A fascinating sharpness

A fascinating sharpness

Toyota launched its five-door Blade hatchback into the Japanese market yesterday, making it the highest-end hatch model the company has in its inventory.

The company is hoping to pioneer a new vehicle market with the Blade, essentially fixing its aim at upper-market consumers who are looking at something like the Volkswagen Golf. Effectively, it's a higher-end variant of the Auris hatchback, which will be making its way into various markets around the globe next year.

The Blade, available in both front-wheel and 4WD versions and Standard and G variants, is equipped with a 2AZ-FE 2.4-litre pot - with Super CVT-i (Continuously Variable Transmission-intelligent) in attendance - and a seven-speed Sports Sequential Shiftmatic tranny. No specific power output figures were mentioned, but expect 160bhp or thereabouts on call.

Toyota Motor Corp president Katsuaki Watanabe launches the Blade in Tokyo. - AP Photo

The exterior, with its workings based on the Toyota-brand design philosophy "Vibrant Clarity," looks clean and elegant, but it's the interior where the luxury is, especially with the G version.

Among them, seats featuring a combination of real leather and Alcantara, an eight-way multi-adjustable power driver's seat and a smart keyless entry/push button ignition system.

Electronic wizardry is pasted on here like it's going out of fashion. Besides Vehicle Stability Control and TRC (traction control) systems, SRS side and curtain shield airbags and driver's seat SRS knee air bags, which come standard on all vehicles in the series, there's a HAC (Hill-start Assist Control) function and an Intelligent Parking Assist system in there too.

The latter, optional on G model vehicles equipped with a navigation system, supports steering operations when parallel parking and backing into a parking space. Ultrasonic sensors installed on the front of the vehicle detect other parked vehicles and based on the results estimate the physical dimensions of a vacant parking space and set the target parking position.

Retail prices in Japan start from 2.247mil yen (RM67,063) for the front-wheel drive, Standard version to 2.772mil yen (RM82,740) for the 4WD G model. Toyota is looking at selling 3,000 units of the Blade per month in Japan when retail begins next month.