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any Indonesians with large family ties choose a spacious yet affordable family car, making the Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) the most sought after cars in the country with around 42 percent of market share.

Being relatively affordable and spacious cars, the Toyota Avanza and its counterpart the Daihatsu Xenia have enjoyed great popularity since their first launch in 2004 with around one million of each type sold so far.

Families with a preference for an MPV can now look at the redesigned cars almost seven years after their first launch. They are now dubbed the All New Avanza and All New Xenia.

Marketing director of TAM Joko Trisanyoto said the Avanza is intended to cater to the growing demand for family cars, while the All New Avanza Veloz is expected to serve a wider and higher market.

“We understand that some people want to show themselves off, so we offer the Veloz, which is sportier and seems to say ‘choose me’,” he said.

The All New Avanza comes in a variety of models, starting with the type 1.3 E with five speed manual and four-speed automatic transmission, the type 1.3 G with manual and automatic transmission and the new type 1.5 G with five-speed manual transmission respectively.

Top of the range is the Veloz, which derives its name from “velocity”. Veloz, which uses DOHC VVT-I technology, has an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), which gives a higher level of safety compared to other variants. The 1,495 cc engine delivers a maximum power of 104 PS at 6,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) and 13.0 kgm of torque per 4,400 rpm.

The journey to Padang started early as we took the first flight to Minangkabau International Airport. The conventional Avanzas took some 30 journalists from their homes to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. During the two-day trip, The Jakarta Post and two other journalists tried the All New Avanza 1.3G with automatic transmission and the All New Avanza Veloz with manual transmission.

On the first day of the test drive, we took a long route from Padang to Lembah Harau in Payakumbuh, passing Lembah Anai waterfall and Bukittinggi. The first impression one gets when driving this new car is of better suspension, thanks to some adjustments to the MacPherson Struts suspension and the rear-coil-spring suspension system.

Unlike the old Avanza, the suspension in the new ride is more comfortable and less bumpy even in a car loaded with only two or four people. The spring upper insulator also makes for a quieter cabin. Unfortunately, the small roads in Padang and the traffic did not allow us to try out the car at speed.

The exterior redesign in the All New Avanza may not be immediately apparent, but on closer inspection the All New Avanza 1.5, for example, has a new alloy wheel design, which is more elegant, new door handles, new integrated audio, new rear parking sensors with reflectors and a new chrome radiator grille.

Some features in the interior are more remarkable. It has new molded roof headlining with integrated rear-blower air conditioning, which allows passengers on the second and third row seats to enjoy better air circulation. Other changes in the interior include power locking with newly designed handles, new combination digital LCD meters, bottle-holders on the door and multi storage next to the transmission.

The new sliding seat and one-touch tumble feature allows the second-row seats to slide backwards and be folded. The new tilt steering is complete with electric power-steering, which makes for more comfortable maneuvering and better fuel-efficiency.

On the second day of the test drive, we departed from The Hills hotel in Bukittinggi to Pangeran Beach hotel in Padang. When we finally drove the Veloz, we all breathed a sigh of relief to find the USB hub and aux in feature. This feature, which did not exist in the three other variants, allowed us to connect our iPods so we didn’t need to bring CDs.

The All New Avanza variants have two shades of cream and black in their interior except for the Veloz, which has sporty and elegant black and silver nuances to its interior. The ABS, audio feature and interior design deservedly makes the Veloz the star of the All New Avanza range.

The new babies from Toyota and Daihatsu will be a challenge to all other manufacturers targeting the MPV market.

— Indah Setiawati