2005 Toyota Altis review from Malaysia

The car has not let me down, but it is one of the most uncomfortable cars I have driven.

The accelerator pedal position is so awkward that my foot is always at an an acute angle, which has given me a constant sprain in the ankle.

I am comparing the pedal position with my previous car, Honda Civic, which was a dream to drive.

The Civic's seat position vis-a-vis the steering and the foot pedals was perfect, which cannot be said for Toyota. If I push back the seat to make my legs comfortable I end up having to stretch to reach the steering.

While coasting downhill at 70 kmph, a touch on the brake pedal suddenly drops the revs by 1,000 units, the car jerks to a lower gear and takes an interminably long time to move back up into higher gear before the ride smoothens.

Altis also falls short in the fuel consumption department when compared to Civic, both in city and highway driving. I used to get about 14 kilometers to a liter on highways on the Civic, but only 11 or maximum 12 with Altis. City consumption is far higher -- 10 kmpl on Civic and barely 9 kmpl in city.

The interior is extremely noisy, allowing street sounds to filter in. At above 100 kmph, the tyres (Goodyear) make an awful racket.

The MP3 sound system is excellent though.

Finally, the 1.8 liter engine is nowhere near the power of Civic's 1.7 VTEC engine.