Warranty
The standard warranty offered on the Toyota Veloz is of 3 years or 100,000 km, whichever comes first. While this is not a class-leading warranty on offer, Toyotas are generally known to be impeccably reliable. So, the absence of a short warranty period is not too a big concern.
Toyota Veloz vs the competition
The Toyota Veloz competes with the following three other rugged seven-seater MPVs in the Philippines car market:
Suzuki XL7 – Like the Toyota Veloz, the Suzuki Ertiga is a heavily restyled version of a regular seven-seater MPV, the Ertiga. The XL7 gets a bolder looking grille, front and rear skid plates, body cladding all around, roof rails, 16-inch machined alloy wheels and a different upholstery for the cabin, all of which make it feel like a different vehicle in comparison to the Ertiga. The XL7 is available with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which is available with a 4-speed torque converter and pumps out 103 bhp of maximum power and 138 Nm of maximum torque.
Honda BR-V – The Honda BR-V is existing in the Philippines car market for quite a long time now, though it still is one of the most practical, better-built and reliable seven-seater MPVs one can buy in the country. The BR-V is based on the Mobilio MPV, and like the XL7 and Veloz, comes with heavily-revised front and rear profiles and tweaks to the side profile to give it an SUV-ish appeal. Only one powertrain engine is on offer in the Honda BR-V, which is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine. Coupled with a CVT gearbox as standard, this engine produces 118 bhp of power and 145 Nm of torque, which makes it the most powerful engine in this segment.
Toyota Rush – If you don’t want the Veloz but still want something similar on the lines of it with the reliable backing of the brand Toyota, the Japanese carmaker has one more option in the same space in the form of Rush. The Toyota Rush is a popular and long-running model from Toyota, which offers the practicality of a seven-seater MPV with the modernity and stance of an SUV. The Toyota Rush shares its 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine with the Veloz but gets a 4-speed torque converter as the standard transmission. Here, this engine produces 102 bhp of maximum power and 134 Nm of maximum torque.
Final words
Toyota already has a strong footing in the compact SUV and MPV segment, and the Veloz has arrived just to affirm that leadership in an even stronger fashion. All the visual tweaks it gets over the Avanza in and out are justifiable for the premium positioning and pricing it has over the former.
What works in the favour of the Toyota Veloz is the fact that it offers a more modern and premium appeal over other seven-seater MPVs in its category, without compromising on the traditional virtues of Toyota of offering quality and reliable products. It looks the most striking, feels most premium and well-equipped on the inside and has the most extensive list of safety features including the ADAS, all of which contribute to making the Toyota Veloz the new segment benchmark of the compact seven-seater rugged MPV category.
