Yize: The least Toyota-like Toyota car.

*This article is reproduced from the Autocarweekly WeChat official account

Author: Luoji

There are many “truths” in this world that seem irrefutable at first glance, but upon closer examination, we realize that they are either logically invalid or meaningless.

For example: all companies are profit-oriented.

Typically, when someone makes this statement, they are trying to interpret or analyze some of the business strategies of a particular company in a blunt and straightforward manner. Regardless of what the company says, does, or donates, it can always be lumped together with other companies and its uniqueness in any situation or field can be denied by invoking the “natural” profit-seeking nature of companies.

It is futile to try to refute this argument logically because you cannot deny the statement that “all companies are profit-oriented.” If you do, a friendly response might call you naive or unsophisticated, while an unfriendly one might label you as someone who lacks critical thinking skills.

The best way to deal with people like this in conversation is to use equally blunt and straightforward language. Another sentence that is irrefutable is: all people are selfish. Given that our nature is the same, can we deny all human tendencies for good or evil and simply look at things without considering emotions? Do we need to worry about whether or not we help an elderly person who has fallen, a drowning passersby, or report ourselves to authorities when we contract a contagious disease?

Once we set aside these useless “truths,” we can see that both companies and individuals have their own unique personalities and characteristics. Even companies that usually adhere to the middle path and handle things with care will occasionally let loose and bring about a refreshing product.

The Toyota Yize is an excellent example of this.

Before the Yize and its sister model C-HR appeared, Toyota did not have a small SUV that was smaller in size, lower in price, and more suitable for city commuters under its compact SUV RAV4. Honda and Nissan had already earned plenty of money with their small SUVs, the Vezel / XR-V and A-class X-Kai.

Given what Honda and Nissan have achieved, there is no reason why Toyota should fail, especially in the home market segment of under 200,000 yuan, as long as it makes a small SUV that is stylish, spacious, and moderately priced while adhering to the style of the existing products.

Surprisingly, Toyota, which has always been middle-of-the-road and cautious, has brought about a coupé SUV that is completely contrary to that image. Many of the characteristics that Toyota has carefully maintained in the home car market for years have been abandoned in the Yize.To create a sense of a double-door coupé, the practical design of the Yi Ze hides the door handle near the car window, even if it affects the visibility of the rear passengers, to maximize the compression of the size of the rear window.

In terms of cost control, against competitors who are trying to minimize the cost threshold by compressing mechanical specifications such as engine and suspension, the Yi Ze series comes standard with a 2.0L engine and a multi-link rear suspension, which are more expensive specifications. In terms of appearance, it also uses a rare and higher-cost two-color body for the same class.

What is most talked about is that the Yi Ze series comes standard with a comprehensive set of active and passive safety facilities, including 10 airbags, active braking and adaptive cruise control, which directly dispels the concerns of ordinary consumers about safety.

The main selling point of the Binchi and the Xiaoke is basically concentrated below 150,000 yuan after the terminal discount. However, the Yi Ze with higher power, chassis, and safety configuration specifications raises the entry threshold to 145,800 yuan, and the guiding prices of the main sales versions are all above 150,000 yuan.

Shamelessly speaking, the Yi Ze’s approach is very non-Toyota.

Looking at the sub-segment of the coupe SUV market, the Yi Ze’s sales performance after listing can be called outstanding, with monthly sales basically unable to break through 10,000, but maintaining a level of about 5,000 vehicles sold per month in the long term. However, if compared with competitors who can easily break through 10,000 per month, or even occasionally sell more than 20,000 per month, the sales volume of the Yi Ze is indeed not impressive.

Even so, Toyota did not compromise on the performance and specifications of this car. To boost sales of the Yi Ze, it is actually very simple to cut the 10 airbags that far exceed the same level of competitors to 6 or even 4, use the 1.5L or 1.2T engine from the Corolla, and eliminate the “unnecessary” advanced configurations such as the active braking and adaptive cruise control.

Lowering the price threshold by two thousand is not a problem for the Yi Ze.

However, Toyota has not implemented this promotion plan that anyone can think of and that many consumers are calling for. Now, three years after its launch, the Yi Ze welcomes a mid-term facelift, which further upgrades its safety, performance, and comfort, without compromising on any aspect.

The changes in the exterior and interior are not significant, and can only be perceived as fresh when viewing the new model. There is absolutely nothing to criticize in this regard. With the Yi Ze’s extremely avant-garde design philosophy, it will not become outdated even after 5 or 10 years.The biggest changes to the all-new Yize are in powertrain and feature configurations, finally introducing Toyota’s specialty, the dual engine hybrid, to the Yize series, and adjusting the configuration of the gasoline version as well. The price of the entry-level model remains unchanged at 145,800 RMB, but the second-lowest configuration, which bears the task of volume sales, has been changed from the current Yixiang model, priced at 152,800 RMB, to the Yixing model, priced at 149,800 RMB, a 3,000 RMB reduction in the suggested retail price. The top-of-the-line Yixuan version of the current model, priced at 176,800 RMB, has been cancelled, and the top configuration of the new pure gasoline version has become the Yichi version, priced at 165,800 RMB.

A total of three configurations of the dual engine hybrid version are being launched, with an entry-level price point of 174,800 RMB and a top-of-the-line version priced at 189,800 RMB, with a price difference of 6-9 thousand RMB between the three versions.

As for more detailed feature adjustments, the table below provides a comprehensive overview:

The first upgrade to the pure gasoline version are the standard addition of parking radar, driving mode switch, and full LED headlights – all of which are small upgrades that are important to Yize owners. The active driving assistance system has been further optimized, with the current adaptive cruise control upgraded to full speed range, and the overall system upgraded to the new generation of Toyota’s TSS intelligent driving safety system, making Yize’s active and passive safety measures among the industry benchmarks among both joint venture and independent models at the same price point.

The most noteworthy improvement is the inclusion of connected car, onboard navigation, and voice multimedia control systems, which were missing from the current Yize model, but have been added in the 2021 model, with a price threshold starting from 156,800 RMB.

In summary, under the premise of generally unchanged or even slightly reduced overall selling price, the all-new Yize has further strengthened the advantageous configuration of the current model, while precisely addressing the previous weaknesses.

As for the newly added dual-engine version, although the price threshold is nearly 30,000 RMB higher than the gasoline version, the entry-level model is already approaching the top-of-the-line configuration of the gasoline version. Under the same configuration, the premium paid for the dual-engine version over the gasoline version is basically less than 20,000 RMB.Here are the main upgrades of the new Toyota Yize. Although it may not attract as much attention as the redesigned cars of popular brands like Li Xiang and NIO, any improvement of Yize will still be appreciated by its target customers. From the perspective of industry observers, Toyota did not compromise on the product characteristics to expand sales during the mid-term facelift. This can also impress many people who thought they understood or had “seen through” Toyota.

In addition to the product itself, I found some interesting things in the Yize car owner community feedback. For example, in the Koala MPG database of car owner surveys, there are detailed satisfaction radar charts and owner recommendation rates for each model, which can reveal many real feedback from car owners.

In terms of overall satisfaction, the three highest-rated aspects of Yize by car owners are safety, appearance and handling, all of which score above 4.8 points in the 5-point system. Other aspects including power, fuel consumption, and comfort have also reached excellent levels of over 4.5 points.

As for the lowest point of Yize, it is undoubtedly the sacrificed space performance due to the sleek design. Yize car owners show no mercy on this issue, giving it a score of 3.7 points.

Despite the obvious “flaws” of Yize, car owners still have a high overall recommendation rate of 86.7%, and the repurchase intent index for the Toyota brand is also at 82.7%, which is very impressive.

The above table selects several best-selling competing models in the same class. Their styling positioning is much more conservative than that of Yize, and there are basically no particularly obvious shortcomings, but the recommendation rate of car owners for these models is lower than that of Yize, and Yize is the only model with a repurchase intent index of over 80%.

I couldn’t help but say, it’s really Toyota.

It may not lead the sales, but it wins the reputation among car owners, and relies on a very personalized design. The reason is simple. The “flaws” of Yize are obvious, and people who are willing to place the order have already made the trade-offs and accepted these shortcomings. In the future, they will find that the “flaws” are not as difficult to tolerate as they imagined, and the advantages are more outstanding than expected.

Just like making friends or falling in love, those who have a strong personality are often not good at or unwilling to disguise their flaws. People who can accept their personality and appreciate their advantages are more likely to become true friends or partners after becoming friends or lovers.

Yize may not look like a typical Toyota model, but its essence is still Toyota.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.