Toyota Motor Philippines understands that one of the main purchase considerations of new car buyers is fuel economy. And with record-high gasoline prices nowadays, every centavo saved in the fuel tank counts.
Thankfully, that’s exactly what Toyota engineers had in mind when they designed the
all-new 2022 Avanza
. Although the all-new model started its journey from concept to production model around four years ago, the product team realized that bumping up the efficiency of their entry-level 7-seater MPV was very important to buyers.
Fresh off an internal fuel economy test confirming to UN 101 regulations, the 2022 Avanza achieves around 15 km/L in the city and 20 km/L on the highway when equipped with the 1.5-liter 2NR-FE, and around 13 km/L in the city and 19 km/L on the highway with the 1.3-liter 1NR-FE. All in all, that’s around a 20 percent improvement across the board compared to the third-generation Avanza, says Toyota.
According to Nicholo Bravante, Vice President for Product Planning, the reason for such a dramatic fuel economy improvement for the Avanza is down to several factors. Chief among them, of course, is the new front-wheel drive monocoque platform. Despite the MPV’s sizeable increase in dimensions, its curb weight has barely budged compared to the previous-generation Avanza. Plus, there’s less parasitic power loss now.
However, the biggest factor is the Avanza’s unique CVT called the D-CVT. Short for “Dual mode CVT,” it’s a system that combines belt drive with a gear drive resulting in improved fuel efficiency as well as acceleration feel and quietness.
Unlike a conventional CVT, the D-CVT system doesn’t just rely on the belt drive. Instead, it also introduces additional gears and a planetary gear set fitted to the input and output shafts of the pulleys, with a clutch pack to engage and disengage the latter.
In normal operation, say, when you’re pulling off from a stop and travelling up to low to medium speeds, the D-CVT functions like any other CVT, with the engine’s torque going through a torque converter and into the input pulley, before being transferred to the output pulley via a belt and to the wheels.
However, when you get up to higher speeds, the D-CVT shifts into its split mode, engaging the gear drive that provides a more efficient (less energy loss) means of power transmission, while the rotation to the belt drive is decreased significantly.
Essentially, it acts as the reverse to Toyota’s own Direct Shift CVT which has a launch gear that’s used when setting off from a stop, before the transmission switches to belt drive like a CVT.
The 2022 Avanza is the second Toyota vehicle equipped with the D-CVT system with the first being the
all-new Raize
. For that sub-compact SUV, it can easily achieve similar fuel mileage figures—around 18 km/L for the 1.0 Turbo and close to 20 km/L for the 1.2-liter based on Toyota’s tests.
With fuel prices now hovering close to 70 pesos per liter, Toyota’s move to improve the fuel economy of their vehicles like the Raize and Avanza will surely resonate with Filipino buyers.
Keyword: 2022 Avanza Offers 20 Percent Improvement In Fuel Economy Says Toyota