🚗️Corolla

2000 - 2007 | 9th generation | E120

Photographed in Cyberjaya, Malaysia Colour : Coal Black Assembly : Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia The Toyota Vios is the best selling non-Malaysian car in Malaysia. Launched in May 2003, it was an instant hit with Malaysians who longed for a Japanese car, but couldn't afford the 6-digit price tag. From as low as RM 73,600 and no more than RM 81,900, the Vios went where no Japanese 4-door sedan had before; into the sub-80k region, a region dominated by Proton and Perodua. The affordable pricing of the Vios was made possible by the introduction of the 2003 AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) agreement and an increase in local or ASEAN-sourced parts and components. UMW Toyota, the company with the rights to distribute Toyota cars in Malaysia, took advantage of the situation and promptly introduced the Vios just in time to battle Honda Malaysia's equivalent, the Honda City. Together, these two small cars ripped a massive hole in Proton's market share, where sales fell from 214,373 in 2002 to 155,420 in 2003. The prevalent logic among Malaysian consumers at that time was ''Why buy an unreliable Proton when I could get a proven Toyota for almost the same price ?''. And indeed, a top-spec Proton Waja costed around RM 70k in 2003, and while buyers of the Waja were entitled to a bigger and better equipped car, with excellent handling to boot, many Malaysians were more than willing to spend their hard earned ringgits on the reliable and premium-badged Vios (or City), even if it meant a smaller and more sedated car. For some Malaysians who endured countless hours of wasted time and money in the workshops during the 'dark era (1997 to 2006)' of unreliable Protons, the Vios (and City) was a true blessing in every sense of the word, not just for Malaysian consumers, but for Proton itself (some much needed competition !). The first generation Toyota Vios itself was a very average car to begin with, as far as global standards were concerned. The Vios was really a car built for developing countries, which explains why it was never sold or sold poorly in Western Europe, Japan and North America. Nonetheless, it was a good car for its asking price, offering much of the attributes found in the world's best selling car, the Corolla, but all in a smaller and more affordable package. The first generation Vios for the Malaysian market only came with the 1.5-litre 1NZ-FE engine, which had Toyota's renown VVT-i technology. Buyers had to get used to the 4-speed Super ECT automatic, because no manual transmission was offered for the Malaysian market. Two models were offered, the 1.5E and 1.5G, both of which were mechanically identical and differed mostly in terms of kit and luxury amenities. In December 2005, the Vios received a facelift, offering mostly cosmetic changes and improvements with a small increment in pricing. The Malaysian-market Vios was assembled in Shah Alam, in the state of Selangor, largely for domestic consumption. The first generation Vios was a major sales hit for UMW Toyota, with over 82,000 units sold between 2003 and 2007. The second gen. Vios was just as successful, if not more. However, the success of the third gen. Vios has yet to be ascertained. I LIKE : Value for money. Decent looks. Excellent engine. If it weren't for the Vios, Proton wouldn't have improved to the level it is today. I DISLIKE : Centre-mounted dash readouts are just too unconventional. Some early units had known reliability issues.
Photo by Manoj Prasad / CC BY-SA 2.0

Fact Sheet

This record is archived under the More Cars ID 10013299. It was created 7 years, 8 months, 6 days ago.

NameCorolla
Built from2000
Built to2007
Generation9
Internal CodeE120
Total Production
More Cars ID10013299
Entry CreatedAug 13, 2018, 1:48 PM
Last UpdatedAug 13, 2018, 1:48 PM

Brand1

The »Corolla« is a car model from »Toyota«.

Predecessor1

The »Corolla« is the successor of the »Corolla«.

  • Corolla
    • 1995-2002
    • 8th gen
    • E110
    🚗️

Successor1

The successor of the »Corolla« was the »Corolla«.

Magazine Issues1

More Cars knows of one magazine issue that has published an article about the »Corolla«.

Image Gallery1

There is currently one image attached to this node.