves, for example, while the 10.1-inch touchscreen is so plain that a three-year-old could master it in minutes (or an 83-year-old, come to think of it).
Still, you do get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 360-degree camera, blind-spot monitors and collision warning systems, along with autonomous emergency braking.
Those are modern conveniences worth having, and don’t let anyone tell you different. So, too, are the physical buttons and switches that make operating the Vios such a breeze – to say nothing of the honking big gear lever.
Yet, the Vios’ main flaw isn’t that it’s old-school, but that it’s small. In the back, kneeroom is modest and headroom is tight. Seating three adults across would be cosy in a way that requires prior acquaintance.
The 460-litre boot is big for the class, but it’s surprisingly no-frills. There are no hooks, no nets and a tall lip to clear, and the rear seats don’t fold, so the boot is all you get. For a family-oriented Toyota, it is a puzzling omission.
If you want something hybrid and bigger, the cheapest Kia Niro costs slightly less, and if you want something hybrid and smaller (but more practical, due its brilliant space packaging), there’s the Honda Jazz Crosstar.
The Vios Hybrid’s trump card is the street cred it can borrow from the thousands of Toyota Prius taxis and Grab cars in Singapore, which routinely cover half a million kilometres or more without a hiccup from battery or engine.
That’s the sort of endurance the Vios buyer expects from the car, and the kind I had hoped for on my wedding day.
Toyota Vios Full Hybrid Engine 1,496 cc, 16V, in-line four Engine power 90 hp at 5,500 rpm Engine torque 121 Nm at 4,800 rpm Motor power 79 hp Motor torque 141 Nm System power 112 hp Gearbox Continuously Variable Transmission Top speed 155 kmh 0-100 kmh 11.5 seconds (estimated) Fuel efficiency 3.7 l/100 km Price S$180,888 with COE Agent Borneo Motors Available Now
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