Recently, Toyota Thailand has provided some updates to the Toyota Yaris Ativ, which is the Vios in the Philippine market. This model is one of the two Vios models in the Land of Smiles and most of what is new is focused on improving the car’s safety kit.
The 2022 Toyota Yaris Ativ (Vios)
The top-spec Yaris Ativ/Vios now gets a lane departure alert system, and an autonomous braking system. Its interior then gets the same treatment as the Philippine-spec Vios GR-S. It also has a gauge cluster with a multi-function display, contrast stitching, a push-to-start button, leather and fabric seats, among others.
As for what’s under its hood, the Yaris Ativ is markedly different from the Vios variants available locally. It exclusively uses a 1.2-liter engine that is not available to our version of the Vios. At most, it can make up to 89 horsepower and 109 Nm of torque. Power is then delivered to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Suffice to say, our 1.3-liter Vios versions make a bit more at 98 horsepower and 123 Nm of torque.
The top-spec variant also gets an optional two-tone color scheme
The Yaris Ativ also received some cosmetic tweaks. Its front fascia now has larger fog lamp housings, which only look a bit different from the Vios GR-S as it comes with the addition of a small chrome trim piece.
Its higher-spec variant also gets a lot of black-colored trim pieces, just like what we’ve seen on the Vios GR-S. The rear of the Yaris Ativ however, is different as it lacks the black trim piece stretching over the GR-S' lower rear bumper. It also lacks the chunky rear diffuser that is equipped on the Philippine top-spec model.
As mentioned, the structure for the Vios lineup in Thailand is a bit different. To keep it simple, the Toyota Philippines used the Yaris Ativ as the basis for the recent facelift for the local-spec Vios back in 2020. We then got the Vios GR-S in March 2021.
A peek into the Yaris Ativ's (Vios) interior
In turn, Toyota Thailand used some of the exterior looks and interior bits of the Vios GR-S to update the entirety of its Yaris Ativ lineup. That said though, we would want to see the lane departure alert and autonomous braking system for the Philippine-spec Vios. That might involve a price hike, but the added safety tech will come in handy on our busy streets.
If you want to keep track of the latest car updates from both our neighbors in the ASEAN region and the local market, keep it here on Philkotse.com.