Toyota will export the Thai-made Vios to 80 countries

26/03/2013 - 10:34 Toyota Vios, Toyota Shrawan Raja

Toyota has revealed a full set of official photographs and details on its next big launch - the new Toyota Vios - ahead of its first public outing at the Bangkok Motor Show tomorrow. Variants and prices for the Thai market model were announced yesterday in front a large media gathering.

Just as what the Etios is meant to do in India, the Vios targets first-time car buyers with lots of space, high fuel economy and an attractive design. The Thailand factory will make about 130k units of the Vios this year and 80k units have been earmarked for exports to 80 countries.

TMC Managing Officer Kyoichi Tanada remarked that "the Vios is not only exclusively developed for Thai customers, but also for Growing Market customers."

India is considered among the biggest growing markets in the world, but we have no idea if the Vios will eventually launch in India to compete in the segment right below the Corolla Altis, dominated by the Hyundai Verna and Honda City. Toyota haven't released the roster of markets the Vios has in mind.

Production of the first gen Vios began in Thailand in 1997 and exports from the Thai plant to the ASEAN region commenced in 1999.

The Vios is available with a 1.5-liter 109 PS/141 Nm gasoline engine that is paired to a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic gearbox. There are 6 variants in all, with the price ranging from 10.32 lakh rupees to 13.56 lakh rupees.

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The Vios is 4,410mm long, 1,700mm wide and 1,475mm tall. The top-end variant sports 195/50R16 tires as compared to 185/60R15 size tires on the other variants. The car is fitted with a 45-liter fuel tank and sports a 145mm ground clearance. The manual variant tips the scale at 1,020 kg while the automatic is slightly heavier at 1,075 kg.

The 2014 Toyota Vios comes with dual front airbags as a standard feature. ABS is present on all variants except for the 1.5J Auto and 1.5J Manual models (base). There is no option for extra airbags or for ESP.