The new Toyota Wish comes in four levels, models ‘J’, ‘E’, ‘E-Hi’ and the top of the range ‘G’.
All models come with a four cylinder 2.0 liter engine and all are equipped with a four speed automatic gearbox, BAS, EBD, electronic steering, electric windows and air conditioning.
The five door MPV has seven seats in all with the second and third row folding flat when needed to load all the paraphernalia a family can muster quite easily albeit for the hassle of having to work around the rear side hinged doors which become even more of a problem when parked along side other vehicles. Many other MPVs have done away with this issue by employing side sliding doors instead with even larger apertures for loading/unloading, which is something I would have expected Toyota to have caught up to by now with this second generation car and is a little disappointing.
The rear hatch access is simple enough though and the seats simple to fold and return. The third row seats are really temporary seats as occupants have to raise their legs to what will likely be an uncomfortable height with little room to spare on long journeys.
The front seats offer basic support for a driver and passenger and the driver’s controls are all within easy reach, making the driving position quite comfortable. The steering wheel adjusts for height as well as rake to make things just so. The driver’s front seat is electrically adjusted which seems to be the norm on upper models these days, but which I personally find more of a time waster than the manual adjustment on lower models. Perhaps that’s because there is a big height difference between me and my wife and any time I get in the car I wouldn’t expect to spend 30 seconds each time, waiting for the seat to move to the position I need it in.
Some effort has been spent to spruce up the interior of the vehicle to match the greatly improved exterior which borrows many lines and slashes from the Toyota Prius, but unfortunately there lies some poor choices in dash board design. The dash, although functional, displays two bulbous air vents very prominently in front of the driver as well as two squint shaped vents for the passenger which spoil the overall feel and flow of the front of the cabin. Things are no better in the ‘G’ top of the range model which also has the addition of a ceiling mounted venting system for rear passengers which emanates a cheap looking row of blue mood lighting.
The car I tested was the E-Hi version which comes in at NT$819,000 and is probably the best package of the group. It doesn’t come with the DVD and Navigation system found in the ‘G’ spec vehicle, but it neither comes with the rather pointless mood lighting either. At NT$46,000 dollars cheaper than the ‘G’ spec, you can pretty much take your pick of all the sat nav and DVD systems out there and you’ll still likely have some change in your pocket.
This would explain then why Toyota has chosen the E-Hi as the standard demonstrator model. They must also know that this will be the preferred vehicle for those who wish for all the comforts without the excess.
The chassis has been tweaked a little since the last model and the suspension handles bumps as well as the brakes handle stopping which is both reasonably well. There has been some additional effort in reducing the rear road noise that was prevalent in the older model and is slightly less so in the new one.
The electronic power steering in the new wish is easy to use and adjusts in stiffness as the speed picks up, but has a remote and dead feel, which takes away from the otherwise nice handling offered by the rest of its systems which also include both EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution and BAS (Brake Assisted Steering). These systems are a rework of older active yaw and electronic stability control systems found on some other vehicles.
The Wish is let down considerably by its standard tyres and I would expect to have to bargain an alternative set in with a deal on any new vehicle. The wheels don’t easily find traction when cornering under reasonably conservative power.
The automatic gearbox on all but the ‘G’ version operate as well as can be expected from a basic device and that’s just fine for a seven seater family car. Do stay away from the paddle shift on the top of the range model however as from experience the Toyota automatic boxes do not respond well to paddle inputs and become flustering and confusing very early on. Most drivers will no doubt prefer sticking to the standard D for drive slot and stick there.
Driving around town the view from the cabin was mostly unhindered and clear. Of course as with many modern vehicles the front ‘A’ pillars offer some narrow blind spots which are most noticeable when turning at intersections, even with small portholes fitted . This is a little disturbing at times if people can pop out from behind them whilst crossing the road. Unfortunately its also the price to pay in design when raising targets for crash protection to occupants and pedestrian protection from impacts. The E- Hi takes safety slightly into consideration on the inside with two front airbags . Toyota is still lacking in the airbag department though with most of their models in Taiwan coming with far fewer bags than are found on foreign models. The Wish is also equipped with ISOFIX child seat mounting points. It does not have the option of disabling the front airbag though.
Power delivery in the Wish is handled rather predictably and of course without too much pizzazz as the only single engine available is the 1987cc four cylinder twin cam dual VVT petrol engine which claims to produce up to 141ps at 5,600 revs and pushes a 1,415kg vehicle. Again this won’t matter much to most users who predictably only use their vehicles for city and highway driving. This isn’t a car that really needs a bigger or more powerful engine considering its dimensions and typical users needs.
Overall the Toyota will no doubt be a marketing success, but this isn’t to say it’s necessarily the best small MPV out there. Selling Toyotas in Taiwan has always been a doddle as long as they have always nailed the main selling points in a Taiwan market which are reliability, reasonable fuel consumption and good residuals.
Within the past five years though things have begun to change with stronger sales in the much-improved Mazda brand. Indeed the Mazda 5 still seems to have the advantages over the Toyota with its more practical interior space and side sliding doors, as well as sharp styling. Its residuals so far have also been extremely strong as even used models are in high demand. It will be interesting to see if Toyota still maintains its top spot in Taiwan in the coming years considering the growing strengths of its other Japanese rivals.
The Toyota Wish then; a nice car to be in and certainly looks and drives better than the old model as well as some others. It still isn’t quite as usable as a Mazda 5 though and so it still doesn’t quite take top spot in the small MPV category. If only Toyota could catch up and change those side rear doors!
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