just acquired a toyota premio 1.8Dual VVTI 2007 , imported straight from OSAKA auction, grade 4, pretty decent sheet specs, a few As here and there, otherwise good as new, interior grade B ( slightly dirty ) which i got cleaned later
mileage done, 54000 KM
i took delivery of the vehicle in islamabad, got the tyre pressure back up which was quite low owing to the long shipping and truck haul, fuel in and started for lahore
the ride is well, fantastic, no jitter, no vibes, no clanking sounds here and there which is the hall mark of our local cars, wind noise was nicely suppressed while tyre noise was noticeable on the slightly worn out yokohomas 185/aspect 65 rubbers
now the important part
the premio has this onboard 'mission computer' that basically tells you the instantaneous mileage, average mileage, range and average speed cumulative. while cruising at 120kmph on the M2 with the ECO light ON ( which basically damps throttle and saves fuel ) , the computer gave a read out of 17.4 km/L ( given a good oil and clean filters, im assuming the mileage can go as far as 18 km/L if you manage on ECO with not so aggressive driving and speed below 120kmph,,
climbing down from salt range with straight tarmac and driving with sports mode ( which basically sharpens throttle and drops/ups gear rapidly ) , the mileage dropped to 15 ish Km/L ,
the CVT system does an excellent job of instantaneous up shift and down shift ( if there is any upshift in CVT per se ) , gear jerk is barely noticeable unlike our local reborns ( here again, i would like to point out that there are technically no gears in CVT )
mind you, the car is electronically inhibited at 180kmph which i managed for a short while since the sunday traffic car gaggles at M2 prevented any 'adventures' ,although the motorway cops didnt seem to bother much with speed monitoring as such after last light ..
as for handling , i would suggest to use the bigger aspect 60 or 55 type ( at the cost of slightly higher fuel consumption )
the climate control does a good job of keeping the temp manageable, adjustable beam angles for headlamps is a useful feature which eases the burden of switching back and forth b/w high beam ,,, the onboard lcd is useless in japanese while the sound system ( stock ) is pretty decent
the overall car setup is more on the sporty side, ride is a bit firm but comfortable, the 1.8 engine is powerful and has good punch although in drive mode, the onboard computer automatically puts it in ECO mode which dampens any throttle imputs ., to get around that, you can always use the Sports mode for overtaking manoeuvres ( this is the one thing i like in the new civic, ie manual over ride on ECO mode )
for , racy engine( in S mode ) , excellent mileage, good handling with better tyres
against , no cruise control , electronic inhibition @ 180 , onboard LCD useless
