Toyota Vitz

The Evolution and generations of Toyota Vitz

The Toyota Vitz is a subcompact hatchback car that was first made in 1999 by Toyota. The Japanese

 automobile manufacturer made it in both 3-door and 5-door body styles. The car has been

 doing great in the market and has increasingly been in demand. The reliability of this car as well as its

 stylish interior and exterior is another feature that has seen it attract a number of people. The car has

 good leg room and also good cargo space. The car has three nameplates in the market wherein Japan it

 has continuously been known as Vitz and in international markets, it is known as Toyota Yaris and 

Toyota Echo for the first generations. The Vitz predeceased Toyota Starlet and succeeded the Toyota

 Yaris.

First generation (Series XP10)

The first generation of the Toyota Vitz was made in late 1998 and got to the market in 1999. This

 generation was designed at the Toyota ED2 studio in Europe by Sotiris Kovo. It ran from 1999 to

 2005. The engine of this hatchback was located at the front, with an option of 3-door or 5-door. The

 engine that was available was 1L with 4 cylinders and 1.3L with cylinders for the four-wheel drive.

The car was offered in two options 5-speed manual transmission and 4-speed automatic transmission.

The cabin was spacious from its height. In the international market, the car was sold in Asia where it

was known as Vitz RS, and was introduced in October 2000. 

Vitz RS revised and upgraded the front and rear bumper of the other Vitz. It also came in an improved

 meshed grill, black tinted headlamps and fog lights, alloy wheels, and side skirts. The interior of this

 car was also upgraded where the steering wheel was wrapped with leather while the gear shifter was of

 leather and chrome, and sports-oriented front seats. This car came in two engines, the 1.3L engine that

 produced 84HP and the 1.5L that produced 110HP.

Phase 2 of the Vitz RS came in a turbocharged engine that was modified by Toyota Racing

 Development (TRD). This was mainly for the domestic Japanese market and was fitted with the IHI

 Rhf4 turbocharger. This model was manufactured in limited numbers. The TRD upgraded the engine to

 1.5L which saw an improvement to 148HP and a speed of 0-100Km/h. This Yaris also was available in

the China market where there was 1.0L and 1.3L engine.

3-door Vitz RS Pre-face

 

5-door Vitz Clavia 

In the Australian market, the Vitz XP10 series was given the name Echo. It was introduced in 1999 and

 replaced Starlet. It was also still available in the variant of both 3-door and 5-door hatchbacks. This 

Echo was upgraded with a 1.3L 2NZ-FE with an option of 5-speed manual transmission and 4-speed

 automatic transmission. On the other hand, the Vitz was marketed in the European market as Yaris. A

 1.4L D4-D diesel engine was introduced. In the majority of the European market, the Yaris did very

 well than the Starlet. XP10 was voted as the best car of the year in 2000. European market Yaris was

 later sold in Israel and Morocco. Until 2003, the Vitz did not sell in North America until 2004 when the

 new model was introduced under the name "Echo" and was launched in Canada. As a result of this only

 the Platz-based Echo sedan and coupe were available. 

Second generation (XP90)

The second generation of Toyota Vitz was manufactured in 2005 and the production proceeded to the

 the year 2011. Vitz was redesigned in early 2005 and saw it in the Japanese market. It was built with a

a lot of similarities with the Belta where they also shared the underpinnings. Regardless of this, the

 Vitz was designed in the European ED design studio of Toyota while the Belta was designed in the

 Japanese design studios. Redesigned Vitz and Belta are related in that they both use a common frame

and drivetrain components despite the sheet metal varying. XP90 series was manufactured in Thailand,

 France, Japan, Taiwan, and China. 

XP90 Series Yaris 

 A 3-cylinder engine replaced the existing 4-cylinder 1.0 VVT-i engine. A revision of the 1.3L engine

 was done to provide a more efficient and powerful engine and to achieve a fuel economy engine. The

 stop-start technology was introduced in 2009 that was meant for the European market and had a 1.3L

 engine. This generation Yaris stood out as the first car of its class to provide a nine airbag feature.

The interior and exterior of this car were upgraded where a face-lift was done and an orange-tinted

 signal added on tail lamps. Daihatsu sold the 5-door Vitz as Daihatsu Charade. It came from Thailand

 having a 1.3L engine and a 6-speed gear manual or automatic. Charade was sold alongside the XP130

series of Yaris. Yaris XP 90 series was continued until it was replaced by the XP150 series in November

 2013.

2011 Daihatsu Charade

In 2005 the Vitz Rs was introduced. Under the bonnet was a 1.5L 4-cylinder VVT-i  engine that

 produced 107bhp and 140 Nm. It featured a rear disc brake as well as a sport steering and suspension.

The Rs also featured 16-inch alloy wheels as well as a new make of the rear and front bumper. There

 was also an improvement in the grille where it was badged with the label "Rs". The side skirts and tail

 lamps were redesigned and a tail spoiler was added. In North America is sold as Rs equipped with a

 1.5L engine while in Europe market it sold as Yaris TS. In the Japanese market, it was fitted with a

 1.8L and  2ZR-FE engine that produced 130HP and 170Nm that can do 100Km/h. In January 2009

 1.28m vehicle units that were built under the Yaris platform like Vitz, Belta, and Ractis were recalled

 globally. This was because of the seat belt defect that would cause a foam pad that would ignite in case

 of a severe front-end collision. 

2005 2WD Vitz Rs

Demand for fuel-efficient subcompact cars rose in 2009 and this saw the introduction of the 4-door

 sedan and 3-door hatchback. In 2009 there was a lot of technology which was introduced to the Yaris.

 This included front and rear side curtain airbags and front side-mounted. All of the 2009 Yaris model 

has the Anti-lock brake system (ABS) as well as the electronic brakeforce distribution ( EBD).

 The automotive press has praised the Yaris for its fuel efficiency but also rose concern about its

 alarming body roll due to the soft suspension and high ride height and lack of manual transmission

 variant. The 2010 model however came with the 5-gear manual transmission with the Star Safety

 System, Vehicle Stability Control( VSC), Brake Assist, and Traction Control(TRAC). 

Facelifted Yaris S 5-door (USA)

Third generation(XP130)

This generation of Vitz came into the market in 2010 and featured a sportier stance and the front 

was redesigned and the interior was made more spacious. It uses a single windshield wiper and the

 meter cluster is located behind the wheel. In the European market, it was introduced in the 6-speed

 manual transmission for the 1.3L engine or the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)

 transmission that was marketed as 7-Speed MultiDRive or the MultiDrive S. The gear ratio predefines

 the ability to choose amongst the available 7 gears with the steering wheel levers. 

2012 Toyota Yaris (Vitz)

This Vitz came with engine units of 1.0L 3-cylinder engine, 1.3L 4-cylinder engine, and 1.5L 4- 

cylinder engine. When the dual VVT-i mechanism within a new 1.3L engine was evaluated, it showed

 that it churned a pleasant fuel efficiency when the feature of idol stop was incorporated. The Vitz did

 well in the international market inclusive of Asia, Europe, Japan, Australia, the USA, and Canada.

 There happened to be a recall in October 2012 due to the fault of the power windows malfunction. Vitz

was offered in RS, F, U, and Jewela grades. Drivetrains of 2WD and 4WD are available in Japan. 

There was an update of the front fascia in the F, U, and Jewela models that were only available in the

 market in Japan as domestic cars. The RS model was used to make a base for the Sport RS G's in

September 2011 and was launched then. RS G's Sport featured a new aero body kit, 17" aluminum

 wheels that were lightweight and high-performance tires and tuned suspensions. It was later face-lifted

 in 2014. In January 2017 the RS was replaced by the variant U model Sporty Package. The Vitz-

 variant of GR and GR Sport was produced in September 2017 and replaced the RS and RS G's trim.

Vitz RS G Sports Concept.

Vitz GR Sport 

It is interesting to note that the Hybrid concept of Yaris HSD got introduced in March 2011 and

 presented in March 2012 at Geneva Motor Show and got to market in June 2012. The Yaris Hybrid has

the same powertrain as Toyota Prius C sold in North America and was available in Japan market as

 Toyota Aqua in Japan. Prius C is powered by a 1.5L gasoline engine with a 74Hp output equivalent to

 55 Kilowatts and 45 Kilowatt equivalent to 60HP electric motor with a total of 74 Kilowatts or 99HP. It

 has a NiMH battery capacity of 0.9 kWh. 

A high-performance and limited variant of the Vitz was produced in two variants. This Vitz was named 

as Vitz/Yaris GRMN (Gazoo Racing tuned by Meister of the Nurburgring). These variants were only

 available for the Japanese domestic market. In 2013 the first variant was produced and is powered by a

 turbocharged 1.8L 2ZR-FE engine. The car produces 209Hp at 6800rpm 250N.m. The jalopy does a 0-

100Km/h acceleration in a duration of 6.3sec with a top speed of 230Km/h that is electronically limited.

 Only 400 units for Europe were manufactured and 150 units for Japan. It was afterward succeeded by

 the GR Yaris variant that is a 4WD.

Vitz GRMN