New 2023 Toyota Vios For Malaysia Leaked Through Celebrity's Instagram

No prizes for guessing which celebrity UMW Toyota Motor has engaged to promote the upcoming 2023 Toyota Vios B-segment compact sedan. Following an initial one-word teaser dropped earlier this week, the model was partially revealed by local celebrity Sean Lee via a now-deleted post on his Instagram.

The series of photos were likely from behind the scenes of a promotional video shoot featuring both Lee and the new compact sedan. These images more or less confirmed that the recent ‘Defy’ teaser was devised for the new B-segment sedan fighter that’s set to go up against the Nissan Almera and Honda City.

As reported prior too, we have a pretty good guess on what to expect from the new generation Vios, which now rides on the proven Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA) platform – the same bones as Perodua’s winning trio of the new Axia, Alza and Ativa, as well as the new Toyota Veloz.

Mechanical specifications remain a hot topic of debate for now, but we’re certain that the traditional 1.5-litre 4-cyl petrol mill plus CVT automatic package as seen in the now outgoing car will remain.

Next to that, rumours are rife that UMW Toyota seeks to include a petrol-electric hybrid option in the mix too. This, in turn, should see the Vios stand on equal footing against the electrified Honda City hybrid, promising comparable fuel economy abilities in the process as well.

Whilst we don’t have exact figures yet, we can expect the new Vios to grow a little in size over the car it replaces. Also, based on what we’ve seen in its Thai-spec twin the Yaris Ativ, we can also expect to see a host of new bits and features on board including an Apple CarPlay-enabled infotainment suite.

Also, from the leaked images, we can see that the new Vios will pack plenty of premium features to match its now fastback-like styling. Highlights include sporty two-tone alloy wheels, not forgetting a full array of LED lighting for its headlights, DRLs, and taillights.

Other key enhancements expected include a full swing of active/semi-autonomous driver assistance (ADAS) such as blind-spot info and warning (BSM), forward collision warning (FCW) and autonomous emergency braking ( AEB), as well as both lane-departure warning (LDW) and lane-keep assist (LKAS).

Apart from this, your guess is as good as ours when it comes to full specification and price. Nevertheless, we may not have long to wait as UMW Toyota will reveal more details about its new B-segment saloon this week on Feb 24 – Friday. We’ll have more then, so stay tuned for updates…