ADV: Toyota VIOS TRD Review

If you a single guy looking to hook up, which of the following ‘tools’ would you rank most important when going after chicks?

a) A wardrobe full of designer brands.
b) VIP access to the hippest parties in town.
c) A car.

The answer is (c) a car.

Why, you ask? Simple.

If I got (a), I may be able to impress her. But that’s about it.

If I got (b), I may be able to impress her. But then she might meet so many people at the party and leave me for somebody else richer and more successful.

Now, say I got (c). Immediately I become someone important in her eyes. I get to pick her up, drop her off, and best of all, spend some private one-on-one time in the car with her.

If we go to a party and things don’t go my way, hey at least I got a car to whisk her away to safety. Not to mention, when I’m at her doorsteps and the mood is right (making sure Ne-Yo is playing on the car audio), it wouldn’t feel awkward if I move in for the so-called ‘second base’. 😉

You can’t do that if you don’t have a car. Even if you take taxi, it’d be damn awkward to have the driver staring right? That’s why it’s always a huge advantage for a single guy to have his own car. And how would I know?

From experience.

When I was 17, once I took a girl out on a date in a bus.

One week later she left me for a dude who drives a sports car. 🙁

Yeah, that’s the bastard that stole my girl.

Since that incident, I decided that one day, I’m gonna get my very own sports car.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. Sports cars, or even standard cars that come with sporty body kits generally don’t come cheap. You gotta be prepared to pay upwards from RM130,000 for those.

This is where the Toyota Vios TRD Sportivo comes in.

The Toyota Vios is the most popular foreign car in Malaysia. In fact, the Vios itself comprises of 36% of all Toyotas sold. But for quite a while, Vios owners have demanded for sportier, more aggressive look for their cars. Presumably to scare all the date stealers away.

That’s why Toyota decides to release the TRD Sportivo, the car’s official sports kit.

Since everyone is in racing mood thanks to Singapore GP, today’s blog entry will be a review of the Toyota Vios TRD Sportivo.

Under the bonnet, the car itself is still the exact same Japanese-made Vios 1.5S. With the TRD Sportivo, the body kit is manufactured locally so Malaysians don’t have to pay an arm, a leg and their new-born son for it.

In other words, the TRD Sportivo is a dress. But what a freaking awesome dress it is.

First thing that caught my attention is the spoilers on the back, skirts on the sides and spoilers on the front. All hung low to give it a sporty look.

Taking a peek below, and I noticed all four wheels are fitted with 15″ Enkei alloy wheels. Very the boom boom pow.

Open the door, and the red-and-black TRD Sportivo branded fabric seats greet me.

I can’t help but to put your ass in. Meanwhile, I wondered what the ‘TRD’ in ‘TRD Sportivo’ stands for?

Inside, it’s nice and spacious. The driver seat felt a little bit low, but maybe that’s just the way it is. Either that or I’m too short lah.

I put my hand on the gear knob. It felt good. As a matter of fact, it’s the smoothest knob I have ever wrapped my fist around.

That’s when I realised the knob has a leather skin covering its head. Nice.

I turned the key, started the engine and took the car around for a whirl. As the 1.5L engine vrooms, that’s when the pleasure of driving this car kicks in. Each time I put my foot to the paddle, the Vios accelerates like a beast. I found myself overtaking vehicles after vehicles.

Vios handles quite well. In particular, the electric-controlled power-steering responds very well to sharp corners and tight turns. The same applies to the car’s brakes.

The speedometers and gauges, located in the middle of the dashboards, is a joy to look at.

The Toyota Vios has a reputation of being extremely fuel economy. This one is
no exception. One useful information it displays is how much kilometres the car has run per litre of fuel. I wonder why most other cars don’t do it that way?

All in all, cruising the Toyota Vios TRD Sportivo around town was a pretty fun experience. I managed to turn around a few heads, and even the parking attendant at my workplace kept heaving praises on my car.

And that was when I realised what the ‘TRD’ in ‘TRD Sportivo’ stands for.

The Real Deal.

Fine, it stands for Toyota Racing Development. But still The Real Deal isn’t far off.

Alas, I had to return to the car dealer after my test-drive. Pity I couldn’t use this car to steal some other kid’s chicks. Because I reckon I might be pretty successful.

Not many girls would be able to resist this look.

Right.

The Toyota Vios TRD Sportivo goes for RM90,900 in the West or RM92,377 in Sarawak. It is a good price – a fraction of what one would pay for similar cars from other manufacturers.

Obviously if you think that is STILL expensive, then I guess you can always modify your ciplak car yourself…

 

 

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Just don’t blame anyone if you fail to score any chicks with it lah.

Much apologies for the horrifically badly planned spacing and release of advertorial content. At times, schedules get moved around and ad releases coincide and overlap with one another.

One thing that never change is that I try to make my advertorial content as truthful, interesting and relevant as possible. But we know your pain, which is why my agent and I are working on improving our system, so that kennysia.com remains fresh to both myself, the advertisers, and most importantly – the readers. 🙂 Thank you for your understanding.

155 Replies to “ADV: Toyota VIOS TRD Review”

  1. pls la, the vios is a lousy car. for that kind of price, you can almost go for a perdana. you want power? get the waja manual 1.6l, that’s powerful. or even the honda city is better. vios is the worst of all.

  2. is it my eyes or is the girl in the 3rd picture took down her jeans/skirt? It sure look like she did take down and you took picture of it! (look at the shadow on her lower thigh ;p )

  3. Forget the car for a minute.
    Who’s featured hot legs is that !!??? Don’t leave your loyal readers in the dark, man !! T.T

  4. haha. u like callin ppl’s car ah beng. look at urself, dat piece of shit aint no diff to wat an ah beng drives. front spoiler. haha. wtf is dat. don talk bout cars if u kno nothin. i gues its aal bout d money huh.

  5. hey dude, i think you should quit writing about car reviews man, its totally non-informational… you’re best at telling stories about yourself, thats more entertaining…cheers !

  6. TRD = Toyota Racing Development. But judging from their F1 performance, TRD is not doing well this few years. A pig that flies is still a pig, whether you TRDed it or not.

  7. Car review is not your thing kenny. Reckon u should drop it. Additionally, I think u are blowing the vios sportivo a lil out of proportion to an extent is seems that Toyota are desperate for sales.
    Vios from start has been labelled a “dugong” and one of the fugliest looking car in the B class category. Adding a bodykit will not raise the appetite of consumers for this model.
    The previous vios looks much better.

  8. ah it all in all its still a advert so he has to say nice things about it. but to pay 90k for a vios, mod or not its really not worth the money.. and for the genius who said you’d prefer a rx-8.. use your smart piece of head to go look up the price difference.

  9. hey, i do agree w ur grandaughter that it was the world’s worst music. i have the same feeling. everytime i hear it, my hairs stand on its end and it was pure torture. no kidding. i can get panic attack as well.

  10. I personally love the car looks…
    If you guys hate the car looks, think again, it is still a very practical car to drive. And it’s a Toyota, I pick than any other brand in this category

  11. It IS a proven fact that nice cars can attact females. In the animal kingdom, the males are ‘naturally’ attractive, ie male lions, male peacocks. but human beings, we have nothing to attract the opposite sex, hence, nice cars is a must!!

  12. That’s why I want a Vios as my first car no matter what. Awesome car 😀
    BTW can we reverse the whole process ? You know, getting chicks to have that sports car and attract guys?
    VERY random thought. I can’t believe it came across my mind after reading the post.
    Enjoy Arthur’s Day and BEP Kenny!

  13. cars with spoilers etc etc look like shit. So fucking ah beng shit. come on, you think you’ll score the chicks in a car like THAT? or a mercedes benz s class. and you tell me if you’re gonna put a spoiler on a car like that. yeah, didn’t think so. if you think spoilers and stripes and flames or whatever shit that is looks cool, then obviously you suit the middle income group because your taste is not high class enough.

  14. would any of you guys rather be given a piece of paper to draw and colour ur imaginations on it or would u rather be given a picture and all u need to do is put colour on it?
    and as for the prelude.. id prefer it anytime for a project car.. VTEC TODA KILLER CAMS!!

  15. That’s what turn off some girls, thinking that what it takes was just $, look and car. Mayb u can get a ride and that’s juz about it dude.. Well atleast ur 5 seconds of dream have been tentatively realised. Well done for the short achieved accomplishment!!

  16. I wouldn’t be caught in a car looking like that. That ciplak car can still run rings round the Vios.
    For a showstopper, get a VW GTi.

  17. This is the most expensive item that you endorse, Kenny. It costs a lot more than the total amount of all the other items you’ve endorsed before.

  18. Take a dugong, put some extra fins and teethes, call it a shark.
    BTW, this is probably your worst post. Too commercial, lack of personal feel. Sound like u are forcing yourself to write about vios TRD.
    I bet u are not driving a vios, kenny. Am I right?

  19. kenny please write on other stuff….too much on promoting brands and shit…..the car looks like shit…only chick u gonna be scoring is a chicken on a farm with one wing on cocaine with that smooth knob……

  20. For the same amount, you can buy a used 1-3 years old Mercedes SLK, BMW Z4, AUDI TT, etc. in good conditions here in the UK.
    I guess the comparable Toyota model here is the Auris which starts from around £13,000. The top end is the sporty SR180 which has a a 2.2L diesel engine.

  21. Arghhh…Toyota Dugong on the loose!! this is definitely an ugly piece of metallic! if any guys were to pick me up on this car, i’ll be the first to run. haha. i’d prefer honda city (the old model) any time…mugenized it & it looks much better than Dugong. No matter how u TRD it, it still look like a Dugong

  22. to be honest, that vios sportivo might have made it being sporty 30 years ago. The insides decent for a sportscar, but the outside paint? Uggh.. dun get me started. It’s like having menses splattered all over it. -.-”

  23. Kenny I love your blog but in this post your English and grammar seems to be going a little backwards dude! You should let us know next time you are in England to see Manchester united, I’ll buy you a pint of your favourite guiness!

  24. cibai la, u think ur dressed up vios can beat my prelude? your vios only add body kit want to trick people it’s TRD tune ar? you think kuching people stupid issit? my car 20 years old already still can leave your tin can car in the dust ok! you come bako again la, i wait for u.

  25. And I thought They liked me. First girl I catch shagging my car will be charged with . . . . Is there a term for that?
    Grand molestation Auto?

  26. i may not b a super lover for cars, but sumway sumhow, Vios TRD is juz another way of marketing trick for Vios.. notice tat most car in Malaysia got sport kit version?? even Kancil got SE vers wif sum funny kits… its juz a way to sell more of it for longer term b4 sum real new model came out..
    for me, the car’s best suite an alang-alang rich kid who love to show off but hv no idea wat a car is or a young adult who’s trying to b cool but dunno how 1… all in all… in easy word we all understand… the ah bengs..
    as for the Prelude… ==’ BAD mod dude~ very very very bad…. its a nice car but the owner hv a bad taste of art and dunno how to take care the car.

  27. maybe that Prelude owner could only afford an old car like that’s the only thing he could do to make his car looks nice becuase he has not enough money to even change car ?

  28. Reader comment:
    The car really sports an Ah Beng looking car. Doesn’t even come close to replacing a sports car.
    By the way you are writing the post, it seems that way.
    Whats wrong with getting a Toyota Celica?
    Send this to Toyota.
    Now everyone can fly! is one thing
    Now everyone can drive a sports car! is another.
    Sports cars are luxuries meant for the rich, don’t uglify a already nice Vios by pimping it. Seriously, this reminded me of Zhng My Car

  29. to the anonymous who asked wether is Vios cheaper than Rx-8?
    asnwer brand new Rx-8 is around 230k
    brand new Vios is around 80k
    the price difference is nothing compared to the maintainence and fuel consumption differences lol, vios would prolly requires u rm300 per month or so on fuel Rx-8 if u rev alot since the car quite powerful la compare to normal cars definitely will spend 1k AT LEAST on fuel
    anyway i dont really dig vios with or without the kit , prefer the older vios new vios which is known as Yaris sedan looks like a dugong… city win in term of look this time.. coz last time city fail in look , looked like flower horn fish lolol

  30. any infor for toyota promotion for next month or end of year? jus miss the raya offer n thinking of getting a toyota soon. 🙂

  31. OMG!!! super nice car!!
    I WANT IT!! darn.. but can’t afford it for now! shoot!
    but the seats IMHO are ugly man but I like the rims!
    btw, if a girl dumps you for a guy with wheels.. it’s a blessing in disguise that you found out earlier that she’s not after you but your money!

  32. Nice, but I personally think the real players would be looking at the real cars. I guess this would appeal to the wanna-be players.
    Kenny, nice way of wording the posting btw. Haha, it’s amazing to see so many peeps shocked with your posting.
    David
    Malaysia-Asia.my

  33. I think Kenny is saying getting a car increase ur chance of getting laid, not married. u just need a job a house and no mother to get married, its easier. anyway, driven a vios. nth much to brag about the appearance, the interior the speed and what not, but its def a practical car. shldnt compare an apple with an orange, by that i mean comparing it with the cars in the same catagory, like the city, colt or latio. when someone buys a car like these, their wallet is definitely part of their pain stem. i can vouch for vios’s fuel efficency, and with that kind of FE, it still gives u a little bit of power, dun tell me city is faster, latio is what blah blah, FE:POWER, vios the champ, end of story. btw kenny, no offence but a pimped up vios? kinda ugly haha, prefer the one colour look, still tink vios look better in silver black or white.

  34. yup…
    if no money mod car, don mod la… original is oways better than silly mod kit one.. not juz ugly, spoil the car oso… sigh…

  35. You call a Vios a sports car???
    What does that leaves the Civic, Impreza and many many other makes?
    An aeroplane issit?

  36. Dude,
    Its a nice take from an average joe. As for the definitions,
    TRD = Toyota Racing Development (http://www.trdparts.jp/english)
    If you could try out the car again, go ask them if they have a unit with TRD Sportivo suspension in place.
    As for the looks beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
    Cheers

  37. Tsk…tsk…tsk…
    A lot of people is complaning about this post huh?
    A job is a job. If you get paid, you will do it even if you don’t like it.
    Even thought vios is a car made for 3rd world country, its still a car.
    Paying Rm90K for a cheap car like that is not worth it.
    But seriously, that prelude was a total turn off…uglier than a normal vios

  38. Yeah, agree, it’s a practical car. My dad is getting one because he has to travel a lot for work and Toyota has a better rep for reliability than Honda (comparing the Vios with the Honda City). The sport bodykit is IMHO a waste of money and the paint job looks silly…you want a sports car go buy a real sports car lah. Aside from looks, what’s wrong with the normal Vios?

  39. to be frank, Kenny, if those gurls whom you called attracted to guys with sports car and IF they follow anyone with this car, they must be some cheapass lala girls loh.
    Cos that way far away from a proper sports car. More like some lala ah beng who pimped their ride rides with wings huge enough to fly the car backwards if the wind blows.
    Sure there’s the price to consider.
    But it’s understandable cos if I were you and I’m being paid to write the review, I would still do it your way. Hey, it’s a job! We all want income isn’t it?
    FYI, I’m not trying to mock your post, just my opinion =)

  40. lol 90 grand for that piece of crap? thats the malaysian governments for you. tax the hell out of everything so nothing in life can be enjoyed. my mate who works on cars in New Zealand could spend 40 grand NZD which is after conversion on making an extremely fast WRX car that could easily smash other cars at drag races. Or for 40 grand I could get a Holden that already comes with an awesome body kit but instead, has an extremely powerful V8 engine under its hood…not some puny 1.5L engine..

  41. That’s Malaysia for you. The moment the tax is lifted, Proton & Perodua becomes a history that is meant to be forgotten. Living in Malaysia sucks

  42. How can you compare a new toyota vios with an old car? By 2020, your toyota vios will be like the Honda Prelude! BTW,
    I just bought a Toyota Vios J series

  43. I prefer the 2005 model of Vios. Looks much better. If it was up to me, I would have bought the normal vios and mod everything by myself, which I will have the spoiler, side skirt, rear and fron bumper custom made to my own ideas.
    Vios is a very economical car. 1.5 is not much but hey, its not a sports car.
    If modded tastefully, the vios will be one attention seeking car.

  44. People who say vios are ugly, do u even own a better car? All talk n no show for fuck? And to the idiot who pick perdana, go fuck urself. U think more fuel capacity can make u go faster? Bunch of morons. Half of the ppl commenting here drive shit car and wanna talk big. U guys ‘actually’ pay for ur car or does daddy have to cough extra $ just to make u guys have face to drive ur girlfriends out.? Btw kenny if u are reading this, best u take off the last pic.we know u edited the color of the car so it’s only fair u delete that pic so ppl won’t get offended. It is my friend’s car but blue in colour.

  45. to vios owner.
    normally i dont give two shits bout people talking cock but so what if daddy has extra $ to buy us a car? let’s just say that’s daddy’s leftover. AND i never looked down on people who owns a cheaper car or whatever.so quit your fucking pussy whining and go fuck yourself with your ‘self earned’ car. if you were that smart, you wouldn’t have to take a 3 (or maybe 5, or.. 9?) years loan to buy your ‘self earned’ car anyway. im not on any sides but i respect people who earn by themselves but not those who talk shit about people better than them just because they do not have the same privilege as them. peace

  46. and by the way, no offense but IF the new vios is actually alive, it should take a good look at its back cause its ass is just.. horrible. the rest is ok i guess except for some of the wannabe features

  47. use your brains la, not everyone can afford a merc. And a s class is like 4times the price of a vios. Why dont you go and compare the s class to a ferarri or a private jet? Talk some sense would you

  48. o rly? it’s best to tell him that original exhaust looks and sounds better. im here to save him from lifetime shame of having loud exhaust but underpower car. please tell him k? thanks

  49. For those fuckers and/or bastards and/or bitches and/or sluts who condemned or bad mouth about Toyota Vios, it only one simple reason…as we know “those who can’t taste the grapes will always say it’s sour”! Such a simple analogy. Besides, they might not even own their own piece of vehicle. Thus, they came into such “power kungpow” kind of “sourness”! Move on and get a real life! Can’t you read and/or understand the fact that Toyota Vios had been in REAL FACT been officially ranked the most and highest demanded and best sold car in 2006 and 2008 respectively! STUPID..that is why Malaysia can’t improve as there are a of ignorant and stupids people such as you guys!

  50. how a car looks is very subjective wad… everyone has their own preferences and financial capabilities to get whatever cars they like, and of course can afford wad…
    u like, and can afford it, then buy lah… don’t like it, then don’t buy, buy another car lor… so hard until have to bash here and there meh??

  51. Kuching ppl’s kuan la.. Haha!
    Who cares anyway if u’re mad or even u’re trying to embarrass yourself? Here? On the net? OMFG, ROFL!

  52. Oh Kenny. *facepalm*
    You want sport, get a Proton, I’m not joking. All Proton cars since Waja onwards are developed with help of Lotus, specialist in ride and handling. Frankly, Proton cars’ handling are better than most Japanese cars, and comparable to European makes (hey, Lotus is British after all). Driving my aunt’s Vios feels like driving the old Saga, which is basically a rebadged Mitsubishi.
    Toyota should just stay away from anything “sporty” in their normal models like Vios. It makes them look desperate or greedy, or both.
    Only naive japanese worshipper would be interested at all with this car. It’s too expensive, it can’t do sport at all, and goddamit, it’s rear light design is stolen from Waja!!

  53. gee reading al these comments really make me realise how blady ignorant you effers are, firstly proton over toyota? you guys out of yor mind? the resale value of a toyota will kick even the top range proton to smithereens! wake up!
    saying toyota sucks honda bla bla and proton is better? where’ your freaking senses? do not own any city’s or vios then just keep your stupid comments to yourself.
    n for the city vs vios story, the new city’s FC sucks balls.. rm50 for 250km is worse than my old “MOD aHBENG” wiralution (50=320km).. the vios on rm50 petrol, easily touching 450km. no joke. unfortunately the city is mine and the vios my brothers..
    so eat this (do not comment if you only have half baked knowledge on either cars)
    btw cheers to kennysia! funniest review ever written and keep up the good work! 40k paycheck for blogging? ask the haters to bite that!

  54. nobody saying toyota is better than proton, just giving opinion on performance.. within this range, yes i agree proton gives better performance packages than the vios or city mainly with their cps engine which is really quite good and you can find this in the gen-2 or waja (didn’t bother including the exora). pair this with lotus handling and any of these 2 protons drive so much better than the vios or city.. again, we are just talking within this range, u should be smart enough to know that celica’s, mr2’s and supras are not being brought into the picture cos they’re a different league… and again, ppl only talking about sportiness/performance, not resale, quality blablabla….

  55. Bro Kenny , later i go buy toyota trd, see after that got chick in my car or not, of not need you vorrow your girl to my car^^

  56. Vios Hater: Go make fucking whatever race between Vios and City. I wouldn’t dare to say that Vios will win. But having a draw result is definitely. So stop having prejudice towards Toyota vios.

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