The new Starlet is somewhat of a revelation. Prospective Starlet buyers can enquire about prolonging their warranties at reasonable rates.ĭo you think Toyota's new Starlet will be a sales success? Email us with your thoughts. The Vivo only has a three-year/120 000km warranty, but a service plan is optionally available. The Baleno has the best peace-of-mind package of the three: a five-year/200 000km warranty and four-year/60 000km service plan. In the Starlet's case, it has a three-year/100 000km warranty and three-year/45 000km service plan. The Starlet and Baleno have six airbags, as opposed to the Vivo's two, as well as LED headlights (Vivo not), and cruise control (optional on the Vivo).Īll three cars come standard with their automaker's respective warranties. Our test unit, the Starlet 1.4 XR manual, retails for R258 500, which makes it R1 400 more affordable than the Baleno 1.4 GLX, but R800 more expensive than the Vivo 1.6 Highline. It has a host of features that will make the Vivo hide its head and the Baleno ask itself "Why do I cost this much?". However, just because the Starlet is the most affordable of the trio doesn't mean that it's any less car. Comparing the base prices, the Starlet is R11 000 more affordable than the Vivo and R17 000 cheaper than the Baleno it's based on. With the Etios now out of the picture, Toyota refocused its sights on the segment leader against which the Starlet will compete: the Volkswagen Polo Vivo. Cruise control played its part to a degree, but was overridden most of the time as fourth gear had to be engaged.Īdmittedly, we think the Starlet will offer far better performance once the engine has been "broken" in. On the national roads and running at 120km/h, the gearbox had to be worked for the car to maintain momentum on most inclines. Fresh off the truck, the Starlet had that new-car smell and prodding around town highlighted the relatively high consumption. Upon receiving the Starlet, the car had about 150km on its odometer. REVIEW: Likeable Suzuki Baleno is quite the charmer What we picked up on, though, is that the engine must be driven-in for both performance and fuel consumption to turn a positive page. Gear changes are solid, with a surety that the next gear will be hooked without issue.
STARLET CAR MANUAL
The engine, a naturally aspirated 1.4-litre motor, produces 68kW and 130Nm, with power being sent to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox (like our test unit) or a four-speed automatic. The engine and gearbox have been carried over from the Baleno, thanks to the partnership between the two Japanese automakers that came into play in March 2019. When fitted, the car can pull a trailer with an un-braked towing capacity of 400kg. Toyota also made provision for the Starlet to be equipped with an (optional) tow bar. The Baleno is about 10 litres bigger in both instances. READ: Farewell Etios, hello Starlet - Meet Toyota's new affordable starĬompared to the Baleno, the boot is slightly smaller at 345 litres, but with the rear seats folded down, space increases to 1 075 litres. Perhaps this is something Toyota could consider when the facelift comes about. Yes, this is with road safety in mind, but there are systems on the market that allows quick and easy connection while the vehicle is in motion. What may be an issue to some is that you can only connect your phone while the car is stationary. The dials, with which to operate the climate control, is decked with easy-to-read buttons, and the radio has a playful, yet engaging, feel to it. The dashboard is a very user-friendly space (à la Baleno), and everything is easy to understand. Rear legroom is more than sufficient, without the need to adjust and alter the front seats a million times.
STARLET CAR DRIVER
A 1.8m tall driver can sit comfortably, while the passenger behind him/her does not have to worry about being cramped for space. Coming in at just under 4 metres, one would think that space would be on the limited side, but it's not. The Starlet can be somewhat misleading, in a good way. A post shared by Wheels24 on at 2:27am PDT