Earlier this week, Toyota launched the second-generation Aqua – higher recognized to you and me because the Prius c – in its dwelling market of Japan. The brand new mannequin encompasses a extra highly effective three-cylinder hybrid powertrain, a higher-capacity bipolar battery and the newest TNGA-B platform.
The Aqua sits alongside the similarly-sized Yaris (which is out there with the identical hybrid engine, by the way in which) in Toyota’s Japanese lineup, and Photoshop wizard Theophilus Chin stated he truly most well-liked the appears of the previous. That acquired him to pondering – what would a Vios sedan appear like if it was based mostly on the Aqua as a substitute of the ASEAN-market Yaris like it’s presently?
This brings us to the renders that you simply see right here, which reimagines the hatchback in a sedan kind issue. The automotive’s distinctive entrance finish stays, with slim LED headlights and a big decrease grille with a silver U-shaped body. The similarities proceed as much as the B-pillar, after which the upswept C-pillar crease has been ditched in favour of a extra typical downwards-sloping window line and rear windscreen.
On the rear, Theo has added a brief tail with full-width taillights which might be changing into an business development, whereas retaining the Aqua’s body-coloured diffuser framed by a black strip. For reference, we’ve additionally included renders of the Vios based mostly on the Japanese-market Yaris, already featured beforehand, as reference.
Each renders present vastly completely different approaches to the sedan components, which is anticipated given the divergent design philosophies of the Aqua and Yaris – one being calmer and extra reductive by way of surfacing, the opposite sportier and extra dynamic. The query is, which one is extra more likely to grow to be a actuality?
Sadly for individuals who favor the Aqua, these latest renderings are a flight of fancy on Theo’s half. To start with, manufacturing of the hatch is more likely to stay unique to Japan, whereas the Vios is assembled in varied elements of Southeast Asia, together with Malaysia. This instantly guidelines out an Aqua-based sedan ever being supplied right here, because the Vios is mostly aimed toward extra price-sensitive markets.
The Aqua can also be anticipated to grow to be a Japan-only car in its second era. The Prius c has been discontinued in lots of markets as increasingly more bread-and-butter Toyota fashions achieve a hybrid possibility – making a standalone petrol-electric mannequin an more and more irrelevant product.
That is significantly true within the ASEAN area, which is pushing for elevated hybrid and electrical car manufacturing. In Thailand, Toyota gives a variety of locally-produced hybrid fashions, with the Corolla Altis, CH-R, Corolla Cross and Camry all out there with the choice. The corporate can also be gearing up for hybrid car meeting in Malaysia, with the Corolla Cross Hybrid more likely to be the primary mannequin.
A Vios based mostly on the Japanese-market Yaris is a extra doubtless chance, as increasingly more fashions transfer over to the Toyota New International Structure (TNGA) and Toyota continues to affect its international lineup to cut back its carbon footprint. Provided that the present Vios (and ASEAN Yaris) has solely simply been facelifted, nevertheless, it’ll doubtless proceed to be on sale for some time but.
GALLERY: 2021 Toyota Aqua
