The Perodua-Daihatsu developed DNGA-based 2023 Toyota Vios makes you want to buy the current one
Sanjay · Aug 9, 2022 01:39 PM
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This is the all-new 2023 Toyota Vios (D92A). Yes, that's how it looks like, and it's just made its world debut in Thailand where it's sold as the Yaris Ativ. It's big news, and more importantly there's extra Malaysian flavouring in this as it's been co-developed by Daihatsu and Perodua.
That means it's underpinned by the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA) – just like our Ativa and Alza and shares more than a couple parts with them too. Since the Yaris Ativ is a Thailand-specific car, this runs on a 1.2-litre engine (94 PS, 110 Nm) paired to a CVT, which will differ from our Vios that's almost certainly getting a 1.5-litre mill.
The exterior, by golly, looks like a mismatch of cars in almost every segment. The LED lights and front grille are reminiscent of the Camry, while the fastback profile calls back to the Civic FE. Measuring at 4,425 mm long, 1,740 mm wide, 1,480 mm tall, while sitting on a 2,640 mm-long wheelbase, it's generally a larger car than before.
Then you get to the rear and the lights look a bit like a City and the whole thing looks a bit distended if we're honest. How you perceive it is another matter, but Toyota has made this profile as slippery as can be, with a drag coefficient of 0.284 cd.
But most of the time spent will be inside driving that thing so thankfully the interior looks fine. Lots of it is familiar with the current crop of Daihatsu/Perodua cars yes, which means that there's more room for good stuff to trickle to consumers.
There's an electric parking brake (EPB, first time in a Vios), a 7-inch digital instrument cluster not unlike what's in the Ativa/Alza, and a 9-inch floating infotainment touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Pricier variants finally gain rear air-cond vents, matching the City.
The steering wheel now has tilt-and-telescopic adjustments too, thereby addressing one of our pain points with the previous-gen model.
For Thailand there's a special grade that nets a Pioneer 6-speaker setup, red leather seats, 64-colour ambient lighting, and metallic grey garnishes on the exterior.
Peep the small lightbar between the dashboard and air-cond vents
In terms of safety there's 6 airbags, and beyond the requisite passive safety systems there's also ADAS features. The Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) kit in the new Vios are as follows:
Pre-collision system
Lane departure alert
Front departure alert
Pedal misoperation control
Front Departure Alert
Adaptive Cruise Control
Prices have crept up marginally, though the entry-level variant is priced the same as the outgoing model's. Across the board there's a slight 2% increase over the last-gen car.
With humble beginnings collecting diecast models and spending hours virtually tuning dream cars on the computer, his love of cars has delightfully transformed into a career. Sanjay enjoys how the same passion for cars transcends boundaries and brings people together.
