Toyota Veloz

The overall layout of the Toyota Veloz might not be as extravagant and futuristic to blow your mind, but it is the well-positioned controls and tight fit and finish levels which will leave you impressed. The cabin layout looks very similar to that of the Toyota Avanza, but it feels a notch above with a few additional features which make the cabin look more new-age in appearance. Another differentiating factor in the cabin of the Veloz in comparison to the Avanza is the use of dual-tone black and light grey upholstery, with silver inserts around the AC vents, centre console and inner door handles.

Seats and upholstery

The seats of the Toyota Veloz are made of a mix of fabric and synthetic leather and are in a theme of black with a perforated design. While these seats lack any kind of ventilation to keep costs in check, they offer several flexible seating configurations. While the second row of seats offers a 60:40 split operation with tumble, slide, long sofa mode and recline operations, the third row of seats features 50:50 tumble-down and long sofa mode.

Comfort and convenience

The Toyota Veloz offers a range of features, some of which are offered in addition to the Avanza and help the Veloz feel more new-age and desirable. The most noteworthy of them all is the digital instrument console, which has digital readouts for the speedometer and fuel gauge on the right-hand side and a full-TFT 7-inch screen on the left side, which displays other information. The leather-wrapped three-spoke steering wheel is both tilt and telescopic adjustable, while it comes integrated with audio, Bluetooth and drive mode buttons.

The other feel-good features of the Toyota Veloz include a wireless charger, touchscreen infotainment system, push start-stop button, electronic parking brake with brake hold, four USB chargers, and three 12V power outlets, 6-speaker audio system, automatic climate control with rear AC vents and drive mode selector knob.

Entertainment, information and communication

There are two types of the infotainment system which are on offer for the Toyota Veloz. While the lower-spec G variant comes with an 8-inch touchscreen unit, the higher-spec V variant features a 9-inch touchscreen unit. Both these types of touchscreens in different variants support Apple Carplay and Android Auto, with some of their features controllable through voice commands and steering-mounted controls.

Storage

The Toyota Veloz highly impresses with the number of storage spaces it has to offer for all its three rows. All the three rows of the cabin here get four bottle holders, with the front and second rows of seats getting two and one cup holder respectively. The front seats have back pockets behind them as well.

One can almost mistake the Toyota Veloz for a Toyota Avanza from a distance, though a closer look makes you believe that it is a distinctively different looking vehicle. In essence, the Veloz can be seen as a more premium and rugged-looking version of the Avanza, and that is pretty evident from the way it looks.

Starting from the front, the Toyota Veloz welcomes you with its large and bold-looking hexagonal grille, which has T-shaped inserts and a strip of chrome on its upper edge. This strip of chrome is flanked by horizontally laid LED headlamps, which come integrated with daytime running LEDs and have their outer edges got slightly curved.

The lower part of the front fascia also looks quite aggressive with a sporty-looking front bumper with T-shaped chrome-finished vertical surrounds for the fog lamps, which are surrounded by a black plastic garnish in addition. The Veloz has got the proper SUV-ish appeal with body cladding and a silver skid plate at the bottom of the front bumper.

The side profile of the Toyota Veloz looks very interesting and modern, with the presence of a chrome shoulder line emerging from the upper edge of the front headlamps. This chrome shoulder line extends towards the D-pillar, thus giving the Veloz a floating roof effect. The sharp crease flowing through the door panels and fenders and the door-mounted rearview mirrors further accentuate its bold visual appeal. The Veloz looks broad from the back, with gloss black inserts on the sides of the rear windscreen and the sleek looking LED light bar joining the two-part LED combination tail lamps. Here also, the Veloz comes with silver skid plates and body cladding at the bottom.

Measuring 4475 mm long, 1775 mm wide and 1700 mm tall, the Toyota Veloz comes with 205/50 R17 tyres over 17-inch machined alloy wheels in both of its variants. The Veloz claims a decent ground clearance of 190mm.

The Toyota Veloz is a monocoque MPV, which looks very different from the other rugged seven-seater MPV from Toyota, the Rush. However, under the skin, the Veloz has a very similar suspension setup of Macpherson struts at the front and torsion beam at the rear, while having a braking setup of front ventilated discs and rear disc brakes.

The one thing which differentiates the Veloz from other compact seven-seater MPVs is the availability of drive modes in it. There are three drive modes on offer in the Veloz – eco, normal and sport – all of which offer different driving experiences behind the steering wheel. The Veloz might not be a pure driver’s delight, though, to ferry seven people with ease and comfort, the MPV does a fine job with a plush suspension setup.

The only powertrain on duty in both the variants of the Toyota Veloz on offer is a 2NR-VE series 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. This engine has already proven its worth in other Toyota cars like Yaris, Vios, Rush and Avanza, and continues to be a solid performer in the Veloz.

Available with a CVT gearbox as standard for both variants, this 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine of the Toyota Veloz pumps out 106 PS of maximum power and 138 Nm of maximum torque. Now, this engine breaks no performance barriers and is far from being the best-in-segment for power and torque outputs. But this engine scores brilliantly in refinement and the ease with which power is delivered to the smallest of the throttle inputs.

In normal driving conditions, the Toyota Veloz offers a respectable fuel economy of 14-15.5 kmpl. On highways, if you intend to drive with a light foot, expect to get a bit more fuel efficiency.

With the Veloz, Toyota is trying to make its presence in the segment stronger by offering some first-in-class safety features, most of which combine to form the package of autonomous driving assistance systems, which is called Toyota Safety Sense (TSS).

Both the variants of the Toyota Veloz are well-equipped with standard safety features like front, side and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD, vehicle stability control, ISOFIX mounts for child seats and a 360-degree parking camera. It is the more premium V variant of the Toyota Veloz which gets the Toyota Safety Sense package of ADAS features in addition, such as a pre-collision system, automatic high beam, lane departure alert, blind-spot monitor and rear cross-traffic alert.

Warranty

The standard warranty offered on the Toyota Veloz is of 3 years or 100,000 km, whichever comes first. While this is not a class-leading warranty on offer, Toyotas are generally known to be impeccably reliable. So, the absence of a short warranty period is not too a big concern.

Toyota Veloz vs the competition

The Toyota Veloz competes with the following three other rugged seven-seater MPVs in the Philippines car market:

Suzuki XL7 – Like the Toyota Veloz, the Suzuki Ertiga is a heavily restyled version of a regular seven-seater MPV, the Ertiga. The XL7 gets a bolder looking grille, front and rear skid plates, body cladding all around, roof rails, 16-inch machined alloy wheels and a different upholstery for the cabin, all of which make it feel like a different vehicle in comparison to the Ertiga. The XL7 is available with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which is available with a 4-speed torque converter and pumps out 103 bhp of maximum power and 138 Nm of maximum torque.

Honda BR-V – The Honda BR-V is existing in the Philippines car market for quite a long time now, though it still is one of the most practical, better-built and reliable seven-seater MPVs one can buy in the country. The BR-V is based on the Mobilio MPV, and like the XL7 and Veloz, comes with heavily-revised front and rear profiles and tweaks to the side profile to give it an SUV-ish appeal. Only one powertrain engine is on offer in the Honda BR-V, which is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine. Coupled with a CVT gearbox as standard, this engine produces 118 bhp of power and 145 Nm of torque, which makes it the most powerful engine in this segment.

Toyota Rush – If you don’t want the Veloz but still want something similar on the lines of it with the reliable backing of the brand Toyota, the Japanese carmaker has one more option in the same space in the form of Rush. The Toyota Rush is a popular and long-running model from Toyota, which offers the practicality of a seven-seater MPV with the modernity and stance of an SUV. The Toyota Rush shares its 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine with the Veloz but gets a 4-speed torque converter as the standard transmission. Here, this engine produces 102 bhp of maximum power and 134 Nm of maximum torque.

Final words

Toyota already has a strong footing in the compact SUV and MPV segment, and the Veloz has arrived just to affirm that leadership in an even stronger fashion. All the visual tweaks it gets over the Avanza in and out are justifiable for the premium positioning and pricing it has over the former.

What works in the favour of the Toyota Veloz is the fact that it offers a more modern and premium appeal over other seven-seater MPVs in its category, without compromising on the traditional virtues of Toyota of offering quality and reliable products. It looks the most striking, feels most premium and well-equipped on the inside and has the most extensive list of safety features including the ADAS, all of which contribute to making the Toyota Veloz the new segment benchmark of the compact seven-seater rugged MPV category.