Filipino families love SUVs. Given the choice between owning an MPV or an SUV, they would immediately gravitate towards the latter. That’s a fact, and it’s one that Toyota Motor Philippines can’t afford to ignore.
By launching the all-new Avanza, the automaker has its bases covered in the small MPV segment. But what about the small 7-seater SUV segment? Sure, they have the Rush, but right off the starting block, things weren’t as rosy. It sold well, yes, but it wasn’t exactly a great offering and paled in comparison to its chief rivals, the Honda BR-V, Mitsubishi Xpander Cross, and Suzuki XL7. So, in a flash of marketing brilliance, they’ve decided to spin off the Veloz as its own product line and in the process, call it an SUV.
The gap between the ground and the lowest metal point of the Veloz notwithstanding, the styling is definitely more robust. Whereas the Avanza is a bit more conservative in its lines, this one’s more about aggression. The large hexagonal grille with the Y-shaped inserts give this sort-of RAV4 vibe, and when taken in with the bumper gives a more muscular stance. It’s also worth noting that it comes standard with roof rails and black overfenders—a Philippine market exclusive styling cue.
Inside, there’s no escaping its Avanza foundation. The dash itself eschews sleekness in favor of geometric shapes and sharp angles. It’s quite funky, and actually quite refreshing. Naturally, hard plastics cover just about every surface except for the door arm rests, center console, and an area on the passenger side which is covered in some leather-like material. It also has a Veloz badge there, perhaps as a reminder that you’re not in some hoi polloi MPV.
Aside from those soft bits, the Veloz also gets a leather steering wheel, leather/suede-like combination seats (sans the third row which is all fabric), and some ambient lighting—again, to remind you that you’re not driving a regular Avanza. It also gets a real automatic climate control—not those digital display manual thingies. Even better, the rear vents are cleverly designed to help distribute airflow to both the second- and third rows.
Ergonomically, it’s pretty easy to master the Veloz, but there are some peculiarities. For example, the USB port to connect to the infotainment screen isn’t located in any of the usual locations. Here, it’s actually tucked away in a small pocket on the passenger’s side of the center tunnel. Similar to the Raize, the bunching of the steering wheel controls could use some improvement. The volume is on the left side, while the audio source, next/previous track is on the right. Controls for the Toyota Safety Sense, meanwhile, have been moved from the steering wheel to a panel on the left side of the dashboard.
The driver gets a 7-inch full digital display that’s super clear and can be changed to one of four presets. Meanwhile, at the center is a 9-inch infotainment system which is, again, easy enough to use. That said, it’s a hold out from the Veloz’s right-hand drive origins. Not only are the hard buttons on the wrong side, but engaging Apple CarPlay will show the vertical home screen on the right side, instead of the left.
Overall, there’s nothing to complain about the seats. They offer a solid enough level of bolstering and adjusts six ways for the driver (the Avanza makes do with four). Together with the tilt/telescopic steering column, and it’s quite easy to nail down a comfortable driving position. The driving position is good enough for long stints behind the wheel save for the lack of a foot rest.
The migration to a new unibody platform has allowed Toyota to unlock an almost insane amout of interior room. For the front passengers, there are no complaints as there’s ample head, shoulder, and legroom even for taller occupants. Towards the back though, the Veloz’s narrow body width limits the amount of plus-sized people it can accommodate side-by-side, but if they’re willing to be squeezed in like a pack of sardines, fitting seven adults won’t be a problem. That said, if the person sitting in the third row is tall—say taller than 175 centimeters, it means compromising the legroom across the second- and third-row to budget airline levels. Like the Avanza, the Veloz also has a “Long Sofa” mode that allows the first and second, or second and third rows to connect together with the headrests removed to offer an impromptu place to chill and relax.
In terms of dynamics, it’s very clear that some compromises had to be done to accommodate the Veloz’s rated 7-seater capacity. Compared to the Raize which it shares its platform with, it rides more firmly and gets jolted more easily by cracked pavements or road corrugations. The same jolts also happen to find their way into the cabin, especially through the steering wheel and seats. Regardless, despite its apparent lack of damping, at least there’s a sense of solidity baked in. Moreover, once it’s filled up with more passengers, the ride settles down.
When it comes to the steering, it’s precise at low- and medium-speeds. It’s on the light side, but it’s never disconcerting since it weighs up slightly at speed. Once you reach higher speeds though, the Veloz reaches its threshold quite quickly. Understeer becomes the order of the day, and this requires a bit more steering input (say at the Amorsolo Skyway exit). Thankfully, the chassis still remains stable. The brakes, now upgraded to a four-wheel disc setup do well in scrubbing speed with a nice, solid pedal feel.
With a carryover 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine pulling around a 1,140-kilogram body, the Veloz isn’t exciting in a straight line either. Beyond the 0 to 100 km/h figures though, subjectively, power does come in early, and this gives it a sense of perkiness. Plus, unlike other CVT-equipped MPVs or SUVs, there’s no sense of slipping or delay when flogging the accelerator. The secret is the D-CVT system. Short for “Dual Mode CVT,” it adds a gear drive to the typical belt-driven system. A clutch pack engages and disengages the gear depending on the driving situation. It also produces excellent fuel economy figures: 11.7 km/L at 36 km/h. If there’s anything negative to the system, it’s that during more spirited drives, the engagement and disengagement of the gear set isn’t as refined and can sometimes unexpectedly cause noticeable shift shock.
Another odd observation centers around the changeable driving modes. The Veloz has three—Normal, Eco, and Sport. However, switching over to the different modes isn’t as intuitive as you think. Instead of cycling through the different modes one after the other, it takes a short button press of the DRIVE button on the steering wheel to active Sport, but a long (almost ten-second press) to active Eco.
Finally, answering Avanza critics, the Veloz now finally comes with Toyota Safety Sense (at least for this top-the-the-line 1.5 V). The Lane Departure Warning is on the sensitive side, but aside from that, you can’t go wrong with its suite of driver assist systems like Pre-Collision System (aka Forward Collision Warning with Autonomous Emergency Braking) and Automatic High Beam. It also gets blind spot monitors with rear cross traffic alert and rear parking sensors with a 360-degree camera. This is on top of the 6 SRS airbags, ABS with EBD, and stability control.
Whether Filipinos will accept the Veloz’s sub-compact SUV label still remains to be seen. But hey, if Mitsubishi can call their Xpander Cross a sub-compact SUV, why can’t Toyota? It doesn’t take a genius to realize that Toyota wants a piece of a segment filled with cladded-up small 7-seater family-friendly vehicles. Regardless of its label though, there’s no denying that Toyota’s done their homework. The Veloz serves up a delectable combination of looks, specs, flexibility, functionality, and safety. For those who want a no-frills MPV, there’s always the Avanza. But for those who want a more complete package, there’s the Veloz.
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2022 Toyota Veloz 1.5 V |
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3-pt ELR x 3 (2nd row), 3-pt ELR x 2 (3rd row) |
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Hill Start Assist Blind Spot Monitoring Rear Cross Traffic Alert Pre-Collision System Lane Departure Alert Lead Car Departure Notification |
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60/40, Sliding (2nd row), 50/50 (3rd row) |
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Stereo USB Bluetooth |
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Apple CarPlay Android Auto |
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Keyword: Review: 2022 Toyota Veloz 1.5 V