Asia Auto: All-New Toyota RUSH – Something For the Younger Set

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 By YS Khong

Subang Jaya, 28 January 2008 – UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd launched the Toyota Rush at their newly opened Subang Jaya showroom tonight. The Toyota Rush is a mini-SUV designed for the younger set, with a modern and exciting shape that appeals to the young.

Three variants are available, and they are priced from RM85,888 for the lowest grade to RM94,888 for the full works model (prices are on-the-road without insurance). Customers have a choice of a manual transmission or an automatic.

Built in Indonesia, and imported as a CBU into Malaysia, the Toyota Rush is built on a modified Avanza platform, and basically shares the same 1.5 litre VVTi engine, drive train and suspension system as the Avanza, although there are some mods put in to give it a higher ride height and to adjust for the larger 16-inch SUV type wheels. Think of it as a much nicer-looking Avanza. Brakes are noticeably larger, but we note that they are solid discs in the front and large drums at the rear.

Overall, the Rush is a nicer looking vehicle than the Avanza, younger in character, and more up-market in styling. Ground clearance is 200mm, which makes the Rush very suitable for rough road conditions. There is a 4WD version of the Rush available, but according to UMW Toyota, their studies indicate that there is a greater demand here for the two wheel drive version, in this case, rear wheel drive. Looking under the Rush, you will see that the bottom end is very similar to that of the Avanza.

The lowest grade variant, the 1.5G comes with a choice of a 5-speed manual(RM85,888) or a 4-speed automatic (RM88,888). The up-market 1.5S comes in auto form, projector lights, and ABS, plus a body kit for RM95,888. The pricing with the triple eight at the end is an attempt to make the price a little more auspicious for the Chinese buyers, a ploy used by many organizations here in Malaysia.

Inside, the trim is similar to that of the Avanza, with three rows of seats, giving the Rush a seating capacity of seven. The centre row seats split, fold and tumble forward for easy ingress and egress for the third row seat, which is a folding bench type. Seat material is fabric, and the texture is similar, if not the same as that in the Avanza. Interestingly, the automatic gear shifter is of the ‘gated’ type, giving the Rush a more sporty character.

The 1.5 litre engine has an output of 109PS, and maximum torque of 141 Nm. With a kerb weight of 1220kg, and a final drive ratio that gives an approximate speed of 100 km/h at 3,500 rpm, we would expect the fuel consumption to be close to what the Avanza 1.5 gets, although we shall have to wait for a road test to check this out.

The Rush will achieve UMW Toyota’s target of 600 units a month for 2008. The new SUV-like lines and overall shape will appeal to many, and the ones who buy will be the ones willing to pay that little premium over the price of an Avanza. In the end, it is still a Toyota, and comes with the reassuring Toyota reliability.