For those who were looking forward to an all-new 2024 Toyota Wigo with more power, we have some bad news.

Three Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) dealers have confirmed to AutoFun Philippines that all variants of the upcoming subcompact hatchback will have a 1.0-liter inline-3 gasoline engine, which will be mated to either a 5-speed manual or a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Although final specifications have not yet been officially announced, some TMP dealers are already accepting reservation deposits, ranging from ₱10,000 to ₱30,000. This amount is refundable and can be deducted from the car's price upon purchase.

In addition, the dealers said the all-new Wigo is expected to launch in the Philippines around the third week of July. 

Philippines shortchanged?

The all-new Wigo was launched as the Toyota Agya on February 2023.

The Agya is powered by a 1.2-liter, twin-cam, 12-valve inline-3 gasoline engine pumping out 88 PS and 113 Nm of torque. This is the same engine that is used in the larger Toyota Raize crossover.

But the Agya’s siblings, the Daihatsu Ayla and the Perodua Axia, come with a 1.0-liter engine producing 67 PS and 89 Nm of torque. This will likely be the powerplant that will be installed in the Philippine-market Wigo.

The all-new Wigo was also launched in Vietnam on June 2023 as the first left-hand-drive model in ASEAN. Here, all models come standard with the 1.2-liter motor, with many expecting the Philippine model to share the same specifications.

In some markets, both the 1.0 and 1.2 powerplants are sold side-by-side. We found that the smaller motor is at least 2-to-6 km/l more efficient than the bigger engine.

New chassis, transmission

The next-generation Wigo rides on the new Daihatsu New Global Architecture platform shared with the Raize, Toyota Avanza, Toyota Veloz and AC100 Toyota Vios.

In addition, the archaic 4-speed automatic gearbox in the old model has been replaced with Daihatsu’s Dual-Mode CVT. Unlike a conventional CVT, this doesn’t rely on a belt drive system to get the car going.

There are additional gears and a planetary gear set fitted to the input and output shafts of the pulleys, with a clutch pack to engage or disengage the latter.

Simply put, the transmission works like a traditional CVT at lower to medium speeds, and only when you enter higher speeds, such as when on the highway, does the gear drive kick in.

The logic here is that the CVT side of the transmission deals with acceleration, while the gear drive side deals with highway speeds and cruising for maximum efficiency and less energy loss.

Despite the smaller motor, do you think the upcoming 2024 Toyota Wigo would still be a good small car to buy?

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