Toyota Lite Ace Reviews

Toyota is gearing up to soon reveal a new-generation version of its Corolla and it has detailed some more information about the powertrains it will have.

Toyota is the long-serving hybrid king, but its crown is slipping as a gaggle of new petrol-electric rivals from brands new and familiar line up to take their shot. The big Kluger family SUV is the prime example. It’s rare for a Toyota hybrid not to absolutely dominate its rivals in the sales charts, but the tastes of Australians on the look out for a big, comfy family SUV have changed. The current Kluger is more than five years old now, and not much has changed in that time except for a few nips and tucks. We’re piloting the top-of-the-range Grande grade, which starts at $85,065 (before on-road costs). That’s a pricey number, which is a cool $8000 more than the equivalent Hyundai Santa Fe, $10,500 more than the Kia Sorento and $15,000 more than the plug-in hybrid BYD Sealion 8. There are cheaper options in the range, the GX ($62,410) and GXL ($71,930). Toyota backs its vehicles with a five year/unlimited km warranty, which is the industry standard. It is starting to look underwhelming compared to seven years, and even 10-year terms offered by some rivals. Toyota’s servicing costs still beat the competition, with the first five scheduled log book visits costing $335 each, with intervals every 15,000km or 12 months. The Kluger has everything you need, if not necessarily everything you want. The Grande gets 20-inch wheels, up from 18-inch units on lesser grades, there is LED lighting front and back, roof rails, rear spoiler and chrome covered grille. Inside buyers can expect a 12.3-inch multimedia screen - up from eight inches in the GX - and a digital driver display of the same size. A head-up display, which projects vital information such as travelling speed, prevailing speed limit and safety warnings onto the windscreen in front of the driver, is standard. There is wireless Apple CarPlay, but you’ll need a cord to connect to Android Auto.  The Grande is the only grade to get a wireless device charger, but all get five USB-C charging ports. Sat-nav is standard and the Grande gets an 11-speaker JBL stereo, ambient lighting, driver’s seat memory and a panoramic sunroof. You’ll find more in competitors for less. The Kluger is like a big comfy couch. Its power-adjustable front seats are wrapped in good-quality synthetic leather and are heated and ventilated. The cabin is festooned with soft-touch materials, with supple coverings on the dash, door trims and most high-touch areas. Faux-wood inserts add to the cabin’s living-room feel. A high seating position and plenty of steering wheel adjustment give you great vision out the front and make it easy to find a comfy driving position for all shapes and sizes. The second row can easily accommodate taller teens and adults, but the third row is best left for smaller kids. I had two child seats - one forward and one rear facing - in the second row with room for a small adult to fit in between. There are Isofix points for the two window seats in the second row and each has a seat-back anchor point. There are none in the third row. One big fail is the second row has a 60:40 split, except the 60 is on the driver’s side. This means to load people through to the third row they either have to go through a narrow opening or do it from the road side. The boot is decent at 552 litres when five seats are deployed but it shrinks to 241L when all seven are in place, ballooning to 1150L with the second row folded down. There is a full size spare tyre. Under the bonnet is the Kluger’s crown jewel, Toyota’s 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine paired with three electric motors and a small battery. All this adds up to 184kW of grunt sent to all four wheels and a combined fuel use of 5.6 litres per 100km. It does require pricier premium unleaded fuel. The Kluger’s American bent shines through the engine. It sounds gruff, with an uncanny rumble for a hybrid when you put your foot down, and it has plenty of oomph for a big rig. It is easy to see why Toyota’s tech is so popular, as the electric motors and petrol engine work seamlessly together blending petrol and electric grunt when needed. It isn’t as efficient as it reads on paper, with it nearly impossible to hit the 5.6-litre claim. The Kluger is built for comfort with softly sprung suspension that soaks up bumps and lumps of all sizes. The trade-off is there is more leaning and pitching through corners that you might like, but it is a fair compromise for a big rig made for moving people around, not for race tracks. It is quiet on the road, with the outside world kept at bay. As with most Toyotas it is an easy machine to pilot, with well-balanced steering that provides a good amount of feedback and inspires confidence in all conditions. Toyota has ticked all the Kluger’s safety boxes, as you’d expect for a vehicle pitched at growing families. It will automatically hit the brakes if it detects a potential collision with a car, pedestrian or cyclist. You’ll be warned if a car is in your blind spot and if one is approaching from the side as you reverse. A range of sensors will help keep you centred in your lane, and tug the steering wheel if it thinks you are drifting out of your lane. The beauty of this Toyota tech is it actually works as intended, when needed and isn’t constantly beeping and intruding when it is not welcome. There are also front and rear parking sensors, reversing and bird’s-eye view cameras to make parking the big rig as easy as possible.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles, or PHEVs, are exploding in popularity in Australia as better value models flood in, but a new report claims this particular type of electrified vehicle is six times worse for the climate than official numbers suggest. The report from Transport & Environment, a Brussels based advocacy group for clean energy, says the gap between official WLTP emissions numbers and those assessed in the real world is rapidly expanding, despite more recent plug-in hybrid models focusing on pure electric driving range. Transport & Environment says data collected by the EEA (European Environment Agency) on real-world emissions for PHEVs proves the technology is almost as bad as emissions from petrol and diesel cars, offering just a 14 per cent emissions reduction against an 83 per cent reduction claim according to official WLTP numbers. The reason, the group says, is because a focus on heavier cars with bigger batteries and longer electric driving ranges did not correlate to better emissions performance, with the best indicator instead being the power of the electric motor. In the study, plug-ins with electric motors 25 per cent more powerful than their combustion engines cut real-world emissions by a third, and up to 20 per cent even when the battery was drained. Transport & Environment concluded the ‘utility factor’ correction applied in European emissions rules encouraging automakers to increase battery size to reduce official emissions numbers fails to account for the fact that PHEVs are only driven, on average, 27 per cent of the time in fully electric mode. This means the rest of the time, when the battery is discharged, the engine must work harder to drag around the larger battery, skyrocketing the car’s real-world emissions. The group argues that amending these concessions to the official number to account for this would encourage automakers to improve drivetrain efficiency rather than simply increase battery size. Lucien Mathieu, cars director at Transport & Environment, went so far as to say: “A decade after Dieselgate, it is outrageous that Europe is once again debating whether to keep using misleading emissions to sell cars. “The European Parliament and Council have a clear choice, protect drivers’ wallets or allow carmakers to continue lying to consumers.” This matters in Australia, as automakers rely on the same official emissions numbers to comply with our market’s recently-introduced emissions regime, the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES). The rules crack down on a car’s official CO2 numbers, imposing fines on automakers whose fleets exceed thresholds similar to those in the European Union. As a result, a flood of new plug-in hybrids at more competitive price points have been rushed to the Australian market, from ultra-affordable options like the new BYD Atto 2 DM-i (from $24,990) to the ultra-mainstream Toyota RAV4 PHEV (from $59,515). Plug-in hybrid tech is seen as the future of the ever-popular ute segment, which is more ill suited to full EV technology due to the weight of batteries limiting payload and towing capacity. To that end, BYD’s Shark 6 has single-handedly caused a technology shift in the segment, introducing plug-in hybrid technology to the historically diesel-dependent sector. In an attempt to cash-in on the runaway success of the Shark 6, many automakers are plotting PHEV utes and large off-road SUVs for our market, including the much-hyped Nissan Frontier Pro and intriguing Chery Stockman, which uses new diesel plug-in tech. Whether European emissions laws will be amended following these revelations remains to be seen, as Australia’s NVES regime is largely based on established Euro rules.

Toyota in Japan has announced an official retro headlight kit for its Prado 4WD, via its Kinto factory upgrade arm. Not yet offered in Australia, Toyota Japan’s Kinto parts service offers an array of official aftermarket gear, and the latest allows Prado owners to swap the more modern square headlights as offered on Australian-market models for the retro-look round ones offered in other markets across the world. The kit costs ¥204,600 (AU$1856 at the time of writing), and is able to be applied to VX spec cars built from 2024 onward. Toyota says the round headlight kit “evokes the origins of the Land Cruiser” marque, and the kit includes installation and official Toyota warranty. While several grille designs are available on the Prado in the Australian market dependent on trim level, as well as a list of officially backed accessories like bullbars and bashplates, the round headlights have never been offered in Australia.  The USA makes the retro look available on some trim levels. Other upgrades for the Prado available through Toyota’s Kinto Factory aftermarket store include new themes for the digital instrument cluster (priced at ¥19,800 - AU$180), LED lighting for the tailgate, an improved app-based security system and a retrofit wireless charging pad. The Kinto Factory vehicle upgrade service is available on a wide range of Toyota vehicles in Japan, with services ranging from re-conditioning engine parts for the Toyota 86 to replacing worn steering wheels and even upgrading USB hubs to Type C. It is part of a wider-ranging push by Toyota to increase its income stream from existing owners. The Japanese giant wants to increase its post-sale income stream by up to 40 per cent by 2030.  Primarily, it seems, this will be generated by software upgrades and features in its latest-generation products, more than it will be from hardware accessories as is offered through Kinto Factory in Japan. The brand has earmarked over-the-air optional software features as a major source of future income stream, following in the footsteps of brands like VW, which has announced similar projects for its software division, or Tesla, which is currently generating income through optional software features like its controversial full self-driving feature. Toyota’s new CEO, Kenta Kon, has also detailed an array of cost-cutting measures which the company will apply to its new vehicles in order to cut down the time it takes for each model to reach its breakeven point for profitability. These measures will focus on areas like making door handles, headrests, wing mirrors and interior materials more standardised across models in order to reduce the company’s parts catalogue. Toyota also plans to increase the amount of recycled materials used in its cars to up to 30 per cent, and invest in modern gigacasting techniques for next-generation vehicles which have cut down costs for brands like Tesla. Toyota Australia has been contacted for comment on the brand’s range of official aftermarket parts for the Prado in Australia, and whether it is looking to expand on its accessory catalogue further in the future.

In a rare move, Toyota Australia is discounting its ever-popular HiLux ute, specifically via a $4000 ‘deposit bonus’ offer on new and demonstrator versions of the mid-range SR5 model. Unsurprisingly, there are several conditions applied, the primary one being that to qualify, the vehicle must be purchased through Toyota Finance, with a minimum $10,000 in the deal. Next, the offer applies to SR5s built between August 2025 up to December 2026 and excludes the dual-motor battery electric version. Private buyers as well as Toyota Bronze and Silver fleet customers are eligible, but a purchase connected to Toyota Finance Lease Products means the bonus is a no-go. And once you clear those hurdles, the vehicle must be ordered with finance applications received between 01/09/2026 and 31/12/2026 and settled by 28/02/2027. The 4x4-only HiLux SR5 line-up is currently listed from $69,901, drive-away (in NSW) for the Double-Cab Pick-Up, with the Double-Cab Cab-Chassis, featuring 48V ‘V-Active’ mild-hybrid power, topping the line-up at $73,952, drive-away. The HiLux was the fourth best selling vehicle in the country in September this year (4455 units), down 11.7 per cent on the same month in 2025 and more than 600 sales behind the market-leading Ford Ranger ute (5062 units). But Toyota Australia is pushing towards a big finish for the year, with increased supply of key models set to boost fourth quarter sales. Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations John Pappas said increased vehicle stock secured earlier in the year was continuing to flow through to customer deliveries. “In June, we announced we had secured additional arrivals of some of our most popular models. “Our customers continue to demand a broad range of vehicles that meet their needs and with our increased supply, we are targeting a very strong, record fourth quarter sales for 2026,” he said.

Toyota recently announced it’s planning to ramp up sales of its zero- and low-emissions vehicles in Australia, but Polestar claims it’s still aiming to be under the average. The Japanese carmaker is aiming to have 30 per cent of its local sales be battery electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and hydrogen fuel-cell (FCEV) by the end of 2030. “Surely that’s a conservative view, given that we’re at 25 per cent now,” said Polestar Australia Managing Director Scott Maynard. “So by the end of the decade, if you’re building 30 per cent, I would expect the market could well be running ahead of that. “So you’re still aiming to be behind.” Until the end of September this year, sales of EVs, PHEVs and FCEVs made up 27.8 per cent of the overall market share. A total of 265,870 were sold until the end of September, which is up 132.2 per cent year-on-year. There are a number of key drivers for this increase in zero- and low-emissions vehicles sales including the increase in fuel prices, more options from new brands at lucrative price points, as well as the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for EVs, among others. The Tesla Model Y stands out as a major reason for why sales of zero- and low-emissions vehicles have grown so much. A total of 35,930 examples have been sold until the end of September, which is up 108.4 per cent year-on-year. This firmly makes it Australia’s best-selling EV. In fact it was the best-selling car overall during May, June and August this year, beating the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Toyota RAV4. With the launch of the facelifted bZ4X earlier this year and the recent addition of the new bZ4X Touring, Toyota is currently experiencing record sales of its EV. They’re almost five times more than the same point in 2025. Toyota also already has the fleet-oriented and low-volume HiLux BEV and in mid-2027 will launch the C-HR BEV as a smaller electric SUV. While 100 per cent of Polestar’s vehicles are EVs, local sales are down 10 per cent year-on-year. A total of 1681 vehicles were sold until the end of September. Polestar’s best-seller has been the Polestar 4 for a considerable period now and it’s soon gaining an SUV body style with an actual rear window. This should see sales for this model increase further.

Toyota’s plan to make EVs cheaper, lighter and stronger is official. The Japanese carmaking giant is investing almost 13.4 billion yuan (roughly $3 billion) into its own self-developed gigacasting factory in Shanghai, China. Gigacasting uses machines to mould large chunks of the car’s body together, contrasting smaller individual fuses. The plant is already under construction, with production expected to begin in 2027 on models for its premium sub-brand Lexus. This process could be rolled out to more mainstream EVs such as the bZ4X and Chinese vehicles including the bZ3 in the future. The switch to China also signals a huge shift for Toyota because the brand has primarily developed its cars in Japan. Gigacasting is an absolute game-changer for EV production. The process involves large diecasting machines moulding body components into a single piece, in contrast to time-consuming welded assemblies. Toyota’s Chief Technology Officer Hiroki Nakajima said this decision reflected Toyota's move towards a new future. “This is a major opportunity to completely transform the manufacturing system,” Nakajima said in an interview in Brussels. “Our starting point has always been to insist on independent research and development.” Toyota is currently conducting testing and verification of the gigacasting technology in Japan before it sends the process global. A production version of the Lexus LF-ZL concept could be the first model as part of the project. The brand revealed the LF-ZL in 2023 and said it would be built using gigacasting. Most cars are built by stamping aluminium and steel pieces together, which is a longer process and doesn’t have the same structural rigidity as large connected pieces. Using gigacasting makes a car significantly lighter, because it doesn’t have individually-stamped metal weighing it down. Electric cars are heavier than petrol- and diesel-powered equivalents, which greatly impacts their overall driving range. A lighter EV means more driving. While battery packs are the main culprit for the weight disparity, gigacasting can reduce the overall body weight of a car by as much as 20 per cent. The move is also expected to significantly shorten vehicle development and production cycles. While gigacasting isn’t mainstream yet, it has been picking up steam among some of the world’s biggest carmakers. Tesla uses gigacasting to build many of its models including the best-selling electric car, the Tesla Model Y SUV, and the Model 3 sedan. BYD also uses gigacasting on some of its premium models, including the upcoming Denza Z sports car and Yangwang U8 ultra-luxury SUV. Ford, Hyundai and Nissan are exploring the possibility of implementing it into their production lines as well.

If you can’t beat them, join them. That’s the strategy of Toyota, which has long shunned high-tech features that are at the heart of new Chinese rivals, but it is preparing to catch up at break-neck speed. News outlet Nikkei Asia reports Toyota is now planning to turn all 50 of its current cars into software-defined vehicles. Software-defined vehicles is a fairly new auto industry buzzword, but it is taking the new and old guard by storm. It effectively means the vehicle has switched from being primarily a mechanical instrument to a software-powered device. This means software forms the core of the vehicle and enhances nearly all features — from advanced safety tech, autonomous driving, over-the-air updates, connected to everything, detailed vehicle telematics and intuitive software-powered comfort items. These features are easier to integrate into electric cars as they ditch many of the mechanical elements of petrol and diesel cars. The electric motors, battery management and transmission are all programmed rather than hardwired. Toyota has developed its own proprietary Arene software, which is already in use in the new Toyota RAV4, for example. The main function will be to roll out over-the-air updates, which have been a mainstay of Teslas and Chinese vehicles from BYD, GAC, XPeng and Zeekr, among others for years now. These over-the-air software updates work just like they do with a smartphone and fix bugs, roll out new features and enhancements while the vehicle is not in use. Nikkei Asia also reports the software will be installed in robots, homes, powerpoles and other infrastructure, which means if linked the car could turn on your house lights, open garage doors and start air-conditioning as you approach. It has previously been reported Toyota is looking to massively increase profit through post-purchase options, including software updates, a focus on genuine spare parts and used car sales. Toyota wants to boost its profit from outside new car sales by 40 per cent, and this is how they plan to do it. That means Toyota is planning to slug customers more than $26 billion annually for the services rivals - such as Tesla - give for free.

Toyota will reportedly begin producing the next-generation Corolla in China in 2028. As reported by Nikkei Asia, this version of the new Toyota Corolla will be built by FAW Toyota Motor, which is an existing joint-venture company between Toyota and FAW Group. At this stage it’s unclear whether this Chinese-specification version of the new Corolla will be the same or different from the Japanese version. Historically there have been some differences, most notably with design. Nikkei Asia does note this new Corolla will feature multiple powertrain options. These are reported to include not only petrol and hybrid options, but also plug-in hybrid, electric and hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains. At the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, Toyota revealed the Corolla concept, which previewed what the next-generation model may look like. The exterior design isn’t too far from the current Prius hatchback and it features front and rear LED light bars, large 21-inch alloy wheels, a small display showing how charged the battery is, as well as a small rear spoiler. It’s unclear how many of the features shown on the concept will make their way into the production version. Although it’s almost been 12 months since the reveal of this concept, Toyota still hasn’t provided any information regarding when we may see the production-ready, next-generation Corolla. Toyota still hasn’t provided a timeline of when the next-generation Corolla will launch, the existing 12th-generation model continues to get older. This version of the Corolla was first revealed and launched locally in 2018. A facelift launched in 2022, then the high-performance GR Corolla launched in 2023. In Australia both the sedan and hatchback versions of the Corolla are offered and they’re all produced in Japan. Despite its age, the Corolla continues to be the small car segment-leader. Until the end of September, a total of 10,182 examples were sold, which is down 28.7 per cent year-on-year.

There is a sprint to the finish line as carmakers prepare for a tumultuous end to 2026. This year will be remembered as the point China ascended, but a few other storylines are developing. This is our prediction for the last quarter of 2026. That is a shocking number, that would have seemed impossible just four years ago when Aussies bought about 33,000 electric cars. The sheer breath of choice across all body  shapes, price ranges and brands is what is driving the EV revolution. Healthy incentives, such as the Fringe Benefits Tax exemption, are making the idea of an EV palatable to those that previously never would have considered one. Tesla is still the dominant force in electric cars, but it isn’t the only mover and shaker. BYD’s success has been driven by its range of EVs, and Geely and Zeekr are both selling their electric cars in big numbers. Even Toyota, which was firmly in the no camp for EVs just half a decade ago, has managed to increase sales of its bZ4X by more than 300 per cent this year. New Chinese brands are doing the heavy lifting, but mainstream carmakers are starting to leave their mark by converting their loyal base to zero-emissions vehicles. Toyota will be the best selling car brand this year and the foreseeable future. Despite all the commotion made about BYD’s barnstorming run up the sales charts, especially in the early part of the year, there was never any doubt Toyota would come out on top. Toyota has sold about double the cars of BYD, which is actually a mega effort by BYD and it is on track to sell more than 100,000 cars this year. Toyota has assured everyone it will finish the year strong, with an increase of supply for key models, including RAV4, HiLux, LandCruiser and bZ4X. Toyota is predicting more than 220,000 sales for this year, which means they would need to deliver about 23,000 a month through the last quarter. Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Volkswagen were once the first choice for a huge swath of Aussie buyers, but they haven’t had the vehicles buyers demanded in recent years. Now those once-loyal buyers have jumped ship to BYD, Geely, Zeekr and the like. It’ll be a hard fought battle to win those buyers back. All have some exciting models in the pipeline, with the new Mitsubishi Pajero 4WD, ASX VR-e electric hatch, Nissan Patrol, Nissan Navara Pro PHEV ute, VW ID.Tiguan chief among them. But it is likely the ship has already sailed as the tide has turned towards these new brands. They have the wind in their sails and recording eye-popping growth numbers. Zeekr is up 1500 per cent, Geely and Jaecoo are up more than 600 per cent, BYD is up 100 per cent, Chery is up more than 50 per cent and GWM 14 per cent. The momentum is in their favour and they also have a healthy pipeline of affordable and desirable vehicles locked in for the next 12 months.