Toyota's Bold New Starlet
The Age
Thursday March 12, 1998
TOYOTA revealed a radically-styled Starlet replacement, dubbed the Yaris, at the Geneva motor show last week.
Its look and specifications are close to the final production car that will start rolling off the assembly line in Japan in 1999 and is expected to arrive here soon after its Japanese debut.
Next year is shaping up as a big one for entry-level models, with the next generation Hyundai Excel and a replacement for the Ford Festiva both due then.
The Yaris will also be built at a new four billion French franc facility in Valenciennes, France, in 2001.
The car signals a bolder, more aggressive design push from Toyota, which has been criticised as being too conservative.
The Yaris - the name is made up - was shown as a five-door but will also be built as a three-door. This three-door model is based on the Funtime coupe shown for the first time at Frankfurt last year.
The car was shown with a new 50 kW 1.0-litre petrol engine employing four-valves per cylinder and Toyota's patented VVT-i variable-valve timing system that appeared on the Lexus models last year.
A 1.3-litre petrol engine and a diesel engine are also expected to be offered, and its the bigger petrol powerplant that is expected to come here.
Visually, Yaris stays close to the Funtime concept. It has new front and rear bumpers, headlights and tail-end graphics. A single-piece hatch replaces the concept's split tailgate.
The Yaris is 3610mm long, 1650mm wide and 1490mm high, making it unusually short, relatively wide and tall for a supermini.
The engine is compact, allowing short overhangs at the front of the car. A similarly short overhang at the rear has allowed Toyota to exploit cabin space to the maximum. Occupants have a high Mercedes A-Class-like seating position.
Toyota Australia will be hoping the car is cheaper to make than the present Starlet. When Toyota matched the $13,990 and free-air deal offered on the Hyundai Excel, the Starlet's volume jumped from a few hundred cars a year to more than 3000 during the period the deal was in place.
Other small cars that debuted in Geneva included:
* The Mitsubishi Spacestar people mover, which is based on the Carisma sedan platform built at the NedCar facility in Holland. Powered by the Carisma's 1.8-litre, direct-injection petrol engine, or a 1.3-litre unit, it will go up against the popular Renault Scenic in Europe when released at the end of 1998.
According to Mitsubishi sources, no discussions have taken place with Mitsubishi Australia about bringing it here. However, it will be built in right-hand drive.
* The Honda J-BX prototype, which is expected to be in production and on sale in Europe in early 1999, is little-changed from the car displayed at Geneva. The show car was a three-door powered by a 48 kW 1.3-litre engine. When in production, it will be mated to a CVT or five-speed manual transmission. Air bags, ABS, air-conditioning and electric windows are expected to be offered when the 3785 mm long car goes into production.
There are no plans to bring it here.
© 1998 The Age