After long deliberation, I finally decided to purchase a compact brand-new car in Thailand.
The car is Toyota Yaris 1.5 G-Limited. In Japan, this model is called "Vitz" and has been the most popular car over the last two months in the Japanese market.
The pricing in Japan for Vits is as cheap as just 110,000 Yen or US$ 10,000, but the price here in Thailand is almost doubled (750,000 Bahts or US$20,000). It's a quite embarrassing price for an expatriate Japanese living in Thailand.
I have been reluctant to buy a car in Thailand before, because my house is located at a convenient location near BTS Sky Train station. Plus, cars are outrageously priced due to the 200 percent tax for imported automobile parts.
So why did I buy such a "fancy" car? I have several reasons for this...
1) To facilitate buying foods and drinks for my guesthouse/restaurant business -- no taxi drivers want to go with two full carts of shopping bags...
2) To make it easy for my mother to move around in Bangkok -- carrying a wheelchair by taxi is a real hassle in Bangkok!
3) To make it easy for my staff and I to go to beach for pleasure -- for one- or two-day company excursions
The first impressions of Yaris were...
* Quiet
Yaris is amazingly quiet for its size. The overall noise while driving is by far less than Honda's equivalent model – Jazz (Japanese name: Fit). If you close the window, traffic noise will fade into oblivion. I sometimes forget that I am driving in the din and bustle of Bangkok. This was a most surprising point for me. Engine noise is also minimized up to a cruising speed of 90km/h. Although it's a bit more noisy over 100km/h, but I don't need to shout to talk with other passengers.
* Small Turning Circle
In Thailand, you must make U-turns on busy main streets frequently. Due to a lack of traffic lights and in order to traffic jams caused by right-turning cars, Bangkokites are forced to make a U-turn and then turn left instead of turning to right. In a heavy traffic jam, Yaris has a good capability of making a quick turn. This lessens the need for waiting for a break in oncoming traffic. This flexibility is also a good advantage on narrow streets around my house.
* Fuel-efficiency
At a time of soaring gas prices, fuel efficiency is also an important factor. After several times of refueling, I am satisfied with the mileage of Yaris. Its mileage is 10-11km/liter in a congested urban area (with a 30-percent usage of expressway). Its mileage will be higher during a long drive to countryside.
* Beautiful Meter Panel
One of the reason I chose Yaris was its eye-catching beautiful meter panel located between the driver seat and the passenger seat. All friends of mine love this meter panel so much.
I will post further impressions about this car in the "Car" category of Tropical Radio.
Related Links
Toyota Motor Thailand
Toyota Thailand - Yaris Home
Wikipedia - Yaris
