Toyota Launches Fully Redesigned Premio and Allion

[thegriffon]

Tokyo — TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today the nationwide launch in Japan of the completely redesigned Premio through "Toyopet" dealers, and completely redesigned Allion through "Toyota" dealers.

The first-generation Premio and Allion, launched in December 2001, were "five number" sedans that appealed to customers with their styling that evoked class-surpassing quality, roomy interior, user-friendliness and outstanding driving performance. The redesigned, second generation models unveiled today were designed to further enhance the appeal of these products, to the extent that they become all that a "five-number" sedan can possibly be. …

http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/news/07/0604.html

There you have it—if the Allion and Premio are all a "five-number" sedan can be, what is a Corolla? "A piece of crap we sell stupid Gaijin."

Compact sedan Price (Yen) Wheelbase Length Suspension

Honda Civic 1.8 ¥1,879,500 2.7 m 4.54 m IRS

Mazda3 20C ¥1,890,000 2.64 m 4.48 m (4.53 m US) IRS

Toyota Allion 1.8 ¥1,890,000 2.7 m 4.565 m IRS

Toyota Premio 1.8 ¥1,900,000 2.7 m 4.6 m IRS

Toyota Corolla 1.8 ¥1,995,000 2.6 m 4.4 m (4.54 export) Torsion beam

http://toyota.jp/allion/

http://toyota.jp/premio/

[Oracle of Delphi]

All their cars are starting to look the same to me.

[JT64]

Vitz ........105 ～ 161.7 thousand yen

Belta ......132.3 ～ 175.35 thousand yen

Corolla ...140.7 ～ 233.1 thousand yen

Auris ......162.2 ～ 229.95 thousand yen

Allion ......174.3 ～ 233.1 thousand yen

Premio ....175.3 ～ 243.6 thousand yen

Avensis ...233.1～ 331.8 thousand yen

Camry ....247.8 ～ 336 thousand yen

Mark X ....247.8 ～ 362.25 thousand yen

They're oh so slightly a class above the Corolla.

The only Corolla trim with 1.8L is called "LUXEL", probably already has extras.

Edited June 7, 2007 by JT64

[JT64]

Your reports of suspension types are incorrect.

Belta MacPherson/Torsion beam

Corolla MacPherson/Torsion beam

Auris MacPherson/Torsion beam or Double wishbone

Allion MacPherson/Torsion beam

Premio MacPherson/Torsion beam

http://toyota.jp/premio/spec/spec/index.html

Avensis MacPherson/Double wishbone

Blade MacPherson/Double wishbone

Camry MacPherson/dual link MacPherson

Mark X Double wishbone/Multi-link

The 2007 Sentra and the Cobalt are the only 2 other "compact" class left in torsion beam age.

Edited June 6, 2007 by JT64

[thegriffon]

My bad, it's the awd model that has a double wishbone suspension

[ponchoman49]

All their cars are starting to look the same to me.

Thats true of most newly introduced cars. They all have the same plain slab sided look. They are all copying each other with grille designs and interiors. It's getting hard to tell what i'm looking at with all these new boring Asian cars.

[ToniCipriani]

Allion: Looks exactly like the Belta (Yaris sedan).

Premio: Looks exactly like the current Corolla with Camry styling tacked on.

[Sixty8panther]

More exciting than watching paint dry.... esp. the Premio.

[Z-06]

What is the difference between the Avensis and the Crapry? They are so close in pricing. Is one of them a hatch or wagon?

[Duncan]

You're right, they both look better than a Corolla.

However, that is so minimally impressive that I'm not sure why I just brought it up. (Hell, the Ford Focus looks better than a Corolla...)

[thegriffon]

The Avensis is a smaller (than Camry) European sedan imported from the UK. It is based on the same platform as the Premio/Allion and Scion tC, but is wider and longer, since Europe is unconcerned with Japanese regulations affecting size. In Japan different design regulations and registration rules apply to vehicles under 4.7 m long and 1.7 m wide and with engines less than 2.0 L in capacity. While Toyota and Nissan still offer products specifically for this standard, other Japanese manufacturers (Mazda, Honda, Subaru, Mitsubishi) that cannot depend on Japanese sales have instead designed new products to match global competitors whose subcompacts have already gone beyond this width limit. What this means—while even Nissan offers the much wider Sentra (based on the Renault Megane) for North America (and in future other markets), Toyota has to resort to merely cosmetic tricks to make the export Corolla look bigger when beneath the skin it is the same size as the Japanese model (the Auris, designed specifically for Europe, really is bigger). This may be why Toyota Motor Sales is unhappy with the new Corolla.

Edited June 7, 2007 by thegriffon

[Intrepidation]

Vitz ........105 ～ 161.7 thousand yen

Belta ......132.3 ～ 175.35 thousand yen

Corolla ...140.7 ～ 233.1 thousand yen

Auris ......162.2 ～ 229.95 thousand yen

Allion ......174.3 ～ 233.1 thousand yen

Premio ....175.3 ～ 243.6 thousand yen

Avensis ...233.1～ 331.8 thousand yen

Camry ....247.8 ～ 336 thousand yen

Mark X ....247.8 ～ 362.25 thousand yen

They're oh so slightly a class above the Corolla.

The only Corolla trim with 1.8L is called "LUXEL", probably already has extras.

Is it sad when the Camry is the best looking of the group?

[Sixty8panther]

Talk about over saturating the marketplace.

[Z-06]

The Avensis is a smaller (than Camry) European sedan imported from the UK. It is based on the same platform as the Premio/Allion and Scion tC, but is wider and longer, since Europe is unconcerned with Japanese regulations affecting size. In Japan different design regulations and registration rules apply to vehicles under 4.7 m long and 1.7 m wide and with engines less than 2.0 L in capacity. While Toyota and Nissan still offer products specifically for this standard, other Japanese manufacturers (Mazda, Honda, Subaru, Mitsubishi) that cannot depend on Japanese sales have instead designed new products to match global competitors whose subcompacts have already gone beyond this width limit. What this means—while even Nissan offers the much wider Sentra (based on the Renault Megane) for North America (and in future other markets), Toyota has to resort to merely cosmetic tricks to make the export Corolla look bigger when beneath the skin it is the same size as the Japanese model (the Auris, designed specifically for Europe, really is bigger). This may be why Toyota Motor Sales is unhappy with the new Corolla.

Thank you Sir Yoda. That explains why they are so closely priced. Which one has the better sales, in JDM, Avensis or the Crapry?

[Z-06]

Vitz ........105 ～ 161.7 thousand yen

Belta ......132.3 ～ 175.35 thousand yen

Corolla ...140.7 ～ 233.1 thousand yen

Auris ......162.2 ～ 229.95 thousand yen

Allion ......174.3 ～ 233.1 thousand yen

Premio ....175.3 ～ 243.6 thousand yen

Avensis ...233.1～ 331.8 thousand yen

Camry ....247.8 ～ 336 thousand yen

Mark X ....247.8 ～ 362.25 thousand yen

They're oh so slightly a class above the Corolla.

The only Corolla trim with 1.8L is called "LUXEL", probably already has extras.

If you want to make a Child Barf, just visit a Toy dealer. Man everything is hideous.

[thegriffon]

Is it sad when the Camry is the best looking of the group?

They have 5 dealer networks to support, with most vehicles unique to each network.

[cire]

They do look better than the Corolla. I also share the opinion of most people on this forum; that is not much of an accomplishment. The current Corolla sells well due to affordability, mileage, and dependability. I would never buy one because of its styling, antiquated transmission, lack of power, and torsion beam rear suspension. It would be nice if the U.S. would get a compact sedan built on the Premio, Allion, or Avensis platforms that have an independent rear suspension and an exciting (or at least slightly sporty) exterior design. Park a current Corolla next to a Mazda3 or Civic and see how truly pathetic it looks. Toyota already has a quality reputation with the buying public, why not give us just a little bit more excitement.

Another suggestion would be if Toyota wants to keep the Corolla as a mainstream affordable product with its current traits, then design a sportier sedan with the Camry's 2.4 four cylinder/5 speed auto trans combo (maybe a six speed manual for enthusiasts) and independent rear suspension for the Scion brand. This would allow Toyota to keep the bread and butter Corolla and give the buying public a sportier alternative with Scion.

Edited July 27, 2007 by cire