Planning For Our Ideal, Realistic 3 Car Garage In Thailand
- Gerald Yuen
- Aug 16, 2022
- 4 min read

Having spent a fair bit of time on Thai roads, both in and out of Bangkok, I’ve learnt that there is no one perfect car for this country. From urban crawls on highways in the searing heat to stagnant traffic with knee-high floods, a constant curiosity keeps on playing in my mind - what is the perfect vehicle for Thailand? Is it a Toyota Yaris? It might be cheap to run and reliable, but maybe not the most useful if you head to the mountainous, sometimes treacherous North. How about a Ford Ranger Raptor? Sure, there is proper 500+ Nm of grunt on tap, but you’ll wish you had piloted a smaller vehicle in peak hour Bangkok traffic. I’ve decided that a 3 car garage sounds like the most likely scenario to satisfy keen drivers in Thailand. It will not be engulfed with hot hatches, super wagons and hypercars, but instead this shortlist will reveal a more realistic, practical and yet selfishly fun approach to car ownership in Thailand.
The Daily Warrior

This category seems more than ready for a compact EV (like a MINI E or Ora Good Cat). But we are not treading this route for now, until infrastructures prove that it can give us more confidence to subdue range anxiety. I’ve prioritised these factors for an ideal daily - it has to be compact, needs to have low end torque and needs to be made in Thailand (simply due to affordability and for future spare parts availability). I’ve narrowed it down to 2 options - Suzuki Swift and Mazda 2. For the former, the lack of a Swift Sports option makes it less appealing. And for the Mazda 2, I find it rather compelling for Mazda Thailand to spec the top-end model with a diesel motor. The XDL Sports come with a 1.5 turbodiesel, good for 250Nm from 1,500rpm. It’s not cheap compared to its rivals, though - it’s 20% more than the Yaris and Swift and on par with the newer, more practical Honda City hatchback. Even a 70k km mileage example is going for base-spec Yaris money. At THB799k brand new, it’s a lot of money for the metal but I feel it’s special enough to demand this premium.
The Family Hauler

I am happy and fortunate enough to own a Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid. We’ve driven the Toyota Corolla Cross for around 4,500km over the span of 2.5 months and despite its lean towards functionality, it is rather enjoyable to drive - the self-charging hybrid motor works perfectly for Thai roads. Keeping speeds at a sweet spot between 50-70km/h allows for maximum EV mode, while giving just sufficient exposure for the engine to charge the battery, and for the motor to aid in directly powering the car. It feels like you’re always trying to study how the mechanics work around you, and knowing that they are engineered by Toyota makes it that much more appealing from a reliability standpoint.

Would I consider other examples at this price point (THB1,000,000 / S$40k)? Not really. The HR-V could do the trick but the Corolla Cross seemed more capable handling family duties given its boxier dimensions. Plus the fact that there’s a Toyota dealership a 5-minute walk from home makes it a more tempting proposition from an ecosystem POV. I’ve always liked driving a black car ever since the Mitsubishi Airtrek Turbo and MkV VW Golf GTI in Singapore, and the Corolla Cross, although far from being sporty, does bring back some memories of my teenage days driving cars with performance that exceeded my driving ability. I’ve yet to document my time with this car - it will be on Lenspeed soon.
The “Selfish” Dream

Yes this statement might sound like an oxymoron - dreams need to be selfish for it to demand the pinnacle of desirability. Admittedly, this is the toughest section and I’ve yet to decide on that one car in charge of adrenaline - no less. A couple of cars came to mind - first-gen Subaru BRZ (simply because they are more accessible than the rarer GT86 in Thailand). A Facebook Marketplace search revealed around 90% listed are automatics, leaving examples like this stick shift unit super desirable (costing a pretty penny too). Still unsure if this motor can extract that satisfying sensation on full prod as I was left slightly underwhelmed during my experience with the 86 in Singapore in 2013. But I guess having driven mainstream cars for a good number of years this will be a breath of fresh air for weekend B road runs.

Next on the list will be the Mitsubishi Evo (preferably somewhere from 4 to 9), a wide spectrum but they do depend on condition, price, historical records and of course availability. A main pull will be to relive memories of the 4G63 engine, which was on the Airtrek Turbo - the first car I drove after passing my driving test! I’m confident this will satisfy my craving for proper driving having spent quality time with my neighbour’s Evo 6. These are disappearing as fast as ice in a microwave, but I am still hopeful that some will pop up in the classifieds. Fingers crossed!
And there you have it - a Mazda 2 diesel hatchback, Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid and manual Subaru BRZ / Evo 4 to 9. Let us know your thoughts!
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