Saturday, August 17, 2013

The World of Toyota

It was Thursday afternoon and we went out to spend the whole day off. While my mom and my Ate Elise are heading to SM Mall of Asia to visit the Vitapops Inventor's Lab to waste their time with Baby Irvine, me and my dad went to World Trade Center Manila for this...



Yes, it's the World of Toyota. A motorshow hosted by Toyota Motor Philippines. It's held at the World Trade Center Manila from August 10 to August 18, 2013 and this Toyota-hosted motorshow is made to celebrate the good times Toyota has done to the Philippines.



The tickets cost 25 pesos per person so that sounds cheap. Very good though.



A trio of tuned Toyota 86s were featured but more specifically, the Rocket Bunny 86's. Can't believe that the Toyota 86 is a new generation tuner car made by speedo boys for speedo boys who want a cheap and reasonable sports car for the fun of it.



Takumi Fujiwara's Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX AE86, the tail-happy, rubber-burning star of Initial D. With the manga ended, there's going to be a new movie and the final season in the works right now but despite its finish line, Takumi's AE86 is still one of the icons.



Step inside to The World of Toyota!







This is the all-new Toyota RAV4. It may not arrive in Japan sometime until 2014, although I'm not so sure why is this new model hasn't been arrived in Japan as of now but some say, when this new RAV4 reaches Japan next year, it could either be hybrid-powered or come with the long-rumored 2.0L turbo 4-cylinder engine. That's a theory, I think. Anyway, I had the time to look around with the new model which you can expect to arrive in Japan next year.







The current-generation Camry. Remember, in Japan, it's available only in hybrid but in most markets, it can either be available in petrol or hybrid. In the Philippines, only the petrol-powered Camry models are available.



Here in Japan, it's called Aqua but in the world market, this is called the Prius C, a hybrid compact car more cheaper and more fuel efficient than the normal Prius.





The third-generation Toyota Previa. Here in Japan, it's called Estima. This generation's been around for a couple of years but I have to say that it's still looking fresh through the years.







The Toyota Alphard luxury MPV. It's one of my favorite MPVs because of its commanding presence and this one's the top model with a 3.5L V6 engine under the hood. It maybe too much on the pricing trends but it's still an ideal executive minivan for the rich and famous.



Oh look! It's DJ Carla!



A Toyota FCV-R concept car on display.









The best of Toyota classics. Sometimes that oldies can be goldies, right? Old-school rules!



Now, let's head over to the Lexus booth!



Now look at that beauty. That's the Lexus LF-LC Concept Car. Looks sexy for a concept car like this, isn't it?





Goodness gracious! Could that be...? It is! It is the Lexus LFA supercar! Let's remember that production ended in December 2012 with the last LFA rolled off the assembly line in white color and in Nurburgring Package. The one in display is a white one, normal one perhaps. But still, I was very pleased to see a Lexus supercar on display.









Revisiting an old friend, the 2013 Lexus GS350 F-Sport. Let's recall that this car went on sale in Japan since January last year while its hybrid equivalent showed up in March 2012. The exact model, the GS350 F-Sport did showed up on XBOX 360's Forza Motorsport 4 via the August Playseat Car Pack. Ah, the memories...





The facelifted 2013MY Lexus LS...







Yes, in The World of Toyota, the all new 2014 Lexus IS was featured, although I'm not quite happy about its new look because...it's too extreme for its own good but this model, the IS350 F-Sport, is probably my pick. In Japan, it's available in 2.5L IS250, the 3.5L IS350, and the hybrid-powered IS300h.





That's the Toyota Century, Asia's only V12-powered executive saloon car used by the Japanese government officials, even those from the Diet. I bet that the Emperor has one.



The Toyota Sports 800. This classic small wonder is famed for its nickname; Yota-Hachi.



The Toyota 2000GT, Japan's first supercar as it claims.












Look at all those racing Toyota machines. Makes my adrenaline pumping hard...



With the biggest and the brightest Toyotas ever featured, I have to say that up until August 18, The World of Toyota has been a phenomenal success for Toyota fans across the Philippines and hey, this is probably the best Toyota-hosted car show I have ever been in ages.

Oh but wait!



You thought I forgot about this, eh? Yes, that's the Toyota 86. This is Toyota's reborn sports car made in collaboration with Subaru. It has a 2.0L boxer engine, 6-speed manual, and rear-wheel drive. Fast fact that to make the 86 less grippy, it's been fitted with skinny tires from a Toyota Prius and the results are sensational. You can be Ken Block in every runabout and you can break traction without breaking the speed limit. The 86 is made by enthusiasts for enthusiasts.

So...um...that pretty much sums it up. That's the end of my cover-up with The World of Toyota. If you've been there, what's your favorite part of The World of Toyota?

OUTTAKES:

Sometimes, taking pictures by myself at The World of Toyota can be a bit rubbish and boring. So I had to mess it up. Don't tell the bookies.







Hyundai Avante/Elantra 2014 minor change

2014 Hyundai Avante

Having been on the block since its arrival in the summer of 2010, the current-generation Hyundai Avante (known globally as the Elantra) has been given a minor facelift via revised bumpers, redesigned lamps, new rear lamps, new 17-inch two-tone alloy wheels and chrome molding on its belt line, and yes, it's 20 mm longer than the 2010-2013MY pre-facelift model.

2014 Hyundai Avante interior

On the interior, see any changes? Well, there's some. You can expect a 3.5-inch OLED display, ventilated seats, and that's it. Also, it's now made even more tech-savvy than ever because not only The New Avante comes with a heavily enhanced version of Smart Parking Assist System (SPAS), but also integrated with Hyundai's BlueLink telematics system that has a nifty feature where your smartphone serves as a carkey where you can open, close, or even start the engine. Clever, isn't it?


2014 Hyundai Avante

Well, you can expect the Gamma 1.6 GDi petrol engine which churns out 140PS of power and fuel economy of 14.0km/L but for the 2014 model, there's now a U2 1.6 VGT diesel engine added and for this one, this produces about 128PS of power, almost 20 less than the petrol equivalent, and promises a fuel economy of 16.2km/L. Not bad for this one.

Oh yeah, Flex Steer is added on the new Avante and for this one, FLEX STEER has three modes labeled ECO, NORMAL, and SPORT, each affects its driving style at the touch of the button.

As for pricing, The New Avante starts at 13,950,000 Korean Won for the entry level model up to 20,900,000 Korean Won for the top-of-the-line model with  the 1.6L VGT diesel engine.

Available colors: Creamy White, Sleek Sliver, Hyper Silver, Stone Blue, Tangerine, Tropical Blue, Brilliant Red, and Phantom Black.

Photo: Hyundai Motor Company