Driving Miss Britney

For the life of me, I can’t understand why Toyota chose Britney as the endorser for new Vios. Brad Pitt is okay for the Altis. Handsome and hunky, what male Altis-buyer doesn’t want to project that image onto himself as he drives to wherever his more ordinary, non-celebrity status life takes him? But Britney? Precocious, formerly pop tart, lately-it’s-supposed-to-be-fire-and-ice Britney? Umm, let’s see. About the car, not about the image thing because I’m not up-to-date on showbiz and I’m not inclined to be in this particular lifetime.

Style-wise, the car DOES have the figurative curves and cuts of Britney. Incidentally, she will henceforth be referred to as "the lady because I can’t stand typing her name any more than I really need to. Plus, I’ll get into trouble for reducing her to "girl" or, more descriptively, in an unflattering sort of way – "chick".

The front has a strong resemblance to the Altis and even the Lexus IS200/Toyota Altezza. There’s even a stylized notch on the large grille that’s graced by a huge Toyota emblem. The emblem is so big that they’re obviously proud of this car and want people to know it’s a Toyota. Even the bumper slats and foglamps on the 1.5G have been smoothly integrated for a sharp, trendy look. The sides have stubby overhangs but present a nicely chunky profile nonetheless. However, the rear is a letdown (not like the lady’s, unfortunately). It’s too plain. Well, I suppose it shouldn’t look as nice as the Altis. Otherwise, prospective Altis buyers might just settle for the Vios, what with looks said to be a major factor in the buying decision.

Thankfully, there are six solid, expensive-looking colors to choose from, none of which are teenybopper. No Bubblegum Blue here, people. Sitting down in the car for the first time, I was half-expecting a schoolgirl-ish plaid pattern for the upholstery, but was instead greeted with nice fabric upholstery and headliner, acceptable plastics and resins for the instrument panel, and a sober gray and black color combo for the cockpit.

About the only touch I’m not exactly wild about is that controversial, centrally located instrument panel. Aside from just being plain weird, it looks like another cost-cutting move. The instrument panel is angled toward the driver, and if you get a 1.5-liter variant, the digital display is invisible to the front passenger. Maybe that’s the point? The 1.3-liter gets analog gauges, but neither setup looks exceptionally appealing. Too gimmicky. The analogs look cheap, the digital looks like a throwback to the 1980s.

Kudos, however, for a none-too-gimmicky sound system. The 1.5-liter gets a 2-DIN with instantly intuitive buttons and dials, while the 1.3 gets a 1-DIN with only a slightly more complicated interface. No fancy dancing graphics, thank God. The higher variants also get a metal (or maybe it was metal-effect plastic) panel to dress up the center console.

Turn the key and the VVT-i engine awakes with a smooth purr, although there’s noticeably more noise and vibration through the firewall than with the Altis. Thankfully, what noise the engines do make is quite encouraging. Toyota let us drive both the 1.3- and 1.5-liter cars in both manual and automatic transmissions last week at The Fort, pretty much how they let us preview the Altis a few years ago.

We learned then that the Altis has the goods to back up its flashy looks and marketing campaign. This time, we learned that, like the lady, the car loves to dance. And that’s saying something for a car with just your basic McPherson struts upfront and a cost-cutting beam-type setup in the back.

In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that the 107-horsepower, 1.5-liter with the manual is too much engine for the cheap 175/65-14 econo-tires it was shod with. This is a responsive, hi-tech motor that likes to be driven hard. Pop the clutch at, oh, 3500 rpm and the tires squeal. Bury the throttle in a tight corner and the tires squeal. Enjoy fast, tight corners and the tires and passengers squeal.

The car nosedives with predictable understeer, and if you flick the steering wheel a bit and play with the gas, you can even induce a sweet 4-wheel drift to the horror of the wifey (or hubby, actually). But we’d rein in the horses early if we were you. The disc-drum brake setup is only average, and lockup occurs pretty early in a panic stop. "Oops! I skidded again, honey." Sorry, no ABS. If you crash your Vios, you won’t have airbags to supplement your basic seatbelts either, although it does have a reinforced cabin with side impact beams and Whiplash Injury Lessening seat design. And it’s just a soft suspension car anyway. It’s biased more toward comfort than performance since the body leans considerably during turns, which the car otherwise likes to attack with its responsive steering.

For such a tiny engine, the 85 horsepower 1.3 "E" is also a lively performer. The 1.5 and the 1.3 are essentially the same with double overhead camshafts, intelligent variable valve timing, EFI, and 16-valves; the 1.5 has a longer stroke, that’s all. The 1.3 is obviously not as powerful, but the gear ratios are well matched to the engine and the VVT-i technology makes for a responsive powerband above 3000 rpm. A 4-speed automatic is only available with the 1.5 "G". As with the automatic-equipped 1.6-liter Altis, it’s a boring option with slow shifting and tall ratios. And just to remind you that the Vios is, after all, a cheaper Toyota, the chrome-plated shifter wobbles in the gate.

That said, even non-Britney fans would find a lot of value with this car. The 1.3E sells for P578,000, the 1.5G manual sells for P643,000, and the 1.5G automatic sells for P678,000. For only a little more than what a 1600cc sedan would have cost you back in the pre-Asian crisis days, you get the feel-good features like power steering, locks and windows, alloy wheels, rear window defogger, multi-reflector headlamps, and even tilt steering. All that in a "serious," five-passenger body configuration that will attract people to dealers’ showrooms for a serious talk with the salesperson about car ownership rather than simply amuse them like the Echo did a few years back.

Sporty drivers who can get over the Britney slant or who don’t mind it in the first place will find a good amount of entry-level performance in the Vios as well. Just slap on a firmer set of springs and shocks, put on some serious rubber, maybe play with the intake system a bit, and you’ve got a sporty car ready to beat up on larger, unsuspecting sedans. Come to think of it, wouldn’t that be the ultimate insult: Getting your butt kicked by Britney? Unless you’re into that sort of stuff, of course.