Day-trip with the ATIV: ‘HEV-y’ on space and specs, light on the fuel

I had been hearing the buzz about this new sedan that would supposedly fill that wide gap between the Vios and the Corolla Altis for some time now.
On the morning of Oct. 7, Toyota Motor Philippines finally presented to us what that buzz was all about. It wasn’t just a longer, wider version of the wildly successful Vios, but a hybrid one at that. Its name wasn’t a mind-bender: ATIV. And TMP’s marketing team made sure it rolled off our tongues right, with Mixie Flavier being like a daycare teacher in front of us raucous toddlers and mouthing “Eyyy-tiv, like the word ‘native,’ but without the ‘N.’” That part we got right in less than three seconds.
The vehicle itself, though, would need a whole day’s worth of riding and driving to be truly understood and appreciated.

The starting point of the drive was at the Ecoplaza Building on Don Roces Avenue in Makati City, where a group of about 25 of us motoring media would be driving and riding in different variants of the ATIV through the morning rush hour of the city, out to the South Luzon Expressway, onto the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road and up to Anya Resorts in Tagaytay City for a total of 60 km, one way.
I was bunched with Botchi Santos and Aldous Aldwyn of TheDriveList and Aries B. Espinosa of TessDrive.com in a 1.5 HEV CVT variant in 2-tone Scarlet SE color. I could say our group had the most varied mix of body types, from Botchi’s robust 5’10” frame down to my petite 5’2” (Aldous and Aries were somewhere in between). This gave me a good baseline to assess the spaciousness of the car.
Between Botchi and I (He was riding shotgun, I was seated directly behind him), there was still wide legroom for me. Aldous was driving, and I could see Aries seated behind him had all the space he needed to move around and take videos and pictures (while still strapped to his seatbelt, of course).

So yes, the Ativ does have bigger space, an observation confirmed by checking the car’s specs: Its wheelbase is 70 mm longer than the Vios. Overall, the ATIV is longer by 5 mm, wider by 10 mm, and taller by 5 mm.
The ATIV joins the fray in the subcompact sedan segment along with the Honda City, Suzuki Dzire, Nissan Almera, Mitsubishi Mirage G4, and Geely Emgrand. What makes the ATIV unique in this segment, though, is its being a full-hybrid (the Dzire being just a mild hybrid).
The hybrid factor that separates the ATIV from its pure ICE competitors showed its advantage with the varied driving conditions to and from our destination. On the way up to Tagaytay (driven solely by Aldous), our ATIV unit registered 18.8 km/liter. On the way back to EcoPlaza late that afternoon, with rush hour traffic already building up in the outskirts of Makati, our vehicle (now with me driving all the way) registered 29 km/liter at an average speed of 37 kph. For the result, I may have to thank the regenerative braking, and probably the reduction of the number of passengers in the car (there were now only three of us, as Aldous and Botchi went into another unit, as radio host Patrick Tulfo joined us this time). The ATIV also offers various driving modes—Normal, Eco, Sport, and EV—to optimize fuel efficiency in different road conditions.

Timothy Bonifacio of TMP’s product planning group clarified that the ATIV is a completely new sedan that would not be replacing the Vios. Instead, he says, the ATIV adds to the Toyota lineup and fills the gap between the Vios and Toyota’s higher-end sedan.
“If you want to upgrade from the Vios, the gap is too wide between that and the Corolla Altis. We want to fill that gap in terms of price point and features.”
The ATIV, which comes from Thailand, is built on a new global platform, the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA), which results in a larger footprint compared to the current Vios. This translates to a more substantial road presence and hence, the more spacious interior. The exterior design is a notable departure from the familiar Vios silhouette, adopting a sleeker, fastback-like roofline and design cues that align it with modern Toyota models like the Camry and Corolla.
“The ATIV is another statement of Toyota’s continued mission to bring electrified mobility within reach of more Filipinos,” said TMP first vice president for vehicle sales operations Elijah Sue Marcial. “We know choosing your first car, and an electrified model at that, can be a bold decision, so the ATIV makes it simple and easy by delivering modern HEV features, while providing peace of mind with reliability, safety, ease of ownership, and joy of use,” she added.

The ATIV’s eight variants will be offered at a price range between P916,000 and P1.208 million, making it the most affordable HEV in the Toyota stable. The top-spec variant, the one we drove for the day, also has the Toyota Safety Sense, 10.1-inch touchscreen display, a fully digital multi-information display (MID), and wireless charging. That’s already a good deal for its price.
And given that it’s a Toyota, with its decades-long mastery of the hybrid technology, chances are you will be getting your money’s worth with the ATIV. Just remember to say the name right.
Check out the Toyota ATIV and get to test drive it on its official public launch and display at the BGC Amphitheater in Taguig City from Oct. 24 to 26.