“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” That line from the novel turned movie Forrest Gump could pretty much describe what happened to me in the past few weeks. In the lead up to the
Toyota Raize’s launch
, I became part of the country’s COVID-19 statistic and because of that, I had to sit out on giving you my first impressions on the much-awaited sub-compact SUV.
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise though because after the launch hype died down a bit, here I am sitting in the top-of-the-line two-tone White Pearl and Black Raize Turbo. With no Toyota minder in tow and a couple of hours freed up on my schedule, it’s time to reveal what I think of Toyota’s much-awaited SUV. Holy sh*t, it’s good.
Now, if you spend your time judging a car based simply on its platform, the Raize may not strike you as impressive. It is, after all, “just a Daihatsu.” It may be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota, but for some reason, people think these vehicles aren’t up to snuff. That may be partly true for your dad’s or older brother’s Avanza or Wigo, but it sure isn’t true for the Raize. It’s a clean sheet design with a brand-new platform that integrates the same philosophies that Toyota learned from engineering their own TNGA.
What does this mean for the regular motorist? Well, for starters, it feels hella-solid. Not only does it pass the Filipino favorite “door weight test,” but more importantly, it results in surprisingly good NVH. Driving the Raize through our less than perfect streets won’t upset it one bit. There are occasional moments where the rear end gets jolted up going through bigger bumps, but that’s down to the short wheelbase rather than issues surrounding solidity. In fact, this is one of the only handful of small SUVs out there whose under bits feel like they’re actually made of steel and aluminum as opposed to clay or porridge.
My driving route for this quick jaunt kept me within the urban confines and for that, I judge the steering to be well suited to the task. Though lacking in feel, there’s a level of precision baked at low- and medium speeds. The weighting is very close to the second-generation Yaris (XP90) in that it’s never disconcertingly light even during parking yet still weighs up slightly at speed. It loses some of its precision past 80 km/h, but remains stable. The brakes too work in scrubbing speed with a nice, solid pedal feel.
With two engines available for the Philippine market, I happen to get seat time in the 1.0-liter 3-cylinder turbo. The 98 horsepower, 140 Nm of torque outputs read like run-of-the-mill numbers and on the road, and it performs as much. That said, with a curb weight not exceeding 1,040 kilograms (that’s lighter than the Almera, City or Vios) its peppy especially when it comes to stop-and-go traffic. A firm, but brief squeeze of the gas pedal is all that’s needed to get the Raize up to speed. The initial throttle tip-in is jumpy, so modulating the force of your right foot is key to getting away smoothly. Moreover, because it uses a CVT, it’s best to maintain momentum and be gradual with the gas instead of treating it like an on/off switch.
Speaking of switches, the Raize Turbo does have a lot of things to keep the driver busy. It has paddle shifters, a Sport mode on the transmission, and even a Power (PWR) mode that’s easily missed on the right bank of steering wheel controls. In all honesty, I never had the urge to use them as the drivetrain is well-suited to the task of keeping things exciting.
A word on the turbo. Don’t let that word lead you to think it’s a hot hatch. The boost is there to get the Raize up to speed, which in turn delivers good fuel efficiency (12.1 km/L). There’s certainly no kick in the back, but listen carefully and you might faintly hear the old school whistle. Now, as to the smoothness of the motor, it’s actually good, but not perfect. There are some vibrations (evident if you touch or lean on an open door at idle), but from behind the driver’s seat, it’s alright.
Now that I’ve spent some time discussing the Raize’s mechanicals, let’s see what it offers in terms of the interior experience. Compared to other crossovers or SUVs out there that go car-like in their dash executions, Toyota has gone the opposite direction. Here, it’s filled with geometric shapes and sharp angles. It’s quite funky, and I can understand that some may be turned off by the entire thing. However, personally, this unconventional approach suits the character of this car very much.
Given its price positioning, there’s not much padded plastic to go by, but almost everything is well-finished. The Raize gets plus points for its use of geometric surfacing in the areas by the instrument cluster and infotainment system as well as its liberal use of Toyota switchgear (the Daihatsu bits are limited to the power window controls which are, in my opinion, downright cheap), and wealth of cubby holes. It gets minus points though not just for the aforementioned window controls, but also the flimsy rear view mirror.
There are also some peculiar executions when it comes to ergonomics, centered around the passive entry system. Unlike other smart entry systems where you just yank the door handle or press a button to unlock, in the Raize, you have to touch or slide your fingers on the two notches on the door handles. The same goes for the hatch where the button to open it isn’t located at the center beneath the Toyota logo as you’d expect, but it’s offset slightly to the right. Good luck in explaining that to security guards during a routine security check at the mall. But hey, at least it gets a full-sized spare tire under there.
Inside, the slight nuisances is limited to the layout of the steering wheel itself. Normally, carmakers bunch together switches based on what they do whether they control the infotainment system, the displays, or driver assist systems. Here, Toyota opted to put the audio controls on the left side of the tiller below the display controls, while the rest—audio source, next/previous track, and telephony is on the right. To make matters worse, that “PWR” button on the right side isn’t there to turn the audio system on or off—that’s to change the engine’s mapping to a more aggressive mode.
Those slight nuisances aside, the rest of the Raize interior experience is unflappable. The 7-inch full digital instrument panel gives it a truly high-tech ambience. It’s super clear too, and a big bonus is that you can change the display to any of four presents. At the center, there’s a 9-inch infotainment system. The typical buttons—Home, Volume Up/Down, Hands-Free, and Favorite are on the wrong side, but hitting the large on-screen menus is easy. Oh, and at least Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.
The seats themselves offer a solid level of bolstering, and during this short drive, there are no complaints on how it molds my back and bottom. Based on the most comfortable position I could find, it’s a bit upright and high; similar to the Suzuki Jimny actually. The steering wheel lacks telescopic adjustment, but that’s quite alright in the greater scheme of things. What’s not alright is the lack of a foot rest. Given the Raize’s compact size, the rear space is actually pretty good as well. There are three headrests and three 3-point seatbelts there, but the flat, short cushions equate to less support on the thighs. Oh, and like most others in its class, there’s no center arm rest at the back too.
When it comes to exterior looks, I have no criticisms. Some do prefer a sleeker, hatchback-on-stilts look, but I like what Toyota’s done here. The angular, upright form is refreshing and makes the Raize look larger than it is. Together with the decision to equip 17-inch alloy wheels, it makes everything look all the more condensed and concentrated. The sequential taillights are a bit of an overkill, but the rest from the two-tone roof to the rest of the lighting elements all get the thumbs up from me.
The Raize Turbo doesn’t come with Toyota Safety Sense which bummed some buyers out, but honestly, equipping it with Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Traffic Alert is more than good enough. Having another daily driver equipped with these two technologies show how invaluable it is when having to navigate around motorcycles. I’d probably rank BSM and RCTA more useful in Manila than forward collision warning or automatic braking. Mind you, these two safety features are on top of 6 SRS airbags, ABS with EBD, stability control, front and rear parking sensors, and a reverse camera with guidelines.
For those keeping score, this has been one of my longest and most comprehensive reviews in a long time. This shows how important the Raize is, and why I’m so eager to talk about it. As a whole, it isn’t just a lot of car (especially for the price), but more importantly, it’s a great car as well. Yes, there are some things that could have been done better, but they pale in comparison to the positives. On the whole, it ticks off more boxes than I expected it to, and couple that with Toyota’s penchant for durability and reliability and you’ve got a shoe-in for what’s definitely one of the best cars of the year.
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2022 Toyota Raize 1.0 Turbo |
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Blind Spot Monitoring Rear Cross Traffic Alert |
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Stereo USB Bluetooth |
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Apple CarPlay Android Auto |
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Keyword: Review: 2022 Toyota Raize 1.0 Turbo