A bigger and better Altis

It was a long and worthwhile wait for local fans of the Corolla nomenclature, as Borneo Motors finally revealed the new Thai-assembled Toyota Corolla Altis for our local market.

At first glimpse, the new Corolla Altis resembles its bigger stable mate, the current Camry, at all the right places. It looks mature and more proportionate now, giving the exterior a classier touch. And contrary to speculation, the new Corolla Altis was built on a modified platform of the outgoing Corolla Altis - not the Corolla Axio’s. The total cost of developing the new Corolla Altis? A whooping 1 billion yen!

The newly designed interior looks more stylish now, with everything neatly arranged and stacked. Standard in the Corolla Altis are new Optitron meters, multi-function controls on the steering wheel, two-tier glove box, digital air-con and a touch-screen audio head unit that doubles up as a DVD player.

Standard only in the bigger 1.8-litre Corolla Altis are HID lights, electric driver’s seat and automatic wipers.

To ensure the new Corolla Altis comes with class-leading cabin space, the car has been stretched by 10mm and widened by 55mm. Pair that up with the new flat floor, and what you have here is a cabin that was able to swallow four adults with ease (as tried with three other motoring scribes). It now sits some 15mm lower, and with a widened front and rear thread, should be able to improve the handling characteristics of the car. Safety wise, the car comes with ABS and EBD with Brake Assist and two airbags upfront. The cabin has also been reinforced to ensure passengers are well protected in case the inevitable ever happen.

Two VVT-i engines are available – a 107bhp 3ZZ-FE 1.6-litre engine and a 130bhp 1ZZ-FE 1.8-litre engine. Both are available only in 4-speed automatic transmission, with the 1.8-litre variant equipped with a sequential shift mode.

Chief Engineer of the new Corolla Altis, Yasuyuki Kawamoto, revealed that the Super ECT transmission has been tweaked and the exhaust system slightly revised to ensure that the car’s petrol consumption remains commendable – a combined cycle of 8.2L/100km for the 1.6-litre and 7.6L/100km for the 1.8-litre. He also pointed out that the car complies with Euro III emission standards.

The 1.6-litre is retailing for $67,388 while the 1.8-litre is priced at $76,988. Both prices include COE.

Credits: Story & pictures by Azfar Hashim