OK guys,
so i have now gotten my hands on this Toyota AQUA 2014 and have now kept it for 8 months .
having thoroughly driven it on mountains, cities and long distance, i want to write this (honest) review ..
- what is the aqua ?
the aqua is a vitz sized ( slightly bigger) hatch back with a hybrid drive train. it is known as the Prius C in USA . it has the third generation hybrid drive train which is a basically an engine and electric motor working in parallel to save fuel. much literature on how a hybrid vehicle works is available on the internet so i wont touch that part.
the aqua has a 1500 cc 4 cyl engine + 50hp electric electric motor . the electric motor battery is beneath the rear seats while there is a CVT transmission to transfer power from HSD to wheels.
basically, the vehicle has been designed to do one thing, save fuel ,. period
- how does it feel ,?
the aqua is the first hybrid vehicle i have owned . initially, the reviews i read pre-buying this vehicle were more or less neutral . it was deemed as a scaled down, lower -quality- poor mans prius .
not so in reality, the cabin has a quality feel and is well equipped. the ac is superb and noise cancellation is excellent to the point of being eerie. the steering feel is a bit damped and aloof yet comfortable nevertheless , legroom is adequate if not spacious. the stock speakers are OK .
LCD is typical japanese, useless in pakistan but you can play music and have camera installed etcetre. i have not changed it.
there are 2 airbags ( base variant ) power windows and remote lock . there is no immobilizer in base variant
- ride quality , ?
the aqua sits low, very low . drive over poorly designed speed breakers and you will hear that "kharaaal kharrral " hitting sound. on the second oil change, the silencer hit the access ramp and i almost tore the holding pin. it has just baffled me as to why toyota would do this stupid fallacy of making the car so low even by JDM standards . a short driver would struggle with vision while driving.
the rear seats are cramped while a tall person like me ( 5 . 11 ) would have his head stuck the roof on every bump. with a baby seat installed, the driver would need to move fwd his seat. not impressed here
the boot is bigger than vitz and well designed for a hatchback
on the plus side, this low ride height and aero shape means much planted drive on high speeds ( 130 +)
- how does it drive
one word., superb
the acceleration is silk smooth since the motor ( if it has charge ) propels the engine along. the engine is quiet yet powerful . this is best part of driving a hybrind, no matter what the speed, there is always a "gush" of power available thanks to a secondary power source. the power switcing between engine and motor is almost un-noticeable while the cvt gear does a fine job of harnessing all that dual power and putting on the road. it is very hard to go back on a normal vehicle after driving these hybrids.
- fuel economy,
driving at constant 50kmph , i can easily get 30 km/L
normal driving in city , i get around 24, 24.5 km/L
on motorway,at 120 , i get 21 km/L
do the math yourself
6 . ok, i want to buy an aqua, how do i check the battery life
take the car to motorway or ring road etc., drive until battery is fully charged , stop . put it in EV mode and slowly drive at 30 ( engine turned off, batt only ) . the batt bars will drop slowly until engine will start to charge the batteries .
THE BATTERY SHOULD LAST ATLEAST 1.5 MILE ON FULL CHARGE . if that is the case , batt health is OK and you can buy the vehicle
any other questions, Ask me anything,
