Most of us have the news the the Toyota Sienta is going to make its appearance as a "Made in Indonesia" product very soon. Almost a quarter of the Toyota Mega Web showroom in Odaiba Tokyo was filled up the Sienta last year, showcasing the space efficient design of the car. In Japan, the Sienta is available is an array of bright and funky colours, attracting first time MPV buyer, especially young family. By the way, Avanza and Innova is not available in Japan, as these are the Asian low cost MPVs.
There has been much hype of the Sienta, as some would think this could be the Perodua Alza replacement, where both share the same wheelbase and almost the same size. Toyota loves their sliding doors in MPV, as this improve the accessibility into and out of the vehicle, as can be seen in the Sienta, or even their mini size Toyota Porte and others. This makes perfect sense since an MPV, for it be mini, compact or huge in size, should always be designed with convenience as the priority. It could even be easier to fit a welcab chair for the disabled...very thoughtful.
| Sienta | Alza | Avanza | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheelbase | 2750mm | 2750mm | 2655mm |
| Length | 4235mm | 4205mm | 4140mm |
| Height | 1675mm | 1620mm | 1695mm |
| Width | 1695mm | 1695mm | 1660mm |
The dashboard and the interior is fairly basic, with nothing fancy, and perhaps this is how Toyota keeps their rate of repair so low. When there is nothing much, then there is nothing much to fail. "PRACTICAL" could be the keyword for the Sienta, adding a bit of "STYLE".
According to the specifications from Indonesia, the only 2-airbag could be a big drawback on this people mover. As a MPV, the safety structure is very much different from a normal sedan/hatchback car, as most can seen those big MPVs that were involved in accident, could result in fairly bad situation. However, a smaller MPV could have better rigidity if design correctly. Anyhow, every single additional equipment that could save life is important.
The Toyota Sienta, should be equipped with the same 1.5-litre engine from the Avanza, could make it to Malaysia. But news was scare as our very own distributor, UMW Toyota could survive on with their existing boring VIOS, ALTIS and CAMRY. When we peek into our neighbouring countries, they have more models than us, and at least, the Yaris has been missing from our line up for some years now after it was priced at > RM100k.
The Sienta could enjoy a very good position in the market, as none of other Japanese brands are offering this class of vehicles. Perodua could be the only one, but we do have majority of people that would like to have a foreign brand instead of a local name. Toyota has lose out in the B-Segment SUV competition for now, where Honda and Mazda is enjoying the sales numbers from the HRV and CX-3 respectively. If the Sienta really make it to our shore, it could a a big hit, if priced correctly! Do not repeat the mistake of the pricey Honda Freed though.
