Fuel Efficiency

[Lyle]

The new Vios/Yaris are somewhat disappointing when it comes to economy. In my driving, the Vios 1.5 manual was around the same as the Fiesta 1.5 automatic.

The problem is partially in the weight of the new car, partially in the drag of the powerful AC compressor, and partially in the design of the cooling system. The Vios' cooling system has always been marginal. In this generation, the radiator and single cooling fan are woefully under-specced for the size of the car. Smaller cars like the Mirage G4 can get away with small cooling systems... less weight and load on the engine... the Vios cannot. I noted in my back-to-back drive of the Vios and City for Top Gear (July issue) that the City had a much smaller grille, but suffered less from heat soak and excessive drag when the AC turned on... because it had a full-sized (dual row, too, I think) radiator with dual fans. As such, highway and city economy were much better.

When you have a small cooling system, your car can get up to temperature quickly, which is how the old Vios managed to be reasonably economical. But when the car heat soaks, the engine has to consume more gasoline to stay cool. I believe this is what might be happening. This also seems to be an issue with the Wigo AT. Have not driven the Wigo MT extensively, so I can't comment on it, though people are saying economy is decent, at least.

Funny story, I've heard that with the previous car, one taxi company found the best way to maintain reliability and economy with the Vios was to install an extra cooling fan on the radiator.

I still think the 1.3E MT Vios is a good car for the money, but if you've got a higher budget, I'd rather look at the City (bigger interior, and can actually do over 20 km/l with an automatic... and it's a 1.5!) or Accent. And if fuel economy and saving money is your only concern, the Mirage is still the best bet on the market.

Does this apply with other toyota models as well such as the 2014 altis? I'm just concerned baka one lang din aux fan ko.