Comments: 1-15, 16-27
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.
This great forum had unfortunately become a battle ground for UMW-Toyota sales persons vs Honda Malaysia sales persons. Come on! How can any of these be a dream to drive? They are just a cheaper alternative for the poor Malaysians being exploited by their Government for the benefits of the dwarfed and handicapped Proton.
I am being very honest with you guys, if I have the money, I would definitely not look at any of these Japanese cars. I would only drive Continental or American cars. My old Peugeot though not a dream to drive, it certainly drives much better than my siblings' new Honda or Toyota. It's just that it is getting old... the money-sucker and corrupted government...
Nice.
And that IF they have money to buy european or american cars. IF they have the money and IF they can afford it.
Greetings.
I just want to give some advice on the problem of the gear shifting itself during braking on a downslope. I drive a toyota with a Super ECT too, and apparently this is a safety feature! This super ect actually helps you activate engine brake when you travel downhill at highway speeds, which means from 4th gear it will shift to 3rd gear and engage torque converter, thus assisting you in braking. It only activates if you hit the brakes at high speed on a downslope. Unfortunately, sometimes even a light touch of the brake pedal will trigger the engine brake and give you the unwanted engine brake. But yeah brother, just to let you know in case an emergency brake is needed at high speed, this could save your life!
Just my 2 cents worth.
Hi guy, my appreciation to share this "engine brake" feature. I am sure not many of us realize this. One day, I need to try this out in Genting Highland.
Thanks Pal.
Has anyone tested (Altis 1.8G) what is the maximum speed on the highway? Also, need to know has anyone drove up to genting Highland and/or Cameron highland? What is the performance like?
Drove up to Cameron Highlands once with my 1.8 Altis. Use old roads up and new roads down. Certainly better than my previous 1.6 Waja.
Max. speed for altis 1.8, I have tried - touched 170km/h with still more to go. Friend claimed he hit 190km/h and another friend's friend 200km/h. Hill climb to Cameron, switch off ECT, need only downshift gear to 3 when necessary, enough to cruise up.
Good forum.
Fuel consumption : 15km/liter on highway and 18.3km/liter on city ride. Top speed : 190km/h in my record, I think it can go up to 200-210km/h. Car is still stable at 190km/h based on my real experience.
My Altis 1.8L is 5 months old.
I own a 2005 Altis 1.5G (A), I can understand why the original poster had a sprain ankle while pushing the paddle. Here's some suggesstions for you as the Altis seating height is designed for hip-point ease and it is definitely excellent for a tall guy with at least 5'5"...so in your case, try to lower your seat, move away a bit from the dashboard, it'll ease your ankle, but be careful if you are short as you may find yourself a bit away from the windscreen, tall guys shouldn't have any problems. I totally agree with you, the Altis seat is something that you need to get used to...I'm 5'7"...still today I'm adjusting the seats to get to near perfect/comfortable seating for myself...however...I really appreciate the hip-point height of the seats... ease a lot on waist!
I find that Toyota no more makes cars with reliable parts. Nowadays, Toyota will source from low cost manufacturing countries, thus output of parts are of poor quality. Do you believe a Toyota Altis doing 30,000km on the clock, facing both sides drive-shaft noise, furthermore UMW has no parts in stock. I wonder what stock did UMW keep ? Hoses that turn colour from Black to Grey in 8-10 months.
I owned an Altis 1.8L 5 months ago. I like the car in terms of performance. However, I have started facing some problem. Last week, I sent my car for routine service, I told the service center that the right side at the back of the car suspension has cranking sound when the car across the road bump. During the service, I was invited to seat inside the car. The foreman acknowledged the sound and told me it could be the back seat cushion. He dismantled the whole cushion and put back again, then hand over the car to me. But, the sound doesn't go away. I am not sure what else can they do apart from normal routine service. I am really disappointed and doubted about their ability to do major repair. Another problem is, the air filtering system is bad. Has anyone have such problems? Kindly share with us.
Hey!
With regards to your question on the air-con. If the car is made in Thailand compared to the Japanese made. There is no filter in the air-con, thus giving you a smell after awhile. If you are to add a filter to the air-con, it is going to cause to abit of $$ and also a need to cut under the dashboard. I got this information from Toyota Singapore.
Oh...my god!! I need to cut the dashboard in order to install air filter? This is really ridiculous of why Toyota did not consider this into the design? The filter practically does not cost much money... what a let down!!
My altis is way too good no complaints, and I have touch 210kmphs on high way, a friend of mine said he did full meter 3 times.
My experience was touching 200km/hour on highway. However, it certainly can go beyond 200km/hr as I have not step on full pedal. I had done this when my Altis was at 5600km mileage, brand new virgin car! After ramp up to such condition for numerous times, the engine still good and never deteoriorated, in contrast to someone said a new car shouldn't run in such condition if it is less than 10,000km run.
In China, there are 2 cases reported officially. Honda Accord and Nissan car body was broken into 2 pieces after an accident. Never heard of Toyota car landed in such condition.
I love my Altis. This is the best car that I have drove in my life due to I am still cannot afford a BMW.