New Cars

[barryofthailand]

Has anyone puchased the new 2006 Toyota Altis 1.6 Litre G model. This is the car I* am looking to buy and am wondering if their is anyone out there that has any experience with this model.

Barry

[Thaising]

If I am not wrong, The Altis you mention was not a complete new model but minor facelift with some accessories thrown in.

[barryofthailand]

If I am not wrong, The Altis you mention was not a complete new model but minor facelift with some accessories thrown in.

The G model for 2006 is a new model for the 1.6 litre. Previously the 1.6 litre had only the E model which I believe is a 2004 model.

Barry

[paulfr]

I have an Altis purchased in Aug2005.

The G model is top of the line as I recall.

I have the 1.8E and love it.

May be the best car I have ever owned.

We had to wait almost 3 months to get ours.

I think prices went up a few hundred THB recently.

[barryofthailand]

I am looking at the new 1.6 G model 844000 baht plus any extras probably cost me about 880,000 baht. More than in America, but I don't plan to purchase another car.

Barry

[moonoi]

Well its a posh taxi with fake wood trim thrown in. What more do you need to know?

Reliable but dull Shame they don't sell the 3 or 5 door Corrolla out here, looks far better and drives nicer too.

Also remember that the Altis is a 5 year old design (not sure when it came out in Thailand but thats when that body shape was released in Europe) so its due for replacement probably in the next year or so.....hence the current facelift model to try and shift the older model out the door.

Have you looked at the new Ford Focus? In terms of value for money (trim level/spec) it blows the Altis out of the water and there are plenty of service centres around......also looks nice in 4 or 5 door guise. Floorplan is shared with the Mazda3 and Volvo S40 and the engines are quite pokey too.

Edited April 25, 2006 by moonoi

[Plus]

Value for money could mean different things. Altis will certainly depreciate less than Ford, though it will take a hit, I suppose, when the next generation comes up. TV ads show rear-view you can watch on your display. Does Focus have that?

New Alits was meant to be released this year (globally) but Honda Civic sent Toyota engineers back to drawing rooms to come up with something better.

Focus is new to Thais, it hasn't established itself yet, and the engines offered here are crap, reportedly.

I saw 1-100 km/h results for popular Thai cars in a local magazine once. Even new 1.8l Honda couldn't beat that trusty five year old 1.8 Altis, Mazda 3 and Nissan Sunny were even farther behind. 2.0l Lancer came the winner (due to CVT, I guess).

[barryofthailand]

Thanks guys for all your replies. I am still stuck on the Altis. I think it's better value for your money. Ford makes good trucks, lousy cars. Toyota corolla is the number one selling car in the world.

Barry

[moonoi]

Thanks guys for all your replies. I am still stuck on the Altis. I think it's better value for your money. Ford makes good trucks, lousy cars. Toyota corolla is the number one selling car in the world.

Barry

Well I'd agree that Ford make lousy cars in the US. But the european designed models a very good. In terms of driving pleasure and smiles per miles the Focus is way better than Altis. I also think (having tried the two cars) that the fit on finish on the Ford is far superior to that of Toyota.

Now if the Altis had the 1.8 VVTL-i engine that is available in europe and TRD improved the handling then I might...just might change my mind but then probably not coz its still a taxi

I'm sure you'll be happy with it though if you just want it for A to B transportation (I on the other hand get quite bored if the car I drive isn't "fun" so I prefer something that you can chuck around bends, hustle around and get some real pleasure out of driving. Thats why I sold my Corolla T-Sport in the UK...engine was excellant, the driving dynamics were somewhat lacking)

[Plus]

Focus sold here is imported from Philippines. Placed next to any other Thai car it doesn't look like the latest model - Civic and Mazda look years ahead in design.

Altis here had 1.8 vvti engine from the very beginning, though in the UK the power output is significantly higher, I suspect. Still, TRD can supercharge it, as well as modify the suspension and the rest.

If I were hailing a taxi, I'd choose Altis over old Ford Laser any time, it seems that Altis completely monopolised the taxi market here. For some it's the "lost of face", for others it's a sign of reliability.

[barryofthailand]

First of all the taxis are not altis, they are just corollas. Different design. Secondly the taxies chose toyotas because they last longer, are more comfortable to drive, and are much more reliable than any other car. I have been driving toyota Corollas in America for the past 20 years. Now that i've lived in thailand for three years its time to get another one.

Barry

[markuk]

whats the difference between the Altis and Corrolla? as on the back of mine it says corrolla altis. ??

Crap car anyway.

[Plus]

Some of them have "Limo" on the back, but it's still the same Toyota Corolla Altis with 1.6 l engine.

I noticed once that taxi didn't have a tachometer.

[chanchao]

Dont' do it. It's near the end of its life. Main competitor Honda already changed their model (Go look at it, it's awesome) so Toyota should follow pretty soon. It sucks buyinga model that's been around for years and years and see a newer, much improved model being launched costing pretty mucht eh same or jmust a tiny bit more. Then you feel like driving a second hand car.

So in that segment, if you don't want to wait for Toyota to replace the Altis, then you should look at the Honda, Mazda 3 and Ford Focus.

Of those, the Honda makes by far the most sense, also in terms of resale value.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[moonoi]

Focus sold here is imported from Philippines. Placed next to any other Thai car it doesn't look like the latest model - Civic and Mazda look years ahead in design.

Altis here had 1.8 vvti engine from the very beginning, though in the UK the power output is significantly higher, I suspect. Still, TRD can supercharge it, as well as modify the suspension and the rest.

.

With regards to the Ford, it is still the latest Focus design as sold in europe. Agreed that with this second generation version they were a bit conservative with the design...probably trying to steal sales from the VW Golf by emulating its boring looks. However I maintain its more of a drivers car than the Toyota....I never referred to the looks.......I myself bought a Mazda3 4 door. But I still think the ford offers better value for money

With regards to Toyota engines, I know they have always come with the 1.8 VVT-i engine here. However the engine I was talking about is the VVTL-i (Variable Valve Timing and Lift) which is a similar technology to Hondas' VTEC.....when you hit 6k rpm it was as if you had a turbo the way the performance of the engine changed ahh brings back good memories

And Barry just for your info Toyota Altis, Corrolla Altis and Limo are all the same car with the same body. Limo doesn't have a rev counter as do some low end Altis models. The only real differances are the lights and trim......but theres nothing to stop you buying Altis taillights and sticking them on your Limo...then you can't tell the differance There is a previous generation of Corolla/Altis out there that Taxis also use I think this is what you mean by differant body shape...but they are getting fewer and fewer now...

We need this model in Thailand (I had the Normally Aspirated version in the UK this on has a supercharger....looks the same though)

Edited April 27, 2006 by moonoi

[teej]

Dont' do it. It's near the end of its life. Main competitor Honda already changed their model (Go look at it, it's awesome) so Toyota should follow pretty soon. It sucks buyinga model that's been around for years and years and see a newer, much improved model being launched costing pretty mucht eh same or jmust a tiny bit more. Then you feel like driving a second hand car.

So in that segment, if you don't want to wait for Toyota to replace the Altis, then you should look at the Honda, Mazda 3 and Ford Focus.

Of those, the Honda makes by far the most sense, also in terms of resale value.

Cheers,

Chanchao

agree 100%

[moonoi]

I'd like to add this review of the Corolla, ok its not exactly the same model as the one here but many things can be applied to the Thai model

Corrolla G6 - Top Gear Magazine

I don't believe it! All month I've been waiting to launch into an impassioned and highly-charged rant about the shortcomings of the Toyota Corolla G6, only to discover that one Mr Jeremy Clarkson has beaten me to it, and worse still, in the very magazine I work for. Now I've no alternative but to vent my anger on the next work experience person who walks through the door, while the rest of this minitest remains an expletive-free zone - unless, of course, I decide to borrow a few of Clarkson's.

'It has a bobby dazzler of a radiator grille' said the big man in his September column. And he's right, although a grille alone does not a good-looking car make. Nope, flashy grille aside, the Corolla looks like a typically bland Japanese hatchback. Even the wacky front and rear lights are just a poor attempt to cover up the fact that the new car is even duller to look at than its granny-thrilling predecessor.

Sadly, there's worse to come. Despite being an apparently sporty little number, the G6 gets the smallest engine of the Corolla range. There's only 84bhp to be extracted from its 1.3 litres and the 0-60mph sprint takes a lengthy 12.5 seconds.

The engine might not have much in the way of go, but it does at least get an 'A' for effort, thanks to its creamy performance at the top of the rev range. There's no harshness or vibration and it gives all it can deliver without complaint. And it's coupled to the smoothest-changing six-speed gearbox this side of a Honda NSX. All of which makes the huge disappointment you feel, when you realise how slowly you're moving, all the more difficult to take. Again I find myself deferring to my well-versed colleague Mr Clarkson. He said that 'old people in their not-at-all-sporty 1.6-litre liftback will be able to blow you away at the lights'. He wasn't wrong.

One consolation is that those same old people won't be able to catch you round a corner unless they've got balls of steel. The Corolla's well mannered behaviour when you chuck it into a corner is enough to ensure you're an uncatchable proposition for the average old age pensioner.

On the inside, Toyota has made a rather half-hearted attempt to make you feel as if you're sitting in something sporty. There's some gratuitous side-bolstering of the seats, which does admittedly help to hold you in place reasonably well. There's also a vaguely wild, red and black pattern on the fabric too, which co-ordinates perfectly with the red on black (imitation carbon fibre) instruments. The gearstick gets a rather sweet aluminium knob. Nice enough, but it's all window dressing really.

For the final say, I'll go once again to my friend and colleague, Mr C: '[it's] the most idiotic way of blowing £14,000,' he said, and, frankly, I agree.

[chanchao]

Hehehehehe.. I love Brit car reviews...

Though it completely doesn't apply to Thailand, where ALL manufacturers go overboard fitting the biggest possible engines to mundane compact saloons that are then used to get stuck at or around Siam Square.

You can't even GET anything in Thailand with a 1.3 liter engine, not even the tiniest Yaris! If you insist, the dealer MIGHT just sell you an Altis or Civic with a 1.6 liter engine.. They went first to 1.8 liter and now even 2.0 liter engines, which, frankly, is complete overkill.

But at least they shouldn't suffer from the power trouble as reported by Top Gear. You'd think that British carmakers would have policies on never EVER giving anything to those horsepower-worshippers at top gear that doesn't at least have a 2 liter V6 in it.

[Plus]

I don't understand you at all, Chanchao. In the UK top Corolla comes with 200+ hp, in Thailnad 137 hp, and 1.6l engine, the most popular choice is only 106 hp. Mazda has 2.3 l engine elsewhere that it's not even offered in Thailand, the same story with Ford.

Apart from new Civic, no car in 1 mil range has 150hp, in 2 mil range no car has anywhere near 200 hp (apart from 3l Accord). In the UK there are six-seven hathbacks with about 200 hps, and they are not luxury brands either - Toyota, Ford, VW.

It's just not true that we get biggest engines possible, though i agree tht we don't get the smallest either. Only Avanza has 1.3l engine, and Carribean, of course.

[moonoi]

Hehehehehe.. I love Brit car reviews...

Though it completely doesn't apply to Thailand, where ALL manufacturers go overboard fitting the biggest possible engines to mundane compact saloons that are then used to get stuck at or around Siam Square.

Oh I beg to differ

I think this statement applies equally here:

the Corolla looks like a typically bland Japanese hatchback. Even the wacky front and rear lights are just a poor attempt to cover up the fact that the new car is even duller to look at than its granny-thrilling predecessor.

Ok I know the Corolla/Altis isn't a hatchback, but just substitute hatchback for sedan/saloon (depending on where in the world you originate)

[chanchao]

Okay, agree on the looks.

And indeed I wasn't complete/correct with the power/engine size statement. Because while you can't get compact saloons with small frugal 1.3 engines but only 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0, ALSO the sporty 'hot-hatch' 'gti' segment is not on sale in Thailand, possibly due to engine size / power taxation laws. (Current Altis most definitely can be had as 1.8 and you can bet that 2.0 will be on offer on the new model)

Of course, WAY at the top sports end you can buy a Subaru WRX or Mitsu EVO, though those of course cost money.

Perhaps the best way to go would be to get something with the 2.0 liter engine and then seriously tune it?

Cheers,

Chanchao

[Plus]

the sporty 'hot-hatch' 'gti' segment is not on sale in Thailand, possibly due to engine size / power taxation laws. (Current Altis most definitely can be had as 1.8 and you can bet that 2.0 will be on offer on the new model)

No, I don't think taxes are the problem - there are no restrictions on power output until you hit 220 hp, and engines under 2l are taxed the same, too. I think it's because of low demand. Without sufficient demand car makers won't produce engines locally, and imports would shoot the price through the roof.

Another case - 3.0l, V6 Accord - you hardly ever see one, it's not popular at all. Toyota could have brought their own V6 engine for Camry to match, but instead they put 2l engine and sold shitloads of them. Two years later Accord followed the same suit.

Thais are not really after power and size.

Tuning the engine will cost you your car maker's warrantee, not many new car buyer would forfeit that.