Monday, September 17, 2007

New Toyota Corolla Altis for Malaysians in 2008











UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd plans to launch the replacement for it's C-segment Toyota Corolla Altis sedan sometime next year, a re-entry of sorts into the current C-segment sedan market dominated by the Honda Civic 1.8S and 2.0S.

The replacement for the Toyota Corolla Altis - called just the Corolla sedan in Europe - made it's European debut in December 2006 at the 2006 Helsinki Motor Show shortly after it's world debut at the 2006 Beijing Motor Show. This is not the same car as the Toyota Corolla Axio and Corolla Fielder launched in Japan earlier, as that one is a smaller car than the one we are going to get.

The new car's silver and dark grey interior takes a leaf out of Volvo's book with a classy-looking thin floating console, and the new meter and display panel backlighting is of an goldish-orange hue similiar to the Toyota Auris.

The C-segment sedan market currently offers cars with either 1.8 liter or 2.0 liter engines, a step up from the current Altis's 1.6 and 1.8 liter. Under the hood of the 1.8 liter variant of the new Toyota Corolla Altis will most probably be the 136hp new Dual VVT-i 1.8 liter 2ZR-FE, which replaces the current Corolla Altis' 1.8 liter 1ZZ-FE VVT-i engine, as this new engine has been used for the new Toyota Corolla launched in the Australia market.

If UMW Toyota decides to offer a 2.0 liter variant here, the engine could be the 2.0 liter 3ZR-FE Dual VVT-i engine making 143 PS, but if we're really lucky we could get the Valvematic 3ZR-FAE which makes 158 PS at 6,200rpm - this would make the Toyota Corolla Altis 2.0 liter Valvematic the most powerful 2.0 liter C-segment sedan in it's class, something Toyota could shout about in it's marketing campaigns. The more advanced variable valve timing and lift technologies in this new family of engines will also help the car be more fuel efficient.

Bear in mind if somehow cost-cutting takes precedence over state of the art, we might just end up with the 1AZ-FE (making 152hp in it's highest state of tune, like in the 3rd generation RAV4 for example) being dumped into the 2.0 liter's engine bay, the same engine in the 2.0 liter Toyota Wish and the 2.0 liter Toyota Camry. But I don't think this is very likely as it wouldn't make sense for the 1.8 liter model to have a more advanced engine than the flagship 2.0 liter, so the 3ZR-FE Dual VVT-i without Valvematic is the minimum. Of course, the worst case scenario would be no 2.0 liter model at all.




Source: http://paultan.org/archives/2007/09/12/new-toyota-corolla-altis-for-malaysians-in-2008/#comment-110905

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Toyota Yaris vs Honda Fit vs Nissan Versa




Back in the halcyon days of $2.50-a-gallon gas, subcompacts were perceived mostly as transportation for college students. If there wasn't a Delta Tau chi sticker on the back window, you could expect to see a rental-car frame around the license plate. Either way, premium unleaded isn't getting cheaper, and you have to stop raiding the kids' piggybank to fill up your prized sport/utility. No wonder subcompact gas-sippers are becoming more appealing-and more sophisticated. Variable valve timing, side-curtain airbags, and six-speed transmissions are now standard equipment in some of these cars-and most of them now cost less than $13,500. Add to that three hot new entries from Honda, Nissan, and Toyota, and the niche that was once a punch line is now all grown up.

The Honda Fit, known as the jazz around the world, is a five-door that slots into the American lineup below the Civic. It's the smallest offering from Japan's big Three, but, as is Honda's way, contains concentrated doses of ingenuity and Versatility. The Nissan Versa is a more powerful version of the Tiida hatchback. It has the most European styling of the trio, along with the longest wheelbase and heaviest curb weight. Like the others, the Toyota Yaris has already been on sale in Europe and Japan. It's offered here as a three-door hatch or a four-door sedan, but for a fair interior comparison, we put the sedan up against two hatchbacks. Our testers were the loaded models, equipped with optional transmissions and all available safety items, including ABS and front, front side, and side curtain airbags.

The styling of all three fits their differing personalities. Despite the limited success of the tall-wagon-meets-micro-hatch in America, the Fit's design works and is instantly likeable. It's clear Honda's aiming at a younger market, and this car's lines and attitude are edgy enough to steal sales from Scion. The Versa, which one staffer describes as "a Quest that shrank in the dryer," takes longer to get used to. Most of the lines are pleasant enough, but the rear side windows that slant forward at the bottom, countered by the back-sloping rear hatch, creates an odd triangular c-pillar (a combination that won't be in the sedan, available in early 2007). The attractive if nondescript four-door Yaris takes on a familiar shape: Meet the corolla jr. The Yaris doesn't need to appeal to the youth market-that's what Scion's for. This one will bring more conservative subcompact buyers to dealerships.

While none is lightning fast, all do an admirable job of getting up to speed. The Yaris and Fit have 1.5-liter fours with variable valve timing, producing 106 and109 horsepower, respectively. The Toyota uses a four-speed automatic, and our Fit Sport came equipped with a five-speed automatic with steering-wheel-mount EZ paddle shifters. The Versa, the heaviest of the three, is powered by a 122-horse,1.8-liter four, controlled by a CVT for improved fuel economy and performance. The Nissan has the second best weight-to power ratio, but its gearing advantage over the four-speed Toyota made it the best performer at the track, reaching 60 mph in9.7 seconds, over two seconds faster than the Fit (11.9) and 0.7 second faster than the Yaris. It also clinched the quarter mile, reaching that distance in 17.4 seconds at78.6 mph. The middle-of-the-road Yaris came in second-best in acceleration, braking, and handling. The Fit, however, is the agile go-kart-like handler of this test: it ran the slalom at 64.1 mph, a speed 2.1mph higher than the Yaris's and 3.5 better than the Versa's.


Source: http://toyota-vs-honda.blogspot.com/2007/09/toyota-yaris-vs-honda-fit-vs-nissan.html

Monday, September 3, 2007

Toyota and Greenhouse Gasses

You'll of course remember that CO2 is the gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and thus contributes to global warming.
Additionally, the Environmental Defense report found that while the average CO2 emissions rate from new vehicles fell 3 percent from 2004 to 2005, it has increased a net 1.5 percent since 1990.
The reason for this, according to the Environmental Defense report, is a steady increase in driving, a decline, at least in some vehicle segments, in vehicle fuel economy and what the report calls a lack of progress in developing truly renewable, low-carbon fuels.
There is at least one bright spot here, though. It is that according to the analysis done by Environmental Defense, average per-vehicle CO2 emissions from Toyota vehicles have fallen. Yes, Toyota is the sixth car company mentioned in the report.
Environmental Defense notes on its web site that, "Toyota achieved significant CO2 reductions through incremental improvements on conventional technology in the Toyota Corolla, whose strong sales provided a bigger impact on CO2 cuts through 2005 than the more fuel-efficient Toyota Prius hybrid."
And it further notes that, "These dips go a long way in demonstrating that while advanced technologies like hybrids can be potent curbers of CO2 emissions, the chief global warming pollutant, an array of solutions is available to auto manufacturers to reduce the impact of cars on global warming."
The implication here is not just that efficient, well-engineered cars like Corolla and Prius are capable of making a positive contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gasses. It is also that the buyers of these cars are apparently willing to recognize the impact they can have when they choose our vehicles.
There's another implication as well. It's that even though Toyota is a full-line manufacturer, with vehicles that range from the Prius to the Tundra pickup, thanks to the hard work of our engineers, our fleet of vehicles achieves very low emissions. Indeed, each new generation we introduce almost always sees a reduction in emissions, an increase in fuel economy and improvements in comfort and performance.
We just thought that you might like to know that.
Contributed by Irv Miller, Group Vice President, Corporate Communications


Source: http://blogs.toyota.com/2007/08/toyota-and-gree.html

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Scion xD and xB Too Boxy?


More significant, however, is xB's all-new compact-car platform, which represents a move away from the xD—the replacement for the previous xB's platformmate, the xA—which has transitioned to the Yaris' subcompact architecture. As such, the all-new xB offers more space inside for guitars, amps, and retro-punk hairdos. Gone are the moronic center-mounted gauges, replaced by a more stylish, more conventional dashboard arrangement.

The news gets even better under the hood, where a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine (shared with the tC) making 158 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque replaces the wimpy 103-hp 1.5-liter four-pot of xB version 1.0. Five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions deliver the newfound power to the front wheels, the latter with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

Scion chose the Chicago Auto Show to lift the veil from its first new model since the tC, called xD. Though the xD effectively replaces the not-so-popular xA, it is different enough to warrant a new name to match its infinitely more stylish, squared-off sheetmetal. The new name also underscores that the subcompact xD, which arrives late this summer, no longer shares a platform—or even engines—with Scion's other Chicago debutant: the all-new 2008 xB, which has grown into a proper compact and is scheduled to arrive late this spring.

The 2008 xD is based on the Yaris platform but, thankfully, Scion saw fit to skip over the Yaris' wimpy 103-hp, 1.5-liter four-banger and install a 128-hp 1.8-liter four (as found in the Toyota Corolla/Matrix) under the clamshell hood. Said motor will be mated to either a four-speed automatic or a five-speed manual transmission. The xD's wheels are 16 inches in diameter, though Scion certainly will have an array of larger wheels available as accessories, along with myriad other items to help customers individualize their 'D.




Source: http://www.toyotacrazy.com/2007/08/30/scion-xd-and-xb-too-boxy-not-review/

Toyota Vanguard mid-size SUV launched in Japan


Toyota announced today the nationwide launch in Japan of the "Vanguard", a new mid-size SUV, through "Toyopet" dealers and "Toyota Corolla" dealers The Toyota Vanguard is a new luxury-class mid-size SUV with a high degree of mobility and power to spare. Not only does it offer a superb driving performance based on exceptional handling and cruising stability, it features styling that reflects refined urban settings and provides a truly pleasant experience to drivers and passengers alike. A 3.5-liter V6 engine and Active Torque Control 4WD combine with S-VSC (Steering-assisted Vehicle Stability Control) to provide power, handling and stability along with one of the best environmental and safety performances in its class. The 3.5-liter V6 2GR-FE engine is combined with 5 Super ECT (Super Intelligent Electronically-controlled, Five-speed Automatic Transmission) for smooth and powerful acceleration and cruising with power to spare. The HDD navigation system (compatible with G-Book mX and G-Book mX Pro telematics services) is equipped with advanced navigation features, including "Map on Demand" for updating the navigation system maps with the latest information, as well as a variety of multimedia functions.

The Smart Entry & Start System uses a key that does not need to be removed from the driver's pocket to lock and unlock the doors, as well as a push button for starting the engine.The Vanguard benefits from interior and exterior design cues that achieve a sense of strength and quality, as well as three rows of seats that can accommodate seven passengers within a roomy and highly practical interior space.




Source: http://www.fareastgizmos.com/other_stuff/toyota_vanguard_midsize_suv_launched_in_japan.php