Total Vitzality

There is something unsettling about riding a broomstick at 140kph. Not unless you are a wizard in Harry Porter. Actually, it’s foolish. You get this feeling that the broom will break at its chassis, blow away or disintegrate into smithereens.
But if an opposite member of your motoring Quidditch team challenges you to a race, common sense and safety take a ride. Enough disclaimer? Of course not. No adrenaline… or stupidity… for that matter, justifies driving a Toyota Vitz at such a speed.

I mean, it’s like a leaf in a hurricane, taking the mad corners on the tarmac that transverses the tea plantations in Tigoni, Limuru. I had been told that this TOY-ota is no slowpoke. I wanted to confirm.
My interaction with the Vitz began at Caltex Nairobi West, one sunny Saturday morning. There she was, Ms Vitz, blue, well-polished and ready to go out.
Beautiful though she was, I couldn’t help comparing her with the mental picture I had of the Vitz RS, the Miss World of the Vitz kingdom. Placed alongside the RS and Clavia, my plain Jane would have received a kick.

But her interior was no different from that of her siblings. She may look like she was made for one of those six-inch short Lilliputians in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver Travels but she’s not. The interior can comfortably sit five adults, with a unique dashboard design that accords more leg room to the front seat passengers.
The front seats especially are relatively comfortable, with good lumbar support.
One awkward thing about the Vitz is the multiple compartments on the plastic dashboard. Actually, they are numerous enough to constitute a make-up palette.

Its standard in-built single CD system projects from a modest air-condition unit, wedged between two compartments. The entire unit, with its multiple gaping holes, remind you of the photographic depiction of a UFO!  (Incidentally, this design is replicated in the Toyota Platz and Funcargo).

The driver’s seating position is good enough for even the vertically challenged. The car also feels open and airy, thanks to the instrument cluster in the centre of the dashboard. The digital instrument panel is also exciting to look at.The Vitz is fun to drive and quite comfortable. The steering feel and feedback is good, much better than other Toyotas I’ve driven.

Despite a short wheelbase, it can transport deceptively large quantities of cargo, thanks to its rear foldable seats. Considering that the Vitz’s engine CC range is between 1,000CC and 1,300CC (for the models available locally), this car has relatively impressive athletic driving manners, sprinting from 0-100Kph in about 12 seconds. (Yes, it’s faster than the conventional Toyota Corolla 110, which manages this in about 15 seconds)
It’s also impressively agile in tackling hills, thanks to its modern VVT-i engine that’s designed to reduce consumption without compromising power. The Vitz, also known as Yaris or Echo was a replacement of the Starlet, another miniature-sized Toyota subcompact product. Its sports version, the RS replaced the Glanza, the Clavia the Reflet. In Kenya, available only as a second hand import from Japan, the Vitz comes either as a three or five door hatchback. It’s popular with single, career women and young men just starting out in the job market. With an option of either four-speed automatic or five-speed manual, the Vitz appeals both to those who love and loathe stick shifts.
Let’s put it this way: If you are looking for practicality, this is a very good car. It literally sniffs at petrol, with the 1,000cc engine returning about 13 kilometres to the litre. In 2000, the Vitz was voted the European Car of the Year, and was the best selling car in Japan in 2005. Another two good reasons there.

The RS was originally marketed on a ‘fun to drive’ platform, and besides its quick pace, it comes with an all-round body kit, duo or single spoiler and alloy rims as an option.
In some other markets, there are models fitted with a turbo-charger, enabling a sprint of a 0-100 kph in just seven seconds!  But if you are looking to present an executive or serious image, the Vitz is a very bad start. Actually, you will not only be the laughing stock of boda-boda cyclists but a bullying target for matatu drivers.  

At high speed, it not only feels like a leaf but it tends to rattle…but you can live with this as long as the music is turned up. The Vitz was launched in Japan in 1999 and was the brainchild of Sotiris Kovos, the man behind the design of Lexus SC300 and SC430 concept models.

The Vitz was replaced globally in 2005 by the Yaris sedan.
The used imports from Japan have poor resale value; if you are a private punter, you are better off investing in another model. The fact is, any ‘third hand’ asking price would be just slightly lower than that of a fresh import.
But in spite of its tempting agility, it’s foolhardy to drive this car at high speeds….not unless you are a simian disciple.  The duo airbags and primary restraint system are not enough to protect you in case the car rolls.