Toyota Avanza – Packaged Just Right
Toyota Avanza – Just Right Package
After missing out on the launch of the Toyota Avanza a few weeks ago, we were finally invited to take one out for a test drive. We took it to Penang on a working holiday, and clocked close to 900 kilometres of mixed driving.
Timing plays an important part in any success story, and the Toyota Avanza could not have come at a better time. The market is hungry for a small utility vehicle at a reasonable price. The Unser is getting out of reach of the average buyer, or perhaps there may be some who are intimidated by its size. This is also a time when fuel prices have just gone up and a car that goes easy on fuel appeals.
It also comes in a size that is just right; neither too small, nor too big. In Penang, we squeezed two carloads of people, eight in all, into the Avanza with no problem at all. The 1.3 litre DOHC fuel injected engine, with variable valve timing, generates 89ps, equivalent to the 1.6 litre engines of one decade ago, so there is plenty of power to spare. The unit we tested was an automatic, and the 4-speed gearbox featured well selected gear ratios that had the right balance between speed and power. In top gear, it was 30 kph per 1000 rpm, and driven at the highway legal speed of 110 kph, the engine is easing along at just under 3700 rpm, a little high compared to a normal car, but with plenty of reserve for quick spurts when required. It will hit 150 kph if you want it to, at 5000 rpm, and will run the whole day at this speed with no problem, except for some heavier fuel consumption. We covered 430 kilometres on RM55.00 of fuel, at speeds between 110 to 130 kph. That works out to be 12.8 sen per kilometre, and we were loaded up with at least 400 kg of people and stuff. We found the Avanza to be extremely responsive to throttle, and could actually out-drag some larger capacity cars, the makes of which I shall decline to name.
In terms of room, the Avanza is hard to beat. As said earlier, it seats eight although it is rated a seven seater, and those who require more space can fold down or completely remove (some spanner work needed) the rear seats. It is a small vehicle, being 4070mm long (which is shorter than most cars), 1630mm wide, and tall with 1690mm height; but it is the two-box design that makes it very spacious inside.
In the handling department, the Avanza is a stable vehicle on the move, except that it is subject to a little sideways movement in crosswinds or when a large truck or bus passes by. Around corners, it is quite well behaved, and it will see you through even the most treacherous of bends as long as you remember to respect the fact that it rides higher than an ordinary car. The front Macpherson struts keep the ride firm, while the stabilizer bar keeps roll to a minimum. The rear uses a four-link arrangement with coil springs and a panhard rod to keep the rear axle from sideways movement. This arrangement is a well-proven one, having seen service in many of the earlier Corolla and Corona models.
Brakes are a disc/drum combination between front and back, and they work well even though there is no ABS. Our automatic unit came with 185/70 R14 tyres mounted on 5J alloy rims as standard. Airbags are noticeably not fitted, but I suppose cost considerations had a lot to do with that.
In terms of looks, the Avanza is great from the front, but the rear view leaves something to be desired. However, remember that as a ‘do everything; vehicle, function has to take precedence over form. The ride height is excellent, according the driver and front passenger a commanding view of the surroundings.
In a nutshell, we all agreed that the Avanza is an excellent package if you want a good compromise between a family car and a utility vehicle. For the family that can only afford something in the RM60k range, and needs that little extra versatility, the Avanza is it. If the waiting time was not 12 months, I would put my money where my mouth is.
