kush

I have run my cars with 90 & 95 (Corolla 141, Lancer Ex 1.5, Suzuki Swift 1.2) and have not seen a significant difference in performance or economy although technically there could be a difference. Most of the modern car ECU and adjust the ignition to compensate the knocking. However some Euro cars are designed for 98 octane so they may not be able handle 90 octane.

Swift Sports is designed as a sports car 1.6 (125 bhp), Vitz RS 1.3 only (90 or 100 bhp) is a mere cosmetic exercise. If you want performance and cannot live without a Toyota badge go and find a Vitz RS 1.5 (110 bhp) or a Euro Yaris RS 1.8L (130 bhp, I’m yet to see one in SL) However I must warn you Swift has 17 inch wheels with very low profile tires and stiff suspension so the ride unless on a smooth carpet road (non existence in Western province SL). I have seen Swift Sports crawling in poor roads may be to save their spine. Go for a good test drive on a poor road and see whether you could live with the ride. Why don’t you consider the Swift 1.2 (90 bhp) with a manual shift (there are few available) with the Aero kit. It might not go like the Sport but will be fun to drive, more practical as a day to day car, better on fuel and save about Rs. 500-700k in the process. Happy hunting

In my opinion Allions are over priced at 3.5 Mn. 8-9 years old, most of them have doubtful history / mileage. 141 is good value at 3.5 Mn. as long as you buy a low mileage one and most of them will have service history so you will be able to verify them. Compared to 141, Allion is a car from the higher grade so you will have more options like climate control a/c maybe better audio and is more comfortable and better to drive than the 141. I have a 141 which does around 8-9 city 12-14 outstation, Allion does little better according to friends who own them. Mazda will be a nice car to drive but you will have a time at the time of resale.

No issues, mixed petrol will have the average octane. i.e 50:50 will have a octane rating of 92.5 But remember the octane 90 or 95 is also an average rating, 90 octane might be in the range of say 87-92 and 95, 92-97.

These are economy cars so the price matters Viva 1.6M for the auto, 1.85M for auto with air bags/ ABS is it worth the premium of over 350-600k.

As far as I know 660cc is a Japan only. Global car has 1.0 L K10 engine. The point I’m trying to drive at is the reliability of the gear box. And for the comparison why don’t you compare bit more modern versions like Belta and Vios rather than living in 80s. From what I know Toyota Soluna was not an unreliable car. Most of the manufacturing / assembly plants are now directly owned by the car companies and not mere assembly operations under license. Quality of workmanship has improved over the years as people like you and I demand them.

I don't see why a "TOYOTA" manuafactured by Toyota Motor Corporation in China should be less reliable. From what I know the A-Star auto gear box is manufacuted in Japan and not India hence the huge premium for the Auto box

Dude, I don’t think Maruti has reinvented the auto box, remember Maruti is owned by Suzuki and to my knowledge A – Star is manufactured in India for worldwide distribution. Only difference will be cars imported here will have different features and trim than that of European counterparts. My B’in law has a Viva Elite and is overall a good car considering the price. My advice take a hard look at both cars and decide based on your requirements and the premium price on the A-Star

Dude, it might be caused by your air recycle mode swithing on/off. This happens automatically in 121 if the a/c is in full auto. Swith a/c to manual and swith on recycle swith on and see.

Nope, I had a CS1 1.3 2002 which was extreamly reliable,only, front struts were replaced for 100k Repaced the EX 1.5 auto, just on the looks, yes i agree with da speed it is not slow i've done 160 without any issues, you dont get mind blowing acceleration and gear box is not very responsive for kick downs. Apart from da throttle body issue others are my personal experiances in first 3 years (25,000km),they are common issues with this model.

My former car was a Lancer Ex 1.5 GLS (Auto) Pros: Excellent Ground clearance, 5up full load in the boot no issues. Fuel economy regular Colombo traffic 9-10 km/l, outstation 12-15 km/l with a really hard right foot, (same route my other cars does Swift 1.2L 9-10, Corolla 141 1.6L 8-9) Decent handling, better than 141, I have not driven the FD1, being a Honda it might be better. Good interior room. Good looks, more options if you opt for the GLS. Cons: Not very reliable, issues with ABS sensors, radiator cooling fan, carbon in throttle body are common. Will be difficult to sell, on the plus side you could get a bargain if you are buying second hand, probably 300-500k less than the FD1 Car is under powered 105 bhp Vs 125 bhp on FD1 1.6L, however lower gearing compensate in city/ urban driving. Boot space mediocre due to full size spare wheel, if this is a concern.

This is a list of hybrid users i found, i'm sure they have no problems finding love Here's an unofficial, unverified, and incomplete list of actors, singers, and pundits who were early adopters of hybrids. Alexandra Paul Alicia Silverstone Dr. Andrew Weil Arianna Huffington Bill Maher Billy Crystal Billy Joel Brad Pitt Cameron Diaz David Duchovny David Hyde Pierce Donna Mills Donny Osmond Ed Begley Ellen DeGeneres Ewan McGregor Hart Bochner Harrison Ford Jack Black Jack Nicholson Larry David Kevin Bacon Kirk Douglas Kurt Russell Leonardo DiCaprio Dr. Oliver Sacks Patricia Arquette Prince Charles Rob Reiner Robin Williams Salma Hayek Susan Sarandon Tim Robbins Ted Danson Tom Hanks Woody Harrelson Will Ferrell

Agreed, i said "Best Selling" not "Best".

I rest my case

35 million people cannot go wrong, it is the bestselling car in the automotive history, surpassing Ford model –T, VW beetle, VW Golf. I have owned 4 Toyotas since 1994 covered over 300k km on them and they have never let me down. For the excitement you could always have flings with Euros and go back home for your reliable Toyota.

Yes after 2000, 3C was offered in JDM Toyotas, (Corolla, Sprinter, Carina, Corona) However this engine was never offered to SL because of the engine capacity restrictions of concessionary permits on which most of the cars were imported. As far as I know 141 was never offered with 3C anywhere in the world, it is offered with newer diesel engines in other countries. In India they are offering 4-D4 1.4L common rail turbo diesel which has bit more power. As for the 3C 141 you saw, I have my doubts, it could be a conversion better check with the agent.

Dude you have got yourself confused, 141D in SL comes with 2C EFI engine which has meager 74 bhp. Yes JDM Toyotas were offered with the 3C engine which is 2.2 L, in SL 2C was offered as that was the max engine size allowed on the lower category of the concessionary permits for government servants in 2007. 3C engine was never offered in the 141 however it was offered in 121 (Japan Only) I know these facts because I negotiated with Toyota Lanka to get down a 141 on my Mom’s permit and was offered a car in their first shipment of 141’s. (Did not opt for the Diesel because of the low power 74 bhp Manual shift, and the ancient 2C engine which was offered) I have driven the 141D and believe me it is SLOW.

141 Diesel comes with a 2000 cc (2C) engine which dates back to 1990, however given the simplicity of the engine the car will be easier/ cheaper maintain than any other modern diesel which needs high quality low sulfur diesel fuel which is not available in Sri Lanka (even the so called super diesel partly meets the requirement of modern diesel engines) If taken care the engine should last more than 200-250k without any trouble (personal experience with a CE100/ CE196) Good buy if you can live with the mediocre power (bloody slow) and the manual gear box. However do not pay anything over 4.5 Mn. (you could buy the much better petrol with auto for around 3.5 Mn., there are plenty around) not worth unless you are covering more than 20-30K annually. Toyota did not offer auto in this car, maybe there is not enough power to pull off from stand still.

Extracts from http://www.police.lk/index.php/traffic-police/55 FAQ Question : 15. I have tinted glass fitted into my vehicle. Is it a offence? Answer: Use of tinted glass are appended in Government Gazette 875/08 on 16.06.1995 and Gazette Number 1273/28 on 31.01,2003. If windscreen and the two shutters besides the driver are tinted It is an a offence. However 20% tinted glass could be used only on the top portion of the windscreen I guess rear tint is ok, get the copy of the Gazette and keep in the car if your rears are tint, the moment the cop knows that you know about the law they generally retreat.

Glen Shipping or Trico might ship it for you. You will have to contact them first and arrange to get the stuff delivered to their ware house. Shipping chargers could be paid in SL on delivery. There will be customs duty when it is cleared, they are bit tough on vehicle parts.

Can you imagine there are 2-3 year old hybrid vehicles with less than 10-20k on the clock, who in right mind would buy a hybrid at a premium price and keep it at home.

Indian swift with a boot, they ruined the beautiful contours of the Swift. People in this part of the worl think that a boot ads status for the car hence all the manufactures now make ugly saloon cars out of good looking hatch backs. Eg: Honda fit Aria, Suzuki Swift Dezire, Ford Forcus, Mazda 2

Lancer CS is a good car, i had a 2002 1.3 GLX (CS1)which i used for 4 years (2004-2008), 90,000 km. I only replaced the front shocks with KYB at 35,000 km. Being a manual it was giving me 9-10 km/l in Colombo and 12-14 km/l outstation. CS2 i think is 1.6 and CS3 is 1.8 which is very rare in SL Go for the brand new imported ones as they have non GDI engines. GL will be the basic trim and the GLX the higher trim, even the later GL came with power windows and stuff. Some of the vehicles were given on hire purchase so they might not be looked after well, i suggest you go for a personally used vehicle with good proper history. Only down side would be that it would be a very diffcult to sell when you want to dispose, make it a advantage and try to get a good deal. Happy hunting

Lousy service, my uncle bought a Rhino SUV had so many issues including engine trouble had to toe the vehicle from Buttala. He was with out a vehicle for one month, I would stay away from anything from Micro

I have a 2007 (Dec) Swift ZC71S which is going around 2.8 Mn. unregistered. Have all the goodies like climate control, audio controls in the steering, keyless operation. It got new K series engine K12B which is dual VVTI with 92 BHP (Good power for a 1.242L) This is the engine you get in 2011 new generation. It has better power to weight than the IST 2004 and has very nimble hadling and is a joy to drive. Keep the CVT in sport mode and the engine can be revved up to 6000 redline if you want bit of fun. Keep it in D you are just using only 2000 at 80 kmph very relaxing and economical in long distance. I get 9-10 in colombo (morning - evening Parliment road),14-16 out station driving without any consideration to saving fuel, so i guess it could be better with bit of light right foot. Only down side i can think of is rear space and boot space if it is a consideration. Besides it is always better to go for a 3 year old unregisterd rather than a 8 year old.