Toyota Avanza 2012 - Not Just a Married Man's Car

You've done up your ride by making it look sleek and fast, and then your mom, dad or siblings ask for a favour - "Can you help me carry all that furniture I bought from Ikea? Can you bring your grandmother and your nephews/nieces around KL for the school holiday, since you're not going anywhere?" etc. In your nicely done up cool mobile? Nuh-uh.

You won't even drive it to the wet market or pasar malam (night market) to avoid dirtying your car, if you can help it. But you really don't want to hurt your parents' feeling, your siblings' feelings or those of your extended family.

So, what you need is a utility/auxiliary vehicle for all the rough stuff. But you seriously don't want to cram your style while catering to as many of your immediate and extended families as possible. What you need is a small 7-seater like the Toyota Avanza.

It's better than a truck because you can cram more than five people in an Avanza. Also, unlike a big-ass MPV, the Avanza is not too big an investment and it does not scream "I'm a boring old married man".

Think of the Avanza as a Toyota hot-hatch on steroids.

It comes in three variants: 1.3, 1.5G and 1.5S. But whichever variant you choose, if you've ever driven a Daihatsu Terios or its local equivalent Perodua Kembara, then you'd be familiar with how the Avanza's driving feel is like.

And that's because the Avanza uses the same chassis as the old Terios/Kembara.

In terms of styling, the new Avanza sports better looking headlights and rear lights, as well as a more stylish bonnet and front grill.

Unfortunately, it still comes with rims and wheels that are too small for its wheel wells. But don't let that stop you, since you can always put in after-market rims and tyres that make the Avanza look really sporty and sleek.

Of course for RM78,000++, you can get a bigger MPV like the Proton Exora. Or you could save some money by opting for the Perodua Alza.

Yeah, but, neither of them would be a Toyota, would they?

The Avanza selling price starts at around RM63,000+, but it would come with only a 1.3L engine and manual transmission, and at that entry level, it won't have ABS/EBD

Eyeing a 2nd Hand Avanza

The Toyota Avanza is without doubt one of the most popular 7-seaters on Malaysian roads. Reasonably priced at around RM70,000+ for the 1.5L variant (without ABS and airbags), the Avanza is the kind of family mover that's bound to remain popular well into the next decade.
When cleverly done up, it can look really attractive, as can be seen from the featured Avanza.
Not surprisingly, Avanzas can still fetch a reasonable resale value.
Nonetheless, as with all second hand cars, one of the main things to look out for is engine trembling caused by damaged engine mounting. The most obvious tell-tale sign is rough idling, which is audible enough to be discerned and can even be felt right through the steering wheel.
When in good condition, a car shouldn't vibrate so badly that it sounds rough and shudders at the steering wheel. So, regardless of the "tip-top" assurances by used car sales persons, walk away from an Avanza that feels rough to the touch. Otherwise, use that as a leverage for further discounts.
Another thing to look out for is the smell of cigarette ash in the passenger compartment. Experience shows that people who smoke in their cars don't really have much regard for them. So, you can imagine how "well" they have taken care of their cars.
As a result, cars that used to be owned by smokers tend to fetch lower prices. Again, either walk away or use this as a bargaining chip.
Yet another thing I like to look out for are worn out shocks. Test drive the Avanza you're eyeing over humps and potholes, and feel how well the car responds.
If it gets too bouncy, then you know the shocks would need changing out soon. Again, use this as a bargaining chip or simply walk away.
And of course, test out the aircon through and through. Old cars tend to develop aircon blower problems - you can't turn it up without causing the blower motor to overheat.
Look out for visible condensation. This is a sure sign that there's something really wrong with the aircon blower.
And if the passenger compartment doesn't cool down quickly enough, then it could be a compressor problem.
Personally, I don't know when I'm going to get an Avanza, if at all I'm getting one. The wife doesn't like it, albeit my assurances that it's pretty good.
What I do know is that, aside from the things mentioned above on 2nd hand car buying tips, the Avanza I buy would have to be equipped with anti brake locking system (ABS) and airbags. The former would help greatly in avoiding accidents, whereas the latter, well, would or should be useful in an accident.
Also, I hope I get a 7-seater soon (whatever it may be) because ferrying my wife, two kids, two dogs and my mother in-law can take quite a toll on my Ford Focus S2.0. Although this doesn't happen very often, the Focus is a pocket rocket for goodness sake, not a heavy load hauler :P
(The Avanza featured is courtesy of Siakap at http://www.flickr.com/photos/29621479@N02/3068883263/)

My Car, My Style - Don't Laugh!

Sometimes, I can't help but be amused by the confused styling that some car owners give to their rides. Take the Avanza above, for example. It has step-ups usually installed in a 4x4 but also uses what looks to be 13-inch rims with low profile tyres.

So, what's it supposed to be? A ground hugging 7-seater with 'tiny feet' that has step-ups to help people get in the car that's already low?

Hey, to each his own. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Still, I bet if the guy had enough money, he'd put in 17-inch rims with low profile tyres, along with other bling-blings.

How would I know? Well, when I was driving my old Mazda 626 back in the early-to-late 1990s, money was tight. How I wished I had enough money to put in 15-inch rims and low profile tyres.

But since I couldn't afford to, I had to make do with 13-inch rims and tyres so bloated they looked like donuts.

And that's life. We do what we can to get by.