Less Toyota than you think
Toyota has presented a brand new compact hatchback: the Vitz. Although its model name suggests otherwise to Yaris connoisseurs, the new Vitz has nothing to do with the Yaris at all. In fact, the Vitz is secretly not a Toyota at all.
Not a week goes by at AutoWeek in which we don’t look far across the border at what is happening there in the automotive field. Today we travel to South Africa where Toyota has presented a new compact hatchback that listens to the somewhat confusing name ‘Vitz’. Previously, Toyota stuck the model name Vitz in various markets outside Europe on the first three generations of the model that we know as Yaris in Europe. With the arrival of the current fourth-generation Yaris in 2019, the model is also called ‘Yaris’ in Japan, with the result that Toyota has the Vitz designation available for another model. That name now ends with the bottom of a small city car that is not, in fact, a Toyota at all.
The new Toyota Vitz that is now coming onto the South African market is the new (Maruti) Suzuki Celerio on which Toyota has pasted its own logos. It is the umpteenth car that Suzuki and Toyota share together. For example, the Suzuki Baleno is available as Toyota Glanza and Starlet, the Toyota Belta is a Suzuki Ciaz and the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder is a Suzuki Grand Vitara. There are also models of Suzuki borrowed from Toyota. For example, the Suzuki Landy is in fact a Toyota Noah and the Suzuki Across and Swace available in the Netherlands are successively a Toyota RAV4 and a Corolla Touring Sports.
Back to the Vitz. Just like the Suzuki Celerio, the Toyota Vitz has a 67 hp and 89 Nm strong 1.0 three-cylinder that can be linked to a manual five-speed gearbox and a robotized manual gearbox with the same amount of resistance. With this 1.0 he reaches a speed of 160 km / h. The average consumption is 4.2-4.4 l/100 km. With a capacity of 295 liters, the luggage space of the Vitz is certainly not bad. For comparison: the Toyota Yaris likes 286 liters. Manual air conditioning is standard, as are rear parking sensors. Logically, the entry-level taste does not have much more to offer. Electric windows, an adjustable steering column and a radio with screen are available for an extra charge.
The Toyota Vitz costs €9,470 in South Africa and is therefore cheaper than the second most affordable model of the brand: the €10,270 Agya.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl