Long term loan: Toyota Auris

Date: May 18 2007
Mileage: 1071 miles
Test MPG: 41.8mpg (Average speed 32mph)
Faults: None
Expenses: None
More Reports:

June 2007
August 2007

In April 2007 we took delivery of a Toyota Auris – ours to drive for six months.

Each month we’ll be letting you know exactly what is it like to own and drive the replacement for the world’s best-selling car, the Toyota Corolla.

Read on for our report of the first 1,000 miles.

We were very excited when our silver Toyota Auris turned up last month.

I was looking forward to the opportunity of putting a car through its paces over an extended period – especially when that car carries such high expectations.

The Toyota Auris succeeds the multi-million selling Toyota Corolla and, as such, lines up in arguably the market which gives buyers the most difficult choices.

The Ford Focus, VW Golf and Peugeot 307 are just three of the other top quality cars fighting for your hatchback pound.

The Auris is a good-looking car and recognisably a descendant of the Corolla,

The wide rear tapers forwards and down to the modern Toyota front end in an appealing way which gives it plenty of road presence and ensures it is liveable without being dull.

After stepping inside and inhaling that lovely “new car” smell our appreciation of the design extended to the interior.

The two most notable features are the central console and the information display.

The console extends from the dash to the floor, housing the gear knob and the handbrake. The handbrake position is unusual but we found the layout very practical and something which requires no thought after a few weeks’ driving.

The whole layout is a good mix of functional and stylish with the orange, illuminated speedo and rev counter catching the eye, while the interior’s light and dark plastics have a quality feel.

It’s a nice place to sit, and that applies to the back seats too with generous headroom throughout the car as well as ample legroom.

There are five different trim specifiations to choose from and our T Spirit version, one off the top, includes keyless entry. Keep the key in your pocket and you can open the driver door and go at the push of a Start button.

When we borrow cars for a week we often find that we’ve just got used to keyless entry when its time to hand the key back.

But after driving the Auris for a month, just as with the unusual handbrake position, it has become something we barely register any more.

We are driving the six speed 2-litre D-4D 130 and it is as at home on the urban commute as well as the long distance haul, partly thanks to a six speed box which delivers plenty of power at low revs.

The Auris returns an average 52.3 mpg and buyers are assisted in their efforts to drive economically by Toyota’s Gear Shift Indicator advising when a lower or higher gear would be better.

Some motorists might turn their noses up at the nannying but we found it a useful way of becoming familiar with the gear changes and it is fairly unobtrusive.

Our consumption so far has been 41.8mpg, but that has been recorded at an average speed of 32mph and shapes up well against Toyota’s predicted 40.4mpg for urban driving.

The handling is sharp and responds well at low speeds but we’ve also taken the car on a couple of 400 mile round trips where a combination of a comfortable ride and cruise control has left us refreshed at the end.

We had no trouble fitting in plenty of luggage for the trips with 354 litres of space available in the boot which can be increased to 761 litres by folding down the back seats.

Add all this to the five star EuroNCAP score and Toyota’s great reputation for reliability and you can see the Auris is a very serious rival for the Focus, Golf, 307 et al.

Our first month of motoring has been trouble-free and enjoyable.

The worst criticism levelled at the Auris, and the Corolla before it, is a certain lack of excitement.

But part of becoming the best-selling car is appealing to a broad range of tastes and doing the big things well.

We wouldn’t say the Auris set our hearts racing, but as a stylish, no-nonsense, high-quality five-door hatch, it’s ticking all the boxes so far.

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Long Term Update: June

Toyota Auris: Auto Driven

Rivals: 
VW Golf
Kia Cee'd
Honda Civic

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