Toyota Estima (Parallel Imported)

Best mpv I ever driven,definitely feels better than Mazda 5.... Read More

The Estima has long been one of my favourites as a looker in the MPV department. It is large, but it does have a little sporty touch to it in the aerodynamic styling. My dad had owned this car for a good 7 years now, and it has never given us much major problems. So, what can I say? Excellent reliability. Inside, it has all the comfort that a family would require. The 2-2-3 configuration model has all the luxury and comfort we would look for. Wide seats in the middle, good leg room, good head room, and a little coffee table in the middle. In the back, collapse the 3rd row seats and the boot instantly turns massive. Good for transporting bulky items Engine wise, not much to say. Engine is lively and smooth. Throttle and brakes are good as well, as with all Japanese cars, low input of either pedals, and you get a high output in the speeding up or slowing down. CVT gearbox is responsive and very tidy. The steering is light and responsive, even though the feedback is not as good as old fashion hydraulic power steering, but good nonetheless. Since this car is large, U-turn at many 2 lane roads can be a bit of a problem. The turning radius of this car is a little too wide, and would need a minimum of 3 lanes to execute a proper u-turn. Ride comfort wise, not so good. But, definitely, we can't expect Toyota to use the same kind of suspension on this car as Mercedes use on their cars can we? Exterior wise, this current model looks excellent compared to its predecessor. But I feel that to make it look even better, a bodykit and 18" alloys would make it look wonderful. FC wise, a little disappointing. City driving would return about 6km/l and so far, a full tank has never allowed me to go more than 500km. Summing up, this is a fantastic car that's worth a drive, or even worth buying and using it for the full 10 years.... Read More