It seems like yesterday when Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) pulled the covers off the locally-made 4th generation Vios subcompact sedan. But time flew by so fast that it felt the need to refresh the still relatively new model. This led to the recent Philippine debut of the face-lifted Vios, which is slated for the 2021 model year.
Firstly, let it be clear that the changes Toyota has made to its best-selling small car is on the minimal side, but as per what’s seen on the online launch and the photos given to us, these minute changes did make the car stand out from the lot.
Externally, TMP headlines the Vios with a redesigned fascia. It’s got a sharper-looking grille that enhances the knife-like design of the headlights, which, by the way, now sport daytime running lights to help oncoming traffic and pedestrians see it better at all times.
Below the bumper is a bigger air intake, flanked with redesigned fog light housings. No changed have been made on the sides, but the rear end does have a pair of slightly-redesigned tail lights to complete the look.
To this author, the 2021 Toyota Vios could look all the more wicked when fitted with some badass racing body kit and other mods from TRD. But sadly, TMP clarified that it will not make this a Vios Circuit Championship machine come next year's season. The reason being is that all of last year's active teams and drivers who plan to continue racing next year have spent considable amount of money and effort to avail the pre-facelift model to be turned into racing machines. It would be impractical to replace those cars in such a short amount of time, just to highlight this new one which is essentially the same kind as what they already have.
