Are Toyotas good first cars?

Those in the fortunate position to be shopping for a brand new first vehicle are entering a market packed to the brim with tempting propositions from some of the most well-established brands on earth. There are many factors at play when you are looking for a first vehicle, including price, practicality, performance, efficiency and aftersales service.

In this article, we will be examining Toyota’s local model range to determine if they will make for good first cars. Since recent data revealed that the average price of a vehicle purchased in South Africa is R300 000, we will only be using the Toyota passenger models available for R300 000 or less.

Space

The entry point into the Toyota range is the Agya, which measures 3 660mm in length, 1 600mm wide and 1 520mm tall and has a wheelbase of 2 455mm, making it compact, with a 260-litre boot. Moving up the range, the Starlet is a bigger vehicle, measuring 3 995mm long, 1 735mm wide and 1 690mm tall, providing 345-litres of boot space and an impressive 1 075-litres of volume with the second row folded flat.

The most recently introduced model introduced that falls within our budget is the Rumion, an MPV that measures 4 395mm long, 1 735mm wide, 1 690mm tall and features a wheelbase of 2 740mm, providing space for seven occupants and a luggage area that varies from 153-litres to 550-litres or 803-litres, depending on how the seats have been configured. The Urban Cruiser is the only crossover that qualified for our comparison, measuring 3 995mm long, 1 790mm wide, 1 640mm tall and has a 2 500mm wheelbase while offering 328-litres of boot space. The final option that falls within budget is the 1.8 Plus variant of the Toyota Corolla Quest, which measures 4 620mm in length, 1 775mm wide, 1 465mm tall and has a wheelbase of 2 700mm. The Quest features an impressive 452-litres of boot space.

 

Performance and pricing

The Toyota Agya is powered by a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that produces 49kW and 89Nm of torque and is paired with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automated automatic gearbox. The larger Starlet is powered by a 1.4-litre petrol engine that produces 68kW and 130Nm and is paired with either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic gearbox. The Rumion and Urban Cruiser are powered by a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine with 77kW and 138Nm of torque, with the option of a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed automatic. The solitary Quest variant in our comparison is powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine that produces 103kW and 173Nm of torque and is paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox.

 

Toyota Agya

	Toyota Agya 1.0	Toyota Agya 1.0 (audio)	Toyota Agya 1.0 auto	Toyota Agya 1.0 auto (audio)
Engine	1.0-litre 3-cylinder	1.0-litre 3-cylinder	1.0-litre 3-cylinder	1.0-litre 3-cylinder
Gearbox	5-speed manual	5-speed manual	5-speed automatic	4-speed automatic
Power	49kW/ 89Nm	49kW/89Nm	49kW/89Nm	49kW/89Nm
0-100km/h	14.6 sec	14.6 sec	16.3 sec	16.3 sec
Fuel consumption	4.8 L/100km	4.8 L/100km	4.9 L/100km	4.9 L/100km
CO2 emissions	112 g/km	112 g/km	115 g/km	115 g/km
Price	R186 700	R190 700	R201 300	R205 200

 

*This table was compiled with information sourced from www.duoporta.co.za

 

Toyota Starlet

	Toyota Starlet 1.4 Xi	Toyota Starlet 1.4 XS	Toyota Starlet 1.4 XS auto	Toyota Starlet 1.4 XR
Engine	1.4-litre 4-cylinder petrol	1.4-litre 4-cylinder petrol	1.4-litre 4-cylinder petrol	1.4-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Transmission	5-speed manual	5-speed manual	4-speed automatic	5-speed manual
Power	69 kW	68 kW	68 kW	68 kW
Torque	130 Nm	130 Nm	130 Nm	130 Nm
0-100km/h	10.9 sec	10.9 sec	11.6 sec	11.6 sec
Fuel consumption	5.1 L / 100 km	5.1 L / 100 km	5.4 L/100km	5.4 L/100km
CO2 emission	120 g/km	120 g/km	128 g/km	120 g/km
Price	R225 200	R236 400	R256 700	R284 100

*This table was compiled with information sourced from www.duoporta.co.za

Fiat Tipo

	Toyota Rumion 1.5 S	Toyota Rumion 1.5 SX	Toyota Rumion 1.5 SX auto
Engine	1.5-litre 4-cylinder	1.5-litre 4-cylinder	1.5-litre 4-cylinder
Gearbox	5-speed manual	5-speed manual	4-speed auto
Power	77 kW	77 kW	77 kW
Torque	138 Nm	138 Nm	138 Nm
0-100km/h	NA	NA	NA
Fuel consumption	6.2 L / 100 km	6.2 L / 100 km	56.2 L/100km
CO2 emission	146 g/km	146 g/km	147 g/km
Price	R250 500	R279 000	R295 000

*This table was compiled with information sourced from www.duoporta.co.za

 *This table was compiled with information sourced from www.duoporta.co.za

Toyota Urban Cruiser

	Toyota Urban Cruiser 1.5 Xi	Toyota Urban Cruiser 1.5 XS
Engine	1.5-litre 4-cylinder	1.5-litre 4-cylinder
Gearbox	5-speed manual	5-speed manual
Power	77 kW	77 kW
Torque	138 Nm	138 Nm
0-100km/h	NA	NA
Fuel consumption	6.2 L / 100 km	6.2 L / 100 km
CO2 emission	147 g/km	147 g/km
Price	R264 300	R282 800

 *This table was compiled with information sourced from www.duoporta.co.za

Toyota Corolla Quest

	Toyota Corolla Quest 1.8 Plus
Engine	1.8-litre 4-cylinder
Gearbox	6-speed manual
Power	103 kW
Torque	173 Nm
0-100km/h	9.8 sec
Fuel consumption	7.0 L / 100 km
CO2 emission	165 g/km
Price	R289 700

 *This table was compiled with information sourced from www.duoporta.co.za

Warranty & Service

All new Toyota models are sold with a standard comprehensive warranty that is valid for 3-years or 100 000km. The Ayga range comes with a standard service plan that is valid for 2 services or 20 000km, however, the Starlet, Urban Cruiser and Quest come with a 3 service/45 00km plan while the Rumion gets a 4 service/60 000km plan.  

Safety

In terms of safety in the event of a collision, Toyota produces safe products, generally speaking. The Agya was crash tested by ASEAN NCAP in 2015, scoring a reasonable 4-Star rating overall, including 12.84 out of a possible 16 points for adult occupants and 82% for child safety.  Moving to the Starlet, the Suzuki Baleno, which is identical to the Starlet, achieved a 4-Star rating from the EuroNCAP new car assessment programme in 2016.

The Rumion which is based on the Suzuki Ertiga,  sports a 3-Star crash test safety rating from the Global NCAP. The Urban Cruiser, another Suzuki-based product, achieved a 4-Star crash test rating from Global NCAP in 2018. Since the Corolla Quest is a local development based on the previous-generation Corolla, the 2014 Corolla crash test performed by ANCAP, which was a 5-Star result, is relevant when looking at the safety offered by the Quest.

Verdict

The five Toyota models that qualify for our 'first-time buyer friendly' budget of R300 000 appear to tick all of the proverbial boxes when looking at a first car, however, both the Rumion and Corolla Quest are better suited to other demographics while the Ayga, Starlet and Urban Cruiser will make for fantastic vehicles for first-time buyers.