Toyota’s new Corolla Verso compact MPV marks an important step in the company’s assault on the European passenger car market. It was rolled out to the European media in Spain last week and is the company’s fourth ‘core model’ in its European line-up (the other three core models being Yaris, Corolla and Avensis).
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Toyota is expecting to sell around 100,000 units a year, more than twice the level of the outgoing Corolla Verso model.
The new generation Corolla Verso was designed and developed at Toyota’s European design studio in the south of France, ED2, and work was begun just as the previous generation model was being launched onto the market in 2002. It is understood that Toyota pulled out all the stops to get the model to market as soon as possible and the new Corolla Verso is clearly an improvement on the outgoing model in many areas.
Perhaps the most obvious improvement is the decision to go for 7-seat configuration (rather than five), reflecting Toyota’s firm belief, following the findings of customer clinics, that key competitors in the compact MPV segment will be other 7-seaters such as the Opel/Vauxhall Zafira and Renault Grand Scenic. Volkswagen’s Touran was launched in 2003 with only five seats as standard, but Volkswagen has responded by introducing a third row of seats. Ford’s C-Max is still only available in 5-seat configuration, however.
Market analysts maintain that the occasional use of the two extra seats in the space otherwise devoted to load carrying is proving to be a valuable feature in the marketplace.
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By GlobalDataIn addition to having 7-seat capacity, all five of the Verso’s rear seats can be folded down to create a perfectly flat load floor. No seats have to be removed and head restraints can remain in place.
The Corolla Verso’s complete redesign also means that it’s now taller and wider than its predecessor.
The new Corolla Verso will be available in most European markets with a choice of three engines: an entry-level 109bhp 1.6-litre VVT-i (Variable Valve Timing-intelligent) petrol unit, the 127bhp 1.8-litre VVT-i petrol and 114bhp 2.0-litre D-4D diesel engine. The 1.6 and 1.8-litre engines both comply with EURO IV regulations and the 2.0 D-4D diesel emits, on average, 47 per cent less particulate matter than its segment rivals, according to Toyota.
Toyota claims that many of the advanced features on board the car put it in the same class as a D-segment saloon. Toyota also says the car boasts a number of segment-firsts, such as the Cornering Assist Monitor, which helps the driver “see” around blind corners; nine airbags fitted as standard (including the segment’s first knee airbag); and a two-stage seatbelt warning system which combines a dashboard warning light and buzzer.
The new Corolla Verso goes on sale across Europe in May and Toyota expects to sell some 53,000 units of the new car this year, rising to 100,000 units a year when the model peaks. Toyota says the model will be important to the company’s overall European goal of reaching 1.2 million units per year by 2010.
Toyota also expects the high-growth compact MPV market in Europe to continue to post rapid sales growth in the medium term, forecasting that it will rise from around a million units in 2002 to 1.5 million units per year by 2006.
The new Toyota Corolla Verso will be produced at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey (TMMT), alongside Corolla saloon and estate models. The addition of the new Verso to the production line led to an increase in annual capacity from 100,000 to 150,000 units. The TMMT site is located in Adapazari and was established in 1990.
