The long-anticipated all-new 2022 Toyota Vios has just been launched in Thailand, where it’s known as the Yaris Ativ. With prices starting from 539,000 Baht (approx. RM67,608) in the Land of Smiles, the all-new 2022 Toyota Vios is set to add even more spice to the already-hot B-segment market in the region, thanks to its generous list of standard equipment.
The highlight of the range is the ‘Premium Luxury’ variant, which features a segment-first 64-colour ambient lighting that mimics one of a certain luxury brand. Besides the fancy interior lights, the Premium Luxury trim also boasts an all-red leather interior decorated with red stitching.
As standard, the Vios is also equipped with 16-inch two-tone alloy wheels, and provides Android Auto and Apple Carplay on either an eight- or nine-inch infotainment screen, depending on the variant. Other conveniences on the inside include four USB sockets, rear air-conditioning, a push start button, electronic parking brake, digital air-con controls, and a seven-inch semi-digital instrument cluster.
RELATED: 2020 Toyota Vios launched in Malaysia, world premiere of GR-S variant
The same can’t be said about the looks, however, as the experimental fastback design of the all-new Toyota Vios can only be described as ‘divisive’ based on online sentiment and comments in the AutoBuzz group chat.
While it does look sleek in the teaser images leading up to the launch, the final product looks like a photoshopped ‘unnecessary front end swap’ image combining the Honda City at the rear and a Toyota Corolla Altis up front, thanks to its weird, mish-mashed proportions. Still, it features many of the new styling touches inherited from its elder siblings – especially on the front fascia – to make it unmistakably Toyota.
Developed on the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA), the all-new 2022 Toyota Vios in Thailand is powered by a 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine (94 hp/110 Nm) paired to a Super CVT-i automatic with Sequential Shift. That should however be a Thailand-exclusive powertrain due to the nation’s Eco Car regulations; the upcoming Malaysian Toyota Vios will most likely retain its bigger engine capacity and outputs.
Safety-wise, the all-new 2022 Vios is equipped with the Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) suite across all variants bar the entry-level model, which includes:
- Automatic High Beams
- Lane Departure Alert
- Pre-Collision System
- Pedal Misoperation Control
- Front Departure Alert
- All-Speed Adaptive Cruise Control
Do expect these to be also available for the Malaysian Toyota Vios.
The four variants of the all-new 2022 Toyota Vios on offer in Thailand are priced as such:
- Premium Luxury – 689,000 THB (approx. RM86,557)
- Premium – 659,000 THB (approx. RM82,788)
- Smart – 584,000 THB (approx. RM73,366)
- Sport – 539,000 THB (approx. RM67,608)
The all-new 2022 Toyota Vios should make its introduction in Malaysia very soon, too, although there’s no official word from UMW Toyota just yet. But for now, do you think its styling has evolved forward or backward? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
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