| Published
on 18
Feb
2011 |
All rights reserved.
|
|
|
For 3 decades Toyota
failed to crack into the small car market with its
mediocre Starlet. In 1999, it called the end to the Starlet line and
replaced it with Vitz, or Yaris in Europe. It immediately became a hit.
European crowned it Car of the Year thanks to its funky styling
and innovative, highly efficient packaging. It established a good
reputation and sales prospered globally. A new era was born.
Unfortunately, the second generation born in 2005 did not take the game
to higher level. It gradually fell behind Honda Fit (Jazz) and new
waves of European superminis. However, I suppose that was not the end
of its decline. What you see here is probably worse…
This is the Mk3 Vitz and Yaris. If Toyota wants to claw back the lost
reputation and market share with them, it must be childish. Today's
competition is so intense. If you want to build a class winner, you
have to upgrade build quality, refinement and safety significantly. You
also need to develop a full line of green engines, joining the trend of
downsized turbocharged or direct injection engines. Automatic engine
stop-start is a must. Exterior looks shall be more creative than ever,
while interior shall feel as classy as big cars. In the new Vitz /
Yaris, we found few signs of these elements.
Take the engine range for example. Among the three petrol engines on
offer – 69hp 1.0 three-pot VVT-i, 95hp 1.33 DVVT-i and 109hp 1.5 VVT-i,
only the 1.33-liter unit gets automatic engine stop-start to boost fuel
economy in urban area. The other two are old engines. Equally unlikable
is the fun-killing CVT. When
will Toyota introduce DSG ?
Styling is very important these days. While Hyundai-KIA raises their
game significantly in recent years, Toyota keeps designing ugly cars.
The home-grown Mk3 is more angular and edgier than the last two
generations. The concept behind is clearly to attract matured male
buyers. In Japan, there is a trend of downsizing. More and more mid-age
men shift from their Corollas and Civics to B-segment small cars due to
depressed economy. While the attempt to catch these customers are not
wrong, the execution is poor. This is evident from the Japanese
homepage of Vitz, which shows two 30-something men standing in front of
the car. From their dressing, hairstyle and body language we can see
they tried too hard to look cool. That delivers an old-fashioned, 1980s
Japanese pop stars feel. It is the outdated thinking of its chief
engineer produced such an outdated design. The Vitz / Yaris does look
edgy, but not sporty, let alone "heart up". Its lack of character and
progress makes it easily forgettable. I'm afraid on the one hand it may
fail to attract men, on the other hand it may turn off traditional
female buyers and young people. This is a sharp contrast to Honda Fit /
Jazz, which manages to satisfy all kinds of people.
That said, the exterior design is not the worst aspect of the car. The
interior is. To put it in one word: disaster. If you want to see which
new cars still employ shinny hard plastics all over its cabin, you
don't need to go to China or India. Just look at this one. It looks
cheap and feels cheap in your hands. The interior design is
uninspiring, too, and there are few fancy kits to raise your interest.
Its cheapness is the answer to high yen.
Well, the lack of quality upgrade at least keeps weight in check. The
Vitz weighs around 1000 kg, undercutting all rivals bar the brilliant
Mazda 2. In addition to a low Cx of 0.285, performance should be okay.
Cabin space is also competitive. A stretch of wheelbase by 50 mm and
overall length by 135 mm put it to closer to its European rivals.
Although much of the gain is spent to front overhang to improve crash
protection, thinner backrest helps liberating rear seat legroom by a
valuable 35 mm.
On the road, the Vitz / Yaris continues to disappoint. Although NVH
suppression is clearly improved, it is not as good as its European
rivals. Performance is modest for the 1.0 and 1.33-liter engine,
especially because they pair with the lazy CVT. Neither is the
1.5-liter strong. It looks powerful enough on paper, but in reality its
power delivery is peaky and the lack of low-down torque is obvious
against those small turbocharged engines on its rivals. It's a joke to
put this engine under the bonnet of RS trim, unless RS meant "Really
Slow".
Apart from performance, the chassis is also short of fun. The electric
power steering is non-linear and numb. The suspension setting, at least
on the Japanese car, is biased strongly towards the comfort side, thus
lacks a crisped body control. A Mazda 2 or Suzuki Swift is more fun to
drive.
European Yaris will be set sportier, but even so we don't expect it to
match a Ford Fiesta or VW Polo.
So the Mk3 Vitz / Yaris is disappointing. It looks uninspiring, it
drives unremarkably and, perhaps the worst of all, its cabin feels
cheap. Seems that the days of Starlet have returned. |
Verdict:  |
|
