The Toyota Vista has spacious interior 

Although the boot is big enough to carry most of my luggage when going on long trips, I get even more room when I fold its rear seats.

It is a basic car whose service and maintenance is like that of any other Toyota brand. For instance, I take it to the garage once in three to four months and on each garage visit, I spend about Shs200,000 depending on what requires to be serviced. There are parts such as brake pads, timing belt and major lubricants such as engine oil and transmission fluid that are replaced on each garage visit. It is a car that teaches you to respect and be disciplined about car maintenance because anything faulty will affect its performance and you will actually notice a change in its performance.

Claire Atukwase

I drove the Toyota Vista 1999 model for close to seven years. Mine ran on a 1780cc engine and was a Variable Valve Timing intelligent (VVT-i) automatic engine that would consume little fuel you would think it has a 1500cc engine. 

The spacious interior it had equally came with ample sitting comfort. It also had a digital dashboard that showed the speed at which you were driving, unlike most cars that have the round speedometer that you read attentively.  It shares spare parts with the Toyota Premio and other Toyota brands and these are easily available on the local market.

It used to have issues with the balancing bar that balances the rear tyres. It broke down several times and I often got rid of it and drove the car without the bar. The tyres are the normal size and each piece costs Shs200,000 and sometimes Shs250,000 depending on where you buy them from.

I would refuel with Shs50,000 and drive for four days from my home in Ntinda, Kampala, to my workplace in Kololo (a distance of five kilometres) and I would drive approximately seven kilometres per litre of fuel. Filling the tank cost me Shs280,000. This would take me to Ibanda town in western Uganda and I would still have enough fuel after five days of driving to different places. The consumption was always low unless I turned on the air conditioner.

Since it is a front wheel drive, it is fragile and safer to be driven on tarmacked roads. However, it has raised ground clearance that allows you manoeuvre through rough roads.

One of the things I hated about the car was its boot space which is very small compared to that of the Toyota Vista Estate with a bigger trunk. Besides the rear tyre balancing bar that always broke down when I drove over bumps, it reached a point and started over consuming oil because the oil seals were worn out. 

Sarah Tumwebaze

For the two years I drove the Vista, I liked its cream interior. I am comparing it to the black interior of the Volkswagen Golf I drove before acquiring the Vista. The Golf’s interior would be hot even when the windows were open, whereas the Vista’s was always cool.

My Vista ran on a 1800cc petrol engine, making its fuel consumption manageable. From my home in Gayaza to my former workplace in Namuwongo, Kampala (a distance of about 22km), I would refuel with Shs15,000.

I rarely went to the garage because I reserved the car for city rounds. Besides, it rarely broke down to the point of failing to move because of a mechanical fault.

It is a front wheel drive and one you can comfortably drive off-road. It also had good ground clearance and big profile tyres. The feeder road to my home was marrum but the car would manoeuvre through even when it rained and the road was slippery.