Toyota Corolla Thel Higana Edition (Or My Take On An Axio Hybrid)

[terrabytetango]

Disclaimer: I did not want this car. I was perfectly happy with my Vios. I might have thought about getting a second car, but that was it. The car is a 2015 Toyotal Corolla Axio Hybrid, with the face lift.

Okay so with that out of the way, do note I will be comparing the car mostly with my Vios, and also with a 2010 Prius and a 2013 Prius C when comparing the Toyota HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive).

Exterior

'Dat nose tho'. That is the most disruptive front end on a Corolla I have ever seen, bar none. It’s part of Toyota’s new design language, which came to being with the Lexus RX200h and got carried over to Toyota, as made evident by the Kouki Camrys, Axios and Aquas gracing the streets. However, you learn to get used to it, and eventually, from some angles, it even begins to look decent. Apart from that, the only other differences in the exterior are the improved rear lights (they look a lot better) and the introduction of brown as a body colour (not seen on JDMs since the KE7x models I think?), which replaces the beaten-to-death maroon.

Interior

The interior is mostly the same as the Zenki version, however, the dashboard can only be had in black now, plus the side a/c registers have been replaced with old school twist center twist type ones. There are also vents under the rear seats pointed at the rear passengers' feet, a la BMW X1 style. The sears on mine were beige, which is the apparently the "in" thing these days, god knows why, because they get stained if you even look at them for too long. I also like (and prefer) the regular (gated) shifter from the Aqua/Prius C rather than the center return in the Prius and Hondas. Oh and a thing of note; the B gear is the Toyota HSD equivalent of a Jake Brake which I find fascinating, and also very useful when climbing down inclines. The colour LCD is unobtrusive and offset to the right, and there’s also a tachometer, why I don’t know, since the left pedal is not connected to the engine in any way, but if I were to fathom a guess, it would be to keep the car as “normal” looking as possible. In fact, if I were to remove the hybrid emblems on the sides and replace the rear HSD emblem with a Start/Stop emblem, no one would know it was a hybrid.

Bells and whistles

The car has nearly every option box ticked, with the exception of LED head lamps, alloys and heated seats (don’t need them anyway). The dealer fitted alloys which actually look a good deal better than stock, and I don’t really mind the halogen head lamps. The car has Toyota’s new Safety Sense C system, which comprise of a trio of safety systems

- Pre-collision warning

- Lane Departure Alert

- Auto High Beams

I’ve got the latter two switched off, but I do use the pre-collision warning, because it also tell me when the car in front of me has moved off, which is useful for when I’ve got my nose buried in my phone sitting in traffic.

Apart from that, it’s got basically got all the features of the current Allion/Premio, i.e. all auto windows, rear wiper, auto headlights, climate control, adjustable driver’s seat height etc.

Driving and comfort

Omfg, the steering. I used to think light steering was the bomb, with the few times I’d driven other hybrids, but eff me if the electric steering in the Axio Hybrid isn’t the numbest steering system on the planet. I can turn the wheel with my pinky, effortlessly. There is absolutely no feedback, at ALL; it gives zero indication as to what surface the wheels are on. I can be doing 80, and have no clue kind of road I’m on; the tire hum gives me more feedback than the steering wheel. The suspension is plush, but I have no lack of confidence when throwing the car into a corner, it remains planted on the road pretty well. It does dive during hard braking, something the Vios simply did not do; I would stand on the brake pedal and it would merely stop on a dime, flat and completely composed. The Corolla actually stops better, but it does so with ass in the air.

Hybrid performance

I usually drive in ECO mode, mostly because the car defaults to that if it is not driven for a few hours, and I can’t be arsed to press the ECO mode button all the time. The car has “only” 99hp combined, even though the engine is good for 74hp and the motor is capable of 40hp on it’s own. Clearly things have been over engineered in this case. Acceleration isn’t blinding, but pick up from a standstill with ECO mode off is clearly better than the Vios (thanks to all that low down torque from the motor). It’s clear even during hard acceleration the car is not struggling, and that it can do better. I assume they’ve tuned the firmware on the eCVT to keep engine stress down to the very bare minimum. Speaking of eCVT, the car has no gearbox; just two motors (one is used mostly as a generator) sitting between the engine and the wheels. The transition from EV to ICE and vice versa is much better, and quicker than a 2010 Prius. When the ICE comes on, it feels like VTEC just kicked. I often find myself looking at the tacho to see if the ICE is on or not, because road noise easily overcomes the engine noise when travelling at 40km/h and above. The EV mode is good for accelerating up to 60km/h or so, and I’ve managed to sustain as much as 70km/h on a flat gradient for brief periods of time. Driving in EV mode is a sublime experience, and I doubt I could ever go back to a regular ICE powered car unless it was an uber quiet euro. That fact also makes me yearn to own a LEAF, and I’m already working towards obtaining one by mid of next year.

“Aiye, meka thel karanne kiyak witharada?”

I managed to do 672kms on the first full tank. The journey consisted of mostly 100km/h+ speeds on the way to, and around, southern Sri Lanka. The average Colombo run is between 18kmpl to 20kmpl (paying attention to the real time gauge is pointless), with a maximum of 23kmpl reached during the trip mentioned above. I’ve posted a photo of the current stats, and you can see from the average speed I’m not exaggerating.

So to wrap things up, I’m more or less satisfied with the car. I certainly like the fact that there aren’t many brown Axios out there yet (I see maybe one every two days). Without going into a tirade, I’ll say that I enjoy not wasting as much fuel as I used to for the past 15 odd years I’ve been legally driving. It has always been something that was on my mind while tolerating the grind from the Kotte area to Borella, and I’ve often thought that a hybrid would be ideal for this situation as it assuages my “waste not want not” mantra. And if certain detractors still believe that I bought this car to save on money (which many people do and I find absolutely nothing wrong with that), but I’m being all suave about it; I’ve got a fuel allowance which more than covered the fueling costs of my Vios while I had it, i.e. I spend 0 rupees on fuel out of hand and have enough left over to pamper the car with Modellista bits and bobs (coming soon).

Edited November 14, 2015 by terrabytetango

[Magnum]

I have heard its not healthy for the car to drive it in EV mode most of the time cuz it puts more strain on the hybrid battery, I'm not sure how true this is

and those Modellista accessories you are planning to get, are they from Japan or Taiwan?

[tiv]

Nice review, The Leaf too has that brake dive, I must mention

To be frank I kinda think they made the axio look better than the pre face lift edition, and with your colour, it must be looking good.

Only thing I find annoying is the tiny wheels they come stock with, would look much better with a decent rim size

And I guess u have fogs OEM, coz that bumper looks weird with the blinds / inserts otherwise

Edited November 14, 2015 by tiv

[terrabytetango]

They HV battery has quite a few safety barriers, the least of which not being the fact that the battery is never allowed to discharge below 40% nor charge over 80%. The cells need regular cycling to maintain their health, which means regular discharges are a must. The car itself never charges the battery beyond 40%, the remainder, up to 60% is done through motor regeneration (coasting/braking). the remaining 20% is a buffer for when climbing down steep inclines. I have yet to fill this bit.

The Modellista bits I'm planning on getting from Japan, I wasn't aware I could get them from Taiwan.

[terrabytetango]

Nice review, The Leaf too has that brake dive, I must mention

To be frank I kinda think they made the axio look better than the pre face lift edition, and with your colour, it must be looking good.

Only thing I find annoying is the tiny wheels they come stock with, would look much better with a decent rim size

And I guess u have fogs OEM, coz that bumper looks weird with the blinds / inserts otherwise

This is the only picture I have of the front. I'll take a couple more to post once I'm at the flying field tomorrow.

[Schiffer]

Slightly OT About the bells and whistles part..

for everyones knowladge. you can identify a Aqua or a Axio with LED heads by the color of the headlights

if it has a Black casting its LED if its a Chorme casing its Halogen.

Halogen Headlight

LED Headlight

[terrabytetango]

The Axio headlights are all chrome, there is no smoked option. I checked out both models, but the LED one was sold by the time I got funding sorted out. The LED headlights' projector is slightly hexagonal in shape, smaller, and missing the headlamp reflector, which the halogen headlights have (projector dipped lights, reflector main beams).

Edited November 14, 2015 by terrabytetango

[Schiffer]

The Axio headlights are all chrome, there is no smoked option. I checked out both models, but the LED one was sold by the time I got funding sorted out. The LED headlights' projector is slightly hexagonal in shape, smaller, and missing the headlamp reflector, which the halogen headlights have (projector dipped lights, reflector main beams).

almost all LED axio's i have come across has that black inner casing (not a smoke) same goes for the Aqua

and yes the LED bulbs projector is Hexagonal

Edit -

Halogen:

LED:

Edited November 14, 2015 by Schiffer

[Magnum]

They HV battery has quite a few safety barriers, the least of which not being the fact that the battery is never allowed to discharge below 40% nor charge over 80%. The cells need regular cycling to maintain their health, which means regular discharges are a must. The car itself never charges the battery beyond 40%, the remainder, up to 60% is done through motor regeneration (coasting/braking). the remaining 20% is a buffer for when climbing down steep inclines. I have yet to fill this bit.

The Modellista bits I'm planning on getting from Japan, I wasn't aware I could get them from Taiwan.

My friend wanted a front lip like I have on my Hiace which is from Modellista(Japan), we looked around in shops and all of them had the Taiwan made one only. It's much cheaper than the original Japan made one but of course the quality wasn't the same but it's not immediately noticeable apart from the fact that the Modellista emblem is missing. I'm not sure if there are Taiwan made ones for Axio.

This is the only picture I have of the front. I'll take a couple more to post once I'm at the flying field tomorrow.

Looks your car has those chrome linings added on the bumper grill.

[The Stig]

Nice review, The Leaf too has that brake dive, I must mention

To be frank I kinda think they made the axio look better than the pre face lift edition, and with your colour, it must be looking good.

Only thing I find annoying is the tiny wheels they come stock with, would look much better with a decent rim size

And I guess u have fogs OEM, coz that bumper looks weird with the blinds / inserts otherwise

The brake dive is a result of soft suspension on most jap cars. I recon there is plenty of body roll as well

[terrabytetango]

My friend wanted a front lip like I have on my Hiace which is from Modellista(Japan), we looked around in shops and all of them had the Taiwan made one only. It's much cheaper than the original Japan made one but of course the quality wasn't the same but it's not immediately noticeable apart from the fact that the Modellista emblem is missing. I'm not sure if there are Taiwan made ones for Axio.

Looks your car has those chrome linings added on the bumper grill.

They're actually matte silver. I wish they were chrome though, because then they'd align with the grille so well, but the silver too has great contrast with the darker body colour. If you're up to it, let's team up and order the Modellista parts together. I'm planning on getting the alternate grille, mirror garnishes and the door mouldings initially.

[terrabytetango]

almost all LED axio's i have come across has that black inner casing (not a smoke) same goes for the Aqua

and yes the LED bulbs projector is Hexagonal

Edit -

Halogen:

LED:

I never noticed this with the LED Axio I took a look at. Perhaps the reflections from the lens made it appear less apparent. Or maybe I was just too upset at having missed out on the deal by a matter of hours.

[tiv]

The brake dive is a result of soft suspension on most jap cars. I recon there is plenty of body roll as well

Yea I guess, the leaf suspension atleast in mine ain't that soft (17" rims) and there s near zero body roll,

thats why that brake dive hits you like a train all of a sudden!

almost all LED axio's i have come across has that black inner casing (not a smoke) same goes for the Aqua

and yes the LED bulbs projector is Hexagonal

Edit -

Halogen:

LED:

Been doing a few night commutes (12-20km) lately

and To be frank I absolutely hate the LED lighting on the leaf now, its mostly too bright, pissing off the oncoming, causing glare all over

and that atrocious blue hue, somewhere in between 7000-8000K (definitely not 6000K) doesn't do it for me,

Also as the lights are on top of the hood, it shoots the thing far and high, at the oncoming

and fails to clearly illuminate nearby stuff such as stones and potholes, they are adjustable, but this is at the lowest setting.

By some luck it has halogens for fogs, which turn on time to time when I can't bear it anymore.

This does fix the issue, but I don't want to keep them on like those noobs we see with all lights on nowadays

High end halogens and OEM Hids are far better on the eyes, in my other cars,

I've noticed the Toyota Leds have a warmer colour

Edited November 15, 2015 by tiv

[tiv]

This is the only picture I have of the front. I'll take a couple more to post once I'm at the flying field tomorrow.

and thats a good looking car! congrats

[Schiffer]

I never noticed this with the LED Axio I took a look at. Perhaps the reflections from the lens made it appear less apparent. Or maybe I was just too upset at having missed out on the deal by a matter of hours.

Lol, its a small difference, but the easiest way to find out whether it has factory fitted LED's

Also i HATE saying this..

At least the Brown Version. the looks are starting to grow on me. Also a fan of the side mirrors mounted to the door

Edited November 15, 2015 by Schiffer

[Schiffer]

Double Post

Edited November 15, 2015 by Schiffer

[Schiffer]

Double Post

[Magnum]

They're actually matte silver. I wish they were chrome though, because then they'd align with the grille so well, but the silver too has great contrast with the darker body colour. If you're up to it, let's team up and order the Modellista parts together. I'm planning on getting the alternate grille, mirror garnishes and the door mouldings initially.

Is that silver grill optional?

My Hiace already has the Modellista lip, its my friend who wants one.

[terrabytetango]

Is that silver grill optional?

My Hiace already has the Modellista lip, its my friend who wants one.

The silver cow catcher bumper grille is optional from Toyota itself. Modellista has a differently styled upper grille which comes in two colours. The car on the left has all the bits I need with the exception of the wheels; those are on the white one.

Edited November 16, 2015 by terrabytetango

[Davy]

Nice to see all these first hand reviews on the forum. Love reading 'em!

The steering being super light was also seen from the 141 Corolla if I'm not mistaken. The first time I drove one (maybe in 2011 or so), I was truly surprised of how light that steering was. I personally like to feel the road through the steering a bit though.

[Ruslan]

Nice to see all these first hand reviews on the forum. Love reading 'em!

The steering being super light was also seen from the 141 Corolla if I'm not mistaken. The first time I drove one (maybe in 2011 or so), I was truly surprised of how light that steering was. I personally like to feel the road through the steering a bit though.

Yep, Same with 260 Premios and Allions, count me in too, hate that empty feeling when driving EPS equipped cars, feels bit disconnected.

[Magnum]

Whats that auto button?
Auto high beam?

[Ganu88]

Yes. But it dont put on high beam just as the opposite side vehicle pass you as expected. maybe all the street lights throwing the system off.

Whats that auto button?
Auto high beam?

[terrabytetango]

Whats that auto button?

Auto high beam?

[img=http://picture1.goo-net.com/080/0800022/J/0800022A30151109W00218.jpg]

Yes, it works only when the road is dark. Quite useful when drivint out of town on B roads.

[Magnum]

Yes, it works only when the road is dark. Quite useful when drivint out of town on B roads.

Do you leave this on?