The Rumion is tick on maintenance

Pamela Owunkunda

The Toyota Rumion is one of the cars suitable for tall drivers because its boxy nature provides ample room for driving without your head touching the roof of the car. It also offers sufficient leg room for the driver and co-driver. The leg room for the passengers is not as sufficient but it’s equally comfortable.

It has a fairly raised ground clearance that allows you drive through most rough and potholed roads.

Much as my particular model that runs on a 1800cc engine that has a four wheel drive (4WD) system, I do not drive it in muddy and slippery roads because it has the engine strength to manoeuvre through the terrain; its 4WD system is not as strong as that of most sport utility vehicles. 

The 4WD system of the Rumion is mostly suitable for urban areas suburbs but not upcountry roads.

With an engine of 1800cc, its fuel consumption is affordable depending on how you accelerate and the movements you make. 

For instance, I drive from home in Kiira, about 13 kilometres to Nakasero for work and back home and I spend Shs160,000 on fuel in a week. 

The challenge is that traffic jam has an impact on fuel consumption, otherwise, I would not be spending as much as I do on fuel in a month or week.

It is also relatively small and this makes it easy to park at home and in public parking places such as malls that have small gazetted slots. 

The trunk is fairly big and can carry a sizeable amount of luggage when you have travelled out of town.

Richard Mugerwa

I use the Toyota Rumion as a commercial vehicle (Uber) and I find it one of the pocket friendly cars when it comes to fuel consumption. 

My particular model runs on a 1500cc engine and when I fill the tank, I can drive an average of 15 clients out of the city centre and I will still be left with half a tank or slightly less of fuel to run the next day. 

It is all about balancing the weight of your acceleration foot and avoiding the traffic gridlocked routes, which tends to increase fuel consumption. Even when I am not doing well financially, I refuel with Shs20,000 and it will be enough to drive three clients from whom I will make money to refuel and save a little money.

Depending on your driving habits which determine when and how often you go to the garage, a Rumion is one whose service and maintenance is equally affordable and manageable because it rarely breaks down, unless you are a rough driver. I go to the garage twice a month and on each visit, I spend Shs120,000. 

I replace engine oil if there is a need, brake pads, air cleaner and a few other serviceable parts. 

Its spare parts are also locally and readily available at most dealer points such as Kisekka Market.

Jackie Namugerwa

I love playing music when driving anywhere and it is one of the reasons I was attracted to the Toyota Rumion, besides its affordable fuel maintenance. 

It has eight speakers that are well distributed all over the car, on the dashboard, doors and in the trunk.

I also like it because its rear seats can be adjusted or tilted to create space for more luggage. 

However, it does not have to be heavy. When you overload it, because the car has a low ground clearance, the parts below the car will rub against the road surface and will become uncomfortable to drive.

It is a simple and small family car that accommodates five passengers, including the driver. It is a car you can comfortably wash yourself.

It also comes with ample storage pockets at each door. When I want to attend to office work and it’s a weekend with nowhere to concentrate in the house because of playful and noisy children, the Rumion becomes a mini-work place because it is where I keep some work files.