Road Tests
Read the road tests that have appeared in Local Cars magazine
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Toyota Auris
The naming of cars is a fascinating subject for an idle moment spent in the smallest room in the house, and I often wonder if that is where many of the names are dreamt up! Now, I can understand the choice of Capri (Ford), for example, because it conjures up Mediterranean sun and blue seas, though for older people it may also remind them of the caterwauling Yorkshire lass Gracie Fields who lived there. Corniche (RR) evokes scenes of southern France, fine wine and food, while Picasso (Citroen) simply creates thoughts of a wild and wacky modern splasher of oils on canvas.
BMW wisely went for numbering their models, as did Renault for a while, but Toyota was happier with names like the Corolla (moon eclipse/flower?) and Yaris (um?) and this week’s test car, the Auris 5-door built in Burnston, Derbyshire while the 3-doors are built in Turkey.
My Blackberry had fun trying to translate the name Auris which may mean value in Chinese or perhaps Latin for gold but in the words of the prophet, ‘Who the heck cares?’
Whatever, the new 5-door Toyota Auris is a good-looking car which I gather the Japanese had designed in France. So it has a bit of design flair to soften the Euro box look which is the curse of all cars these days and which slips them into boring anonymity with great ease.
But as with all Toyota models, this may be a ploy to appeal to all world markets with a look which does not frighten the horses and yet has a laid-back quality at its core. This certainly appeals to what may be called sensible drivers who know Toyota represents reliability, despite the recent American-sourced media frenzy about throttles and brakes which strangely hasn’t affected sales according to the market gurus.
Trying to ape the increasingly popular mini MPVs, the new Auris is taller than the old model and its possible squareness is hidden by some subtle curves and bumps down its flank and boot, while the snub nose hides a new oil burner to chase the ever-growing diesel market.
The 1.4 litre D-4D 90 with 90hp and 205Nm of torque nice and low gives a 0 – 62mph figure of 11.9 seconds and with the throttle wide open and a following wind it should get to 121mph.
Where the engine really pleases is its frugal use of fuel with 60mpg being quoted and low emissions at 125 g/km to please the environmentalists and save your wallet by reduced VED of £120.
Once strapped in, the initial impressions were of solidity and good build quality with an ergonomic design for comfort and convenience.
The driver is faced by neat, two-dial dash and computer read-out in the centre of one. The comprehensive information can be switched from the steering wheel which also has repeat buttons for the powerful entertainment system.
The central consol sweeps down to the stubby and slick 6-speed gear box and it also houses the air con and CD radio.
Seats are huggy and multi-adjustable with durable but soft-to-touch fabric, and the whole interior gives the impression of space with lots of room front and back, including a generous boot, and that impression is not an illusion – it really is spacious.
Firing up the beast there is no doubt this is a diesel because on tick-over there is a decided rumble up front, but once on the move it becomes a very smooth and pleasant lump with a performance which feels a great deal more than its small1.4 litres.
Jane and I went to Kendal for the afternoon via the motorway when the Auris settled into purring cruise which required more volume of the Desert Island Disc programme I was listening to in order to drown Jane’s constant interventions!
We returned by the A6 I was utterly impressed by the way the Auris shot up that long drag to Shap summit. When I drove wagons many years ago Shap was a low gear crawl but the Toyota steamed up with no loss of speed in 4th!
Dumping Jane at home whose departing comment was the Auris was an ace car, I then did my usual B road and lane test route over which the Auris handled extremely well with good feel through the precise steering and solid cornering without any roll.
It has, like most modern cars, lots of handling bells and whistles and with a commanding driving position makee the whole experience fun as I flipped round the six-speed box as if on the Malcolm Wilson Rally.
However, if it’s out-and-out performance you require, then the top of the range SR180 2.0 litre with a whopping 175bhp, stump-pulling 400Nm and a mid range power similar to a Porsche 911 Carrera S of 50 -75mph in 8.4 seconds, would be the one to go for.
A worthy competitor to cars like the Ford Focus, the Auris got Jane approval for looks and comfort, plus many an admiring look in Kendal, and with even more swingeing taxes on the way, I may have to move to an oil-burner and smaller Toyota and the Auris is in my sights!
Like all Toyotas, the Auris is not cheap but quality rarely is and with prices starting at £14,463 OTR for the base three-door and £17,195 the test vehicle, you have the comfort of high residuals if you ever wanted to change and the world-wide Toyota reputation for reliability.
Story by Tony Brunskill |
