Wish list
With a brand this strong, and a competitive price, there’s no doubt it will fly off the shelves
Toyota’s efforts to create a more spacious feel has paid off well 
Still needs more rear leg room The new Wish looks set to take top place in any man’s MPV wish list
By Andy Hum
JAPANESE MPVS, WATCH out. This is the new Toyota Wish, armed with a 2.0-litre engine now. And it’s the cheapest Japanese-made multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) here.
It now gets a sleeker profile with a front that shows some sportier lines, and its bonnet even sports a BMW-like pinch-line running along it, in an attempt to exude even more sportiness. Its tail-lights have also been updated and now look a lot more pleasing to the eye.
Even the shifting of the car’s A-pillar 80mm forward was primarily for styling reasons. At first glance, it’s design is quite an improvement.
Under the hood, there’s a new 2.0-litre engine, which Toyota calls the ‘3ZR-FE’. It makes 142bhp at 5,600rpm and 189Nm at 4,400rpm, and features variable valve timing for both intake and exhaust valves.
Compared to the previous 1.8-litre engine, the new performance figures and hardware tweaks make the car feel a lot more responsive and nimbler, at least when driving alone. Passengers need not worry, though, as attention has been paid to those in the back seats as well.
Chief engineer of the new Toyota Wish, Toshihiro Oi, pointed out to us that the front seats are now 30mm thinner, which basically means there’s 3cm more legroom for the middle-row occupants.
The second-row seats also have a hard-plastic backrest facing third-row passengers, which Oi-san says gives a little more room for their knees. When folded down, however, it becomes a little table top with two recesses for placing cups. In other words, a mobile picnic, for those who feel a little more adventurous.
Back at the front, the dashboard and instrument areas have been improved, too. The instrument panel is slimmer, which is supposed to give a more spacious feel, while ovals seem to have been the main inspiration when Toyota designed the clusters.
Where we felt Toyota could have done a little better, however, was with its noise insulation. Having a large cabin like that also means more sound gets reverberated around. Perhaps Toyota had something else in mind, though – that this MPV should be fitted with seven most of the time. It’s still a comfortable ride, but we would recommend the third-row passengers to be small adults.
Against its rivals, the new Wish has continued to fortify its position in the market. What’s more, they’re now pricing the new Wish even closer to parallel importers, with the added advantage of attractive warranty packages. During the car’s launch on November 30th, Borneo Motors shared that their orders were already 300 percent more than their target for this year. Need we say more?
NEED TO KNOW
Toyota Wish 2.0 (A)
ENGINE TYPE 1,987cc, 16V, in-line 4
MAX POWER 142bhp at 5,600rpm
MAX TORQUE 189Nm at 4,400rpm
GEARBOX 4-speed semi-automatic
TOP SPEED 180km/h
0-100 KM/H 11 seconds
PRICE $83,988 with COE
WARRANTY 5 years / 100,000km
CONTACT Borneo Motors
TELEPHONE 6475-1288
