The Toyota Vios might come acrossto the majority as a practical mode  of transport with fuss-free ownership prospects. Indeed, judging by the sheer number of Vios roaming our local streets, it has proven to be a default choice for families here. And with such a mass-market appeal, it will come as little surprise that tuners will hop on the bandwagon to develop a plethora of modifiations to cater to this target market.

Right off the factory, the Vios might not be the most potent vehicle, but with a couple of sensible enhancements, it could very well transform to one that delivers more performance than expected in its segment. REV’s example today is testament to the fact that mainstream cars can be reworked to appear aesthetically stunning.

The owner of this Vios, Lucifer, stretches the boundaries of enhancements by opting to embark on extensive decals first, before tweaking the inner workings if his ride. “I started off beautifying my ride because to be honest, the capacity of the engine and power output cannot be compared to turbocharged variants. I got hooked on custom decals and had it fully wrapped. The car look “fast”, and that was the time when I knew I had to make an effort to ramp up its performance to complement its appearance.”



The first modification was to install a Greddy E-Manage system to ensure that electronic parameters are tuned to optimal potential. Tuning and speed seems to run in the family. Interestingly, Lucifer got his inspiration from his Dad who was a car enthusiast back in the good old days, which indirectly led to his decision to take up a course in automotive studies a couple of years back. His desire to boost the performance if his Vios led him to explore other areas of modifiations too.

“Although the theme of my car represents a Japanese concept, I cannot rely solely on the aesthetics to bring out its character. I know that a car’s handling and stability is also key to have plenty of fun behind the wheel of my Vios.”



According to Lucifer, the project was an extremely smooth sailing affair, mostly due to the reliable 1.5-litre engine resting beneath the hood. Other than idling issues due to high lift camshafts, Lucifer had no issues as far as troubleshooting
is concerned. And perhaps this is the main reason why Lucifer also emphasised that there are no limits to modifiations; he will pursue his passion for aftermarket enhancements for as long as his Vios is certifid to be on the road.

Lucifer has one more year with his Vios due to COE restrictions, and he hinted that his next car might very well be another Toyota. “After driving the Vios, I’m a fim believer of VVT-I engines and its bulletproof characteristics. The relatively maintenance-free nature of the car will certainly sway my decision to own another Toyota. Which variant tops my shopping list? It’s still anyone’s guess for now!”