my toyota blade master

[sato]

i'm an aussie living in japan, and i thought i'd share some info about the car i've had for the last year and a half - a toyota blade master.

the story first of all

about 2 years ago i decided to buy a new car. in particular i wanted something comfortable and nice to drive for some road trips, but nothing too big and unweildy for the japanese roads. this meant my options were the mazda 3, subaru imprezza or toyota blade.

i checked out the mazda first, soon discovered it just wouldn't work. i'm 184cm which i don't think is all that tall, but with the seat in a comfortable driving position, the rear legroom was reduced to about 2-3 cm rendering that seat useless, and the slope of the windscreen took it too close to my head. it wasn't making contact but it was annoying and i felt confined.

next the subaru. very well engineering i must say, even before driving i was impressed by the car taken in its setup, but for the price it was very under-equipped. very standard interior made it feel more like a tweaked cheap car than a decent motor.

that left the toyota blade, either the standard 2.4L or the 3.5L master which had many other upgrades. of course i was keen to get a master but gz the price! on paper it didn't look too bad but with tax (not included in list price in japan) and just a basic satnav i was looking at about AU$60,000. i took a drive in the standard version and it was really good. good power, smooth too thanks to the CVT. the only thing that stopped my signing up for one then and there was the feeling that i might not be able to forget that it was the 2nd best. after thinking about it for a week or so, i jumped on the internet looking for some reviews to compare the standard blade to the master, hoping i could convince myself that the standard model was a good car in itself, and i happened to come across a used car site. there were about 30 blades for sale, and only 1 master (according to a salesman i asked later, even in japan the master isn't common, since it's kind of a niche market). as it happened the one for sale was the colour i wanted, with a number of good options, only 2 years old and 15,000km, for a reasonable price. i called the next day to say i'd take it!

feelings after a year and a half of driving

power: while the standard balde gave me "hmm yeah this thing's got some power..." feeling, the master is more of a "**** this thing's got some power!". my only complaint is the torque steer. full power off the line takes quite a bit of strength to hold the wheel and keep it from veering to the right. i don't think it has anything to do with tyres since i've put a new set on and it's still there. anyway it's seriously quick!

handling: being front-wheel drive and with a 3.5L V6 up front, i thought it'd lurch a bit but i was pleasantly surprised to find how stable it is, under power, braking or cornering. it's not a lamborgini of course but it handles very well, much better than i imagined, and the grip is also very good.

interior: it's very comfortable and quality all round. i've heard people equate the blade with the american 'matrix' but here they're just miles apart. i've read reviews of the matrix criticising the plasticky interior but there's none of that here. leather wheel, leather front and back seat, and suede (or possibly moleskin? the japanese description is ambiguous, it says 'skin' but doesn't what kind or even if it's just imitation) door and dash trim. loads of room for passengers in the back too, and a person taller than me could still drive it comfortably.

equipment: it has a full-sized screen in the center console for video and navigation (none of that tiny 3-inch rubbish the mazda 3 touts as being 'enough'), the cruise control is radar-assisted so it slows down automatically if the car in front is slower, it has a full complement of airbags including curtains, motorized seats, volume and track controls on the wheel, a pre-collision system that sets you up to be able to stop in a hurry if it detects you might need to (gives a warning beep too).

other comments:

the media system is very intelligent, if you put a cd in it saves it to a hard disk so you can listen again anytime.

the reversing camera is really great, even parallel parking in japan's tiny spaces i can get in in one turn thanks to it.

there are phone buttons on the wheel which makes me think it has bluetooth, though i haven't tried it yet.

there's a secondary vent on top of the dash that sends air to the back, it's really quite effective, more than i was expecting.

at first i was disappointed about there being no sports mode button for the transmission, but it does seem to know what to do. under normal driving it changes smoothly like a normal car, but put your foot down and while the first change then is normal, from that point it changes much more rapidly, making me think it might have some kind of internal switch. up changes are fast if you put the power down from the line too, and while there are paddles on the wheel for shifting, i've never felt the need to use them.

the start button is a little annoying. it's to the left of the wheel and will only start the engine with the brake pedal pressed, so you can't start the car without properly getting in and sitting down.

the auto-key is really useful. as long as it's somewhere on you, in a pocket or bag, the doors unlock at a touch so no more fumbling or searching for the fob.

edit:

few other things i forgot to add

it sounds a bit like a truck when the engine is cold (maybe that's common to V6's), but it soon changes to a nice 'quiet power'. also when it's pushed the engine note is a nice refined roar.

also mine was made late in 2007, the very end of the previous model, which means it has a proper handbrake. the new one has the foot-operated kind which might not bother some people, but the few times i've driven a toyota with that setup i've found it annoying that i couldn't put my left foot where i wanted.

noticed that i've put this in the wrong forum, sorry excuse the noob! could a mod move this thread please if they think it appropriate?

i think that's all, now the pictures...

(taking these i notice it needs a clean!)

Edited August 30, 2011 by sato

[ToyotaFreak]

Welcome to the club! That's a nice Blade Master! Have seen the JDM-spec HDD Navi units on Toyota Japan's website & Yahoo Japan Auctions. Those things are nice, should have gotten one of those back in Malaysia instead of my current Chinese generic brand unit. Just curious, is the hard disk upgradeable to a higher capacity one? Most of the JDM units I see on the net come with a 40GB HDD.

Wished Australia would loosen up with the import restrictions, would love to see more variety as a consumer.

[sato]

Welcome to the club! That's a nice Blade Master! Have seen the JDM-spec HDD Navi units on Toyota Japan's website & Yahoo Japan Auctions. Those things are nice, should have gotten one of those back in Malaysia instead of my current Chinese generic brand unit. Just curious, is the hard disk upgradeable to a higher capacity one? Most of the JDM units I see on the net come with a 40GB HDD.

Wished Australia would loosen up with the import restrictions, would love to see more variety as a consumer.

hiya and thanks for the reply. that's a good question, actually the book for my system is even thicker than the car maintenance manual, and with my japanese being only mid-level i really don't know! i've been thinking about getting a new one anyway though, since the tv is analogue but the country has now gone digital-only. if i had to guess though i'd say no, not without buying a whole new system. things in japan always come as a box set, so if you wanted to buy a bigger hard drive, you'd have to buy the whole thing. it's pretty annoying actually!

re the important restrictions, i haven't heard of anything legally blocking the blade from being imported (though i could be wrong?), but selling for over $50,000 new, the master would definitely be subject to luxury tax which adds another 25%, making it basically too expensive to sell in aus, i think.

[DJKOR]

Man I envy you.

[P_T]

I wouldn't hesitate to drag a Golf R with that car. Too bad all we got here is the 100kW Corolla Geriatric.

That's the kind of Rolla that I wouldn't hesitate to spend money on modding. Sweet ride and I do envy you too.

[jtron85]

Nice! Thanks for sharing. Interesting details about the media system.

[1stKill]

Welcome...wicked little ride you have there,congrats.

any more pics? engine bay and rear end pics would be nice :D

Cheers

Lee

[johnnieboi]

me sad now....

[sato]

I wouldn't hesitate to drag a Golf R with that car. Too bad all we got here is the 100kW Corolla Geriatric.

That's the kind of Rolla that I wouldn't hesitate to spend money on modding. Sweet ride and I do envy you too.

me too! it certainly seems to have been designed as a direct competitor to the golf R.

would be interested to see how it goes against an RX8 too. the blade is more powerful but heavier...

[sato]

Welcome...wicked little ride you have there,congrats.

any more pics? engine bay and rear end pics would be nice :D

Cheers

Lee

ok i'll take some and add in a few minutes.

[chicken]

wow some impressive features! and the materials in the interior looks fantastic.

[juvenile]

noticed that i've put this in the wrong forum, sorry excuse the noob!

You own a Blade, you can post wherever you want

You had me at hello, till I saw the possible $60k price tag,still very very jealous..Welcome and thanks for sharing :) she's gorgeous...

[sato]

noticed that i've put this in the wrong forum, sorry excuse the noob!

You own a Blade, you can post wherever you want

You had me at hello, till I saw the possible $60k price tag,still very very jealous..Welcome and thanks for sharing :) she's gorgeous...

thanks i appreciate the support :)

mine was a lot less than $60k because it was used.

i checked just now to see what they are selling for these days, and on toyota's country-wide (japan-wide) network, there are 138 used blades for sale, and only 5 of them are masters. they're selling for around $25k but that's without any of the fees you always have to pay and aren't included in the price like in aus so basically i'd estimate about AU$30k buying in japan. then if you wanted to import you'd have to pay for the transport, cleaning for customs, you'd lose about 5% on the currency conversion and transfer charge, and after all that you have to worry if they'll live up to the bargain since being japanese your seller won't be subject to australian law! can see why toyota don't sell in aus really, especially as they sell so few even here where there is 5 times the population and customers.

[1stKill]

Thanks for the extra pics Sato ...wow the engine bay looks full B)

and yeah my Aurion sounds a bit dodgy when 1st fired up in the morning,no biggie as many members have mentioned similar sounds on start up.

Cheers

Lee

[P_T]

That Blade is around 200kW right? I would've been perfectly happy with a 150kW Corolla like the Sportivo... that isn't discontinued.

[dutchie101]

Beautiful. Welcome and looking forward to hearing more about the Blade. :)

[corza]

What the Levin ZR should be. Or somethig similar with power! Didn't know what a Blade was until now. I love it!

[le.vinh.zr]

can I just mention I REALLYYYY hate you? :P jk, awesom love it

[jeffy]

Wow, a nice read and a nice car, :]

radar detected cruise control rather interesting if I say so,

[sato]

Thanks for the extra pics Sato ...wow the engine bay looks full B)

yeah it is! sorry not much to see with all the plastic covers. the bay looks smaller than it actually is though, because to improve aerodynamics they've sloped the windscreen, but instead of sloping the top in and destroying headroom (like the mazda 3), they've sloped the bottom forwards, so the bonnet is shorter and the dash extends out and up over the bay.

That Blade is around 200kW right? I would've been perfectly happy with a 150kW Corolla like the Sportivo... that isn't discontinued.

206 apparently. gets it down pretty well too, the traction control doesn't feel the need to kick in on a fast start, though i have had it interfere once or twice trying to put too much power on round a corner (not 'spirited driving', japanese traffic is *heavy* and so a tiny gap is often all you're going to get so you have to take it!).

it's not just about the power though, better trans, suspension and brakes, and much more refined interior too.

Wow, a nice read and a nice car, :]

radar detected cruise control rather interesting if I say so,

yeah it's pretty cool actually, it's linked to the small lcd display between the dials, and shows when it's detected a car in front. it must properly look left and right too because it 'knows' what the other lanes are so it isn't bothered if the lanes happen to be set up so at some point cars appear to be coming right at you (S-bend, merging onto a curve etc), and it seem to be able to detect curves in the road too so it also does nothing if you're heading towards a solid wall as long as it the side of a curve.

when there's a car in front that's going slower it lets off the accelerator, then if that's not enough it'll slow down (not sure if it's applying brakes or just using engine braking tbh) and if that's not enough there's a collision warning beep. don't know if it'll then engage harder braking, haven't been game to test it!

Edited August 31, 2011 by sato

[P_T]

There are many features in a car that we won't get to see for years to come. The touch screen tv/stereo/gps for example. It's been available in cars since at least late 90s in Japan.

Where in Japan are you sato? Night time driving in Tokyo is not bad, specially once you're in rural area. I drove to and from nagano 10 years ago in a starlet GT turbo with my mate and it was a great experience.

[sato]

There are many features in a car that we won't get to see for years to come. The touch screen tv/stereo/gps for example. It's been available in cars since at least late 90s in Japan.

Where in Japan are you sato? Night time driving in Tokyo is not bad, specially once you're in rural area. I drove to and from nagano 10 years ago in a starlet GT turbo with my mate and it was a great experience.

hah don't get me started on features we won't see for years to come! did you know that carbon fibre was developed in the 60's? yet half a century later we're still driving steel crates! carmakers try to fob us off with the "it's expensive" line, while making absolutely no effort to find cheaper production methods.

australia is especially worse off though because of our taxes. every $1 of added value they add to the car (say in a proper multimedia system instead of a standard cd) ends up being an extra $1.50-$2 to the price of the car on sale in australia. the way around this is the way they take (i think), to ship them with a hole in the centre console and have the dealer add an australian system. this stuffs us up though because australia doesn't manufacture such systems, and really doesn't have the population for it to be viable.

the nearest big city where i am is kobe. was planning to drive up to the south-east area this year actually, but the disaster added an uncertainty factor that i don't really wanna risk. i'll probably go when they sort the place out and all the roads are confirmed fixed and the accomodation isn't suffering. so far the most enjoyable drive i've had was 4 days around the north of kyushu. actually another part of the good nav system is VICS, really helps avoid traffic jams, especially when a particular place is shown on TV and everyone in the country decides to go there completely jamming up the roads! once in shikoku there was a 3-hour line to reach a place we wanted to go, the nav sent as round a back way :). not perfect though, sometimes it's out of date and you're stuck on a road that shows green or drive freely down another that shows red.

[sato]

requested picture

[GHOSTIVO]

damm that is a nice ride,can't wait to hear more about the blade..

[zfr14]

the media system is very intelligent, if you put a cd in it saves it to a hard disk so you can listen again anytime.

Hi i need some help on this media system...i have a toyota blade with the same media system...i live in new zealand and ofcouse the car is imported from japan....i presume the media system is surely bluetooth compatible as is see the buttons on the steering, but when i try to pair my phone, the phone cant recognize the media player and i have tried a few phones...my question to you is, have u tried connecting to the bluetooth on ur phone? or are you aware of a bluetooth adapter that needs to be attached to the media player for the pairing?? help will be much appreciated! thanks!