In this article:
The Toyota Vitz is the latest entrant in the budget small car market and is currently the cheapest Toyota sold in South Africa. The Vitz nameplate has been used in Japan for what you'd call in South Africa the Yaris. However, the Toyota Vitz, in this instance, shares that relation in name only. The Vitz here is a result of the Toyota-Suzuki alliance, ala Suzuki Celerio.
Related: Toyota Vitz base vs XR: Here's our winner
The Vitz comes at an interesting time; people need quality, affordable, fuel-efficient mobility. Toyota has also launched its KINTO mobility solution, a hassle-free pay-for-use plan that makes mobility more accessible for all at an affordable price. The Toyota Vitz is part of this KINTO solution and worth a look if you need a car as a student or someone who needs a runabout. More on that here. It's the perfect storm for the Vitz, in all honesty.
Styling
In this writer's opinion, the Toyota Vitz is one of the better-looking budget vehicles out there. It's bright and full of youth with its pronounced teardrop headlights and tail lights. The body lines on the Vitz are smoothed out, making for an attractive yet curvy look. The Vitz looks proportionate without the exaggerated features you'd tend to find on small vehicles like these, such as an overly high roofline.
A singular chrome strip runs across from the headlights through the grille, leading to the Toyota badge and a pronounced front bumper grille. The side profile is curvy, and a thick stroke line highlights the wheel arches. If you opt for the XR trim, you can have a set of 15-inch gunmetal grey alloy wheels, colour-matched door handles and side mirrors. The rear continues the smoothed-out body lines and cleverly hides the park distance control sensors within the rear reflectors. The Vitz looks good and is easy on the eyes.
Space & Interior
You'd think with the smaller glass expanse that, the Vitz would be hard to see out of, but this isn't the case, really. It's quite roomy inside with enough head, shoulder and legroom. There's a host of interior storage pockets and some cup and bottle holders to boot. The look of the interior is fine, in this writer's opinion, with centre stage in the centre stack being taken by the infotainment system, front window switches and door locks. The Interior materials are fine and what's expected for a vehicle in this range with textured hard plastic. The boot area is quite sizeable at 295 litres, and the load area is well implemented with a wide opening and deep enough boot floor. The boot area can be extended with the 60:40 split rear seats.
Comfort & Convenience
The Vitz has a Display Audio touchscreen infotainment system with four speakers in XR trim. This is a decent enough audio system, but it could do with an amplifier to get a bit more punch from the door speakers while keeping reasonable volume levels. Other than that, the infotainment system is Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatible, and you get your vehicle diagnostics and settings through there as well.
There is some odd placement of some switchgear in the Vitz, like the placement of the doorlock and window switches. The front window switches and door locks are found just below the infotainment system. The rear window switches are located just behind the handbrake. Typically, you'd find these switches where the driver's hands rest, essentially the driver's side door or near the gear selector. In the case of the rear passengers, their switch gear would be found on the rear doors. Having these switches where the driver's hands would typically be near would have been more ergonomic. Seating in the Vitz is comfortable enough, but a height adjuster for the driver's seat would be welcome to compliment the tilt function in the steering wheel. Everything else in the Vitz is pretty pleasant.
Performance
Powering the Toyota Vitz is a 1.0 litre, non-turbo, three-cylinder petrol engine producing 49 kW and 89 Nm. While that doesn't sound like much on paper, remember the Vitz only weighs 820 kg (Kerb weight). Not a lot of weight is being moved around when you consider that the average B-Segment hatchback is around the 1100kg mark. Power is sent to the front wheels via either a 5-speed manual or AMT (Automated Manual Transmission). The Vitz likes to be revved but can putter about just fine around town in the lower rev range. What lets down the Vitz, unfortunately, is its handling. The Vitz feels disconnected and floaty for what presents itself as a nippy city runabout. It could do with some tuning and refinement to tighten up the setup and give more feedback to the steering wheel so you can tell what the front wheels are doing. The car is easy enough to park and easy enough to drive with an exceptionally light clutch. The gear shifter is quite light as well but could do with tightening and perhaps a more notchy feel.
However, one star feature of the Vitz is just how light the car is on fuel, with not only a frugal engine but also Stop-Start Technology. The system could use a little refinement in terms of timing, i.e. instead of activating when coasting to a stop, rather let the vehicle come to a complete stop for at least a second and then activate the system. Besides that niggle, it's rare to see what is essentially a feature found on premium vehicles make its way to a humble runabout like this.
Fuel Economy
The claimed fuel consumption of the Toyota Vitz is rated at 4.4 l/100km with a claimed full fuel tank range of 727 km. We managed 5.5 l/100km but could go down a bit more.
Safety
You'll find the following safety features in the Toyota Vitz:
- Pre-tensioner, Force Limiter Front Seatbelts
- Driver and Passenger Airbags
- Rear Window Demister
- ISOFIX Child Seat Restraints
- Centre Lap Seatbelt
- ABS, BA, EBD
- Vehicle Stability Control
- Hill Assist Control
- Rear Park Distance Control
Price
The Toyota Vitz purchase price includes a 2-services/30 000km service plan and a 3-year/100 000km warranty.
| Model | Price (incl. VAT) |
| Toyota Vitz 1.0 MT | from R189 900 |
| Toyota Vitz 1.0 XR MT | from R219 900 |
| Toyota Vitz 1.0 XR AMT | from R239 900 |
Competitors
- Suzuki Swift GA
- Renault Kwid
- Suzuki Celerio
- Hyundai Grand i10
- Kia Picanto
Verdict
The Toyota Vitz is an interesting value proposition, especially when you consider it with the KINTO mobility solution at a time when the public needs mobility that's affordable and frugal. The Toyota Vitz delivers on that front and has a lot going for it. Some key refinements are needed in some areas, but the potential for this to be a gem is there.
