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In tune with the growing demand for SUVs, Toyota launched the Raize earlier this year. Their smallest SUV offering yet, it’s quite a handsome looking vehicle, with a muscular profile, an aggressive stance. We bring you a closer look beyond the buff exterior and examine the possibilities of its relatively spacious interior.

This top-of-the-line variant (1.0 G Turbo) has a two-tone paint job, in Turquiose Metallic Mica with a black roof and back door garnish. Like the rest of Toyota’s line up, its front end is not pointed, but is an unapologetic flat surface with a large trapezoidal airdam under the badge. It’s flanked by split-type LED headlights, front sequential turn signal LEDs and halogen fog lamps. Around the back are LED rear combination lamps. Side mirrors are power adjustable and auto fold with built in turn signals.

Getting in and out is easy with keyless / smart entry, and starting up is also effortless with the push-button ignition. Once inside, the instrument cluster and multi-information display (MID) are digital and let you choose from different looks.

There’s even a fuel economy meter to monitor your consumption. The steering wheel is leather wrapped with brushed aluminum accents, and comes with paddle shifters. It has controls for audio and the MID for convenient configuration while driving.

The front and rear seats are a mix of fabric and leather with the driver seat featuring six-way adjustment and the front passenger seat being four-way adjustable. Rear seats can be split 60/40. Yet even with the seats up, there’s 369 liters of cargo space.

The entertainment system has a nine-inch touchscreen with AM/FM/Bluetooth/USB/Voice Command with Android Auto and Apple Carplay. It connects to six-speakers around the cabin. There are two USB charge ports up front, both for charging devices and connecting to the entertainment.

The Raize is well worth its price tag as it comes with a number of convenience features. The front passenger has an underseat tray and the dashboard has two pull-out cupholders under the far left and right aircon vents. There are also six bottle holders around the cabin. For those sitting behind, they’ll find seat-back pockets in front of them.

While on the road, power windows are provided all around to better enjoy the breeze. There are also speed-sensing door locks and three-point seatbelts with seatbelt reminder for all five occupants.

Safety is up to current standards with six airbags (driver, passenger, front side and curtain), a child restraint system, back-up camera with guide-lines, clearance and back-up sonar, Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Hill-Start Assist (HAS), Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA).

Under the hood is a turbocharged three-cylinder 1.0-liter engine with 12-valve DOHC and VVTi. It produces 98-hp at 6000 rpm with 140-Nm between 2400-4000rpm and this is mated to a constantly variable transmission (CVT).

While this engine only puts out 98-hp on paper, in reality has more enough power and lots of torque in a wide rpm range. You’ll easily get some tire squeal if you get a little heavy on the gas pedal. The CVT is perky from a full stop, offering good acceleration, effectively putting down the torque of the turbo to the front wheels.

The Raize lives up to Toyota’s new direction of making their cars more exciting. It’s fun to drive and despite is compact size, you won’t get claustrophobic in traffic with your friends.

This is perhaps the ideal vehicle for Philippine road conditions. Its high ground clearance of 200 mm gives you a good view of the road ahead and an advantage over sedans and hatchbacks in areas that flood quickly in a downpour. Its big 205/60’s on 17-inch rims will eat up imperfections found on our roads. It also doesn’t feel fragile on bad roads.

Priced at P1,051,000, this turbo CVT variant is in the price range of top-of-the-line subcompact sedans and hatchbacks. This makes it a good alternative choice and a plus is that it’s probably more durable than a sedan in the long term.

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