Besides the Toyota badge, the Vitz is aesthetically identical to the Celerio. Image: Toyota.
Unveiled at the annual State of the Motoring Industry conference in January this year, Toyota has divulged price and spec details on its website of its replacement for the Agya, the new Vitz.
Despite brandishing the name used by the Yaris in Japan, the Vitz originates from India and specifically, serves as the latest model stemming from Toyota’s partnership with Maruti Suzuki.
Bringing the total joint venture models to four after the Starlet based on the Baleno, the Rumion spun-off of the Ertiga and very soon, the new Urban Cruiser derived from the Grand Vitara, the Vitz uses the Suzuki Celerio as a base with little separating the pair on first glance.
Applying the same restyling method as the Rumion and Ertiga, the Vitz swaps the Suzuki badge on the grille for a Toyota item, and the chrome Celerio decals on the back for a Vitz nomenclature, together with the trim level denominator.
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The subtly continues inside where the Suzuki badge on the steering wheel departs in favour of a Toyota crest, with the rest of the cab’s design and look continuing unchanged.
Dimensionally, the Vitz conforms to India’s sub-four metre regulations and like the Celerio, measures 3 695 mm long, 1 655 mm wide and 1 555 mm tall.
Riding on a 2 435 mm long wheelbase, the Vitz is 35 mm longer, 65 mm wider and 35 mm taller than the Agya, with the wheelbase being shorter by 20 mm.
Despite the latter, the other dimensional gains translate to a more capacious boot rated at 295-litres versus the Agya’s 260-litres without the 60/40 split rear back folded down.
In terms of spec, the Vitz offers a choice of two trim grades; the unbadged base model and the flagship Xr, both powered by the same normally aspirated three-cylinder 1.0-litre K10C engine as the Celerio that sends 49kW/89Nm to the front wheels via a five-speed manual.
Only available on the Xr is a five-speed automated manual (AMT) transmission that succeeds the four-speed self-shifter the Ayga comes out with.
Top speed is rated at 160 km/h, with Toyota claiming a combined fuel consumption of 4.4 L/100 km for the manual and 4.2 L/100 km for the AMT.
As for spec, both base and Xr derivatives have the following as standard:
Reserved for the Xr are 15-inch alloys instead of the base’s 14-inch steel wheels, colour-coded door handles, electric mirrors and remote central locking.
The most prominent addition though is an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus two additional speakers, all around electric window’s with one-touch up/down function for the driver, a single USB port and Hill Hold Assist on the AMT.
In total, six colours have been selected for the Vitz; Urban Silver, Coffee Brown, Dusk Grey, Torch Red, Jet Blue, Mystic Pearl White and Shadow Black Pearl.
Included with all three models’ sticker prices, which in base-spec undercuts that of the comparative Agya of R16 100, is a three-year/100 000 km warranty and a two-service/30 000 km plan.
As a comparison, pricing for the Agya starts at R206 000 for the manual and at R222 100 for the automatic. Adding conventional double-DIN sound system to the mix means prices increase to R210 400 and R226 500 respectively.
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