THIS REQUIRES DEVELOPMENT
Review of the TRD VIOS by Justin Ong. 09
Many of you know Bob Hall, who is now with Proton, as the 'father' of the Mazda MX-
5 but it is a little known fact that he also almost fathered the replacement for the
near-mythical Toyota Corolla Levin, more famously known as the AE86.
Hall pitched the idea of creating an updated replica of the car after observing the
void that Toyota weren't filling despite the growing popularity of the discontinued
Levin among enthusiasts. Sad to say, the deal was axed at the eleventh hour not
because the car would not have sold but because Toyota felt that the car would not
have sold massively.
In light of Toyota's philosophy to vehicle development, the upcoming TRD Vios that
UMW Toyota are drawing up is completely incongruous with the parent company's
approach. Yet, you have to give kudos to the people in there who are trying to see
this product through to the end; A for effort if nothing else.
What you're going to read about here is not the final product; it's just a snapshot of
the car in its current state of development. The final TRD Vios might be exactly like
this, partly like this, nothing like this, or may just never come to see the light of day.
So keep that in mind.
In its current form, the transformed Toyota Vios 1.5J comes fitted with a host of
goodies that Toyota hope will give it that enthusiast appeal that seems so sorely
lacking from the brand. To this end, they've thrown in fixed shell FIA-approved
Recaro racing buckets, a Momo racing wheel, a bonkers Tein adjustable coilover
suspension system, a surprisingly tame-looking aerokit, a bunch of extra dress-up
items, and a gawdawful boy-ricer paint job.
The item that would have made the biggest impression is sadly the one that is
absent from the kit. When I first heard of the TRD Vios, I had hoped that they would
be fitting in a turbocharger kit like what was done in the Siamese market. As far as
power upgrades go, the Malaysian TRD Vios makes do with... a panel 'sports' air
filter.
You almost get the impression that this car was drawn up by a bunch of enthusiasts
who were thrown a catalogue and given a blank cheque because some of the parts
are simply nonsensical for a small, cheapish family saloon. I'm struggling to see the
point of the entire exercise in its current state, as it feels so far removed from reality
that you know it's never going to happen.
When they should be looking at incremental upgrades, the TRD car feels like a
complete reinvention of the Vios. Things like the RM7,000 (each) racing buckets and
coilover suspension add a fundamentally different dimension to the humble Toyota
but equally, moves it into such a miniscule niche-within-a-niche that it would be
amazing if they even manage to move a hundred of these.
The suspension gives the car a level of ability that all but decimates the standard
model, providing enough poise, mechanical grip, and response to make it track-
ready. On the other hand, the over-sprung system baulks at any and I mean any
bump whatsoever, rendering it almost useless on public roads. I never understand
why people use racing components on a street car.
Still, find a smooth enough road or grit your teeth sufficiently hard to bear the go-
kart ride and the Vios is a minor revelation. Throw it hard into a corner and it just
dives for the apex. Tweak it enough and the tail follows through hungrily. Keen,
faithful, and adjustable, this would make an excellent autocrosser were it not for the
fact that the standard brakes are woefully inadequate for hard driving.
When so much more could be achieved without terminally compromising the
drivability of the standard car, the immediate jump to the coilover system is puzzling
and overambitious to say the least. Perhaps Toyota are working from a top-down
philosophy, finding the limits and then scaling it back to a nice compromise but only
they can say for sure.
Then there is the more pressing question of “Why the Vios?” for an exercise like this.
The idealist in me wants to believe that it's because they want to produce an
affordable, fun car for the masses. The cynic, on the other hand, thinks it's just down
to a slow uptake on this particular model.
As it is currently, the TRD Vios is little more than a showcase of what can be
achieved if you throw half of what the car costs into go-faster bits and not nearly
what you would expect from a manufacturer-backed project. Personally, I'd be much
happier if, instead of wasting time trying to turn sow's ears into silk purses, Toyota
would just gave Bob Hall a call. Hell, I'll even give you his number. justin
Review of the TRD VIOS by Justin Ong. 09
Many of you know Bob Hall, who is now with Proton, as the 'father' of the Mazda MX-
5 but it is a little known fact that he also almost fathered the replacement for the
near-mythical Toyota Corolla Levin, more famously known as the AE86.
Hall pitched the idea of creating an updated replica of the car after observing the
void that Toyota weren't filling despite the growing popularity of the discontinued
Levin among enthusiasts. Sad to say, the deal was axed at the eleventh hour not
because the car would not have sold but because Toyota felt that the car would not
have sold massively.
In light of Toyota's philosophy to vehicle development, the upcoming TRD Vios that
UMW Toyota are drawing up is completely incongruous with the parent company's
approach. Yet, you have to give kudos to the people in there who are trying to see
this product through to the end; A for effort if nothing else.
What you're going to read about here is not the final product; it's just a snapshot of
the car in its current state of development. The final TRD Vios might be exactly like
this, partly like this, nothing like this, or may just never come to see the light of day.
So keep that in mind.
In its current form, the transformed Toyota Vios 1.5J comes fitted with a host of
goodies that Toyota hope will give it that enthusiast appeal that seems so sorely
lacking from the brand. To this end, they've thrown in fixed shell FIA-approved
Recaro racing buckets, a Momo racing wheel, a bonkers Tein adjustable coilover
suspension system, a surprisingly tame-looking aerokit, a bunch of extra dress-up
items, and a gawdawful boy-ricer paint job.
The item that would have made the biggest impression is sadly the one that is
absent from the kit. When I first heard of the TRD Vios, I had hoped that they would
be fitting in a turbocharger kit like what was done in the Siamese market. As far as
power upgrades go, the Malaysian TRD Vios makes do with... a panel 'sports' air
filter.
You almost get the impression that this car was drawn up by a bunch of enthusiasts
who were thrown a catalogue and given a blank cheque because some of the parts
are simply nonsensical for a small, cheapish family saloon. I'm struggling to see the
point of the entire exercise in its current state, as it feels so far removed from reality
that you know it's never going to happen.
When they should be looking at incremental upgrades, the TRD car feels like a
complete reinvention of the Vios. Things like the RM7,000 (each) racing buckets and
coilover suspension add a fundamentally different dimension to the humble Toyota
but equally, moves it into such a miniscule niche-within-a-niche that it would be
amazing if they even manage to move a hundred of these.
The suspension gives the car a level of ability that all but decimates the standard
model, providing enough poise, mechanical grip, and response to make it track-
ready. On the other hand, the over-sprung system baulks at any and I mean any
bump whatsoever, rendering it almost useless on public roads. I never understand
why people use racing components on a street car.
Still, find a smooth enough road or grit your teeth sufficiently hard to bear the go-
kart ride and the Vios is a minor revelation. Throw it hard into a corner and it just
dives for the apex. Tweak it enough and the tail follows through hungrily. Keen,
faithful, and adjustable, this would make an excellent autocrosser were it not for the
fact that the standard brakes are woefully inadequate for hard driving.
When so much more could be achieved without terminally compromising the
drivability of the standard car, the immediate jump to the coilover system is puzzling
and overambitious to say the least. Perhaps Toyota are working from a top-down
philosophy, finding the limits and then scaling it back to a nice compromise but only
they can say for sure.
Then there is the more pressing question of “Why the Vios?” for an exercise like this.
The idealist in me wants to believe that it's because they want to produce an
affordable, fun car for the masses. The cynic, on the other hand, thinks it's just down
to a slow uptake on this particular model.
As it is currently, the TRD Vios is little more than a showcase of what can be
achieved if you throw half of what the car costs into go-faster bits and not nearly
what you would expect from a manufacturer-backed project. Personally, I'd be much
happier if, instead of wasting time trying to turn sow's ears into silk purses, Toyota
would just gave Bob Hall a call. Hell, I'll even give you his number. justin
