New 2009 Avensis Dilemma

[ukjamesy]

I'm swithering about replacing my 2007 5-door 1.8 Auto Avensis with a shiny new one. I almost bought a Prius at the weekend but I just don't get the same feeling of quality or style from it. It feels a bit cheap inside, despite its oodles of technology.

Anyway....I'm thinking of getting a 4 door, 1.8 Multidrive T4 with the leather interior. Problem is - what colour of bodywork should I go for and what colour of interior?

I've see the dark blue model with beige (stone?) leather interior which looked lovely but I'm worried about how practical that combination is. i.e. the slightest scratch on the bodywork will show up very easily and the leather might be a nightmare to keep clean. I'm also concerned that the beige interior might be a bit 'fuddy-duddy' for me?!

What are people's opinions? I know I can request black leather interior but worried it might look a bit cheap compared to the beige. Does anybody have one with the black leather and what are their views on it?

HELP!

:-)

[systonlad]

I've got a T4 in Decuma Grey with the black leather, when I ordered it I was installing computer kit into Toyota dealers all over the country. Every dealer had a blue T4 tourer in the showroom with the stone leather, they looked great to start with but as they got a few weeks old the carpets & the seats started to look a bit grubby in some of the demo cars, hence I went for the black interior,the leather is quite good quality, certainly better than the Passat I test drove but no where near the quality of the custom retrim I had in my old Vauxhall, but I'm pleased with it. The big let down on the interior is the soft easily marked plastics.

[ukjamesy]

I've got a T4 in Decuma Grey with the black leather, when I ordered it I was installing computer kit into Toyota dealers all over the country. Every dealer had a blue T4 tourer in the showroom with the stone leather, they looked great to start with but as they got a few weeks old the carpets & the seats started to look a bit grubby in some of the demo cars, hence I went for the black interior,the leather is quite good quality, certainly better than the Passat I test drove but no where near the quality of the custom retrim I had in my old Vauxhall, but I'm pleased with it. The big let down on the interior is the soft easily marked plastics.

Thats interesting. Thats what I feared about the beige interior, particularly the floors. I wonder how the dark blue would look with the black leather interior. I have Decuma Grey just now but fancy a change.

[ukjamesy]

I've got a T4 in Decuma Grey with the black leather, when I ordered it I was installing computer kit into Toyota dealers all over the country. Every dealer had a blue T4 tourer in the showroom with the stone leather, they looked great to start with but as they got a few weeks old the carpets & the seats started to look a bit grubby in some of the demo cars, hence I went for the black interior,the leather is quite good quality, certainly better than the Passat I test drove but no where near the quality of the custom retrim I had in my old Vauxhall, but I'm pleased with it. The big let down on the interior is the soft easily marked plastics.

Thats interesting. Thats what I feared about the beige interior, particularly the floors. I wonder how the dark blue would look with the black leather interior. I have Decuma Grey just now but fancy a change.

Also meant to ask if anybody has experience of the 1.8 Multidrive. Better than the current 1.8 Auto? Does it still have the Snow Mode feature?

[hanshin]

I've got a T4 in Decuma Grey with the black leather, when I ordered it I was installing computer kit into Toyota dealers all over the country. Every dealer had a blue T4 tourer in the showroom with the stone leather, they looked great to start with but as they got a few weeks old the carpets & the seats started to look a bit grubby in some of the demo cars, hence I went for the black interior,the leather is quite good quality, certainly better than the Passat I test drove but no where near the quality of the custom retrim I had in my old Vauxhall, but I'm pleased with it. The big let down on the interior is the soft easily marked plastics.

Thats interesting. Thats what I feared about the beige interior, particularly the floors. I wonder how the dark blue would look with the black leather interior. I have Decuma Grey just now but fancy a change.

I've got T4 in dark blue with black leather interior and I think it's a good combination. The beige interior might look a little bit more exclusive, but the black leather is far more practical.

HH

[ukjamesy]

I've got a T4 in Decuma Grey with the black leather, when I ordered it I was installing computer kit into Toyota dealers all over the country. Every dealer had a blue T4 tourer in the showroom with the stone leather, they looked great to start with but as they got a few weeks old the carpets & the seats started to look a bit grubby in some of the demo cars, hence I went for the black interior,the leather is quite good quality, certainly better than the Passat I test drove but no where near the quality of the custom retrim I had in my old Vauxhall, but I'm pleased with it. The big let down on the interior is the soft easily marked plastics.

Thats interesting. Thats what I feared about the beige interior, particularly the floors. I wonder how the dark blue would look with the black leather interior. I have Decuma Grey just now but fancy a change.

I've got T4 in dark blue with black leather interior and I think it's a good combination. The beige interior might look a little bit more exclusive, but the black leather is far more practical.

HH

Thanks for that. I think you are right. The beige looks classy but then I saw a dark blue Jag this morning with beige interior and thought it looked a bit cheesy and fuddy duddy (an older mans car!). You don't have a picture of your car with interior shot do you by any chance? I'm struggling to find a decent image of one with the black leather.

Thanks again.

[hanshin]

I've got a T4 in Decuma Grey with the black leather, when I ordered it I was installing computer kit into Toyota dealers all over the country. Every dealer had a blue T4 tourer in the showroom with the stone leather, they looked great to start with but as they got a few weeks old the carpets & the seats started to look a bit grubby in some of the demo cars, hence I went for the black interior,the leather is quite good quality, certainly better than the Passat I test drove but no where near the quality of the custom retrim I had in my old Vauxhall, but I'm pleased with it. The big let down on the interior is the soft easily marked plastics.

Thats interesting. Thats what I feared about the beige interior, particularly the floors. I wonder how the dark blue would look with the black leather interior. I have Decuma Grey just now but fancy a change.

I've got T4 in dark blue with black leather interior and I think it's a good combination. The beige interior might look a little bit more exclusive, but the black leather is far more practical.

HH

Thanks for that. I think you are right. The beige looks classy but then I saw a dark blue Jag this morning with beige interior and thought it looked a bit cheesy and fuddy duddy (an older mans car!). You don't have a picture of your car with interior shot do you by any chance? I'm struggling to find a decent image of one with the black leather.

Thanks again.

I do I'll upload later when I get home.

[hanshin]

I've got a T4 in Decuma Grey with the black leather, when I ordered it I was installing computer kit into Toyota dealers all over the country. Every dealer had a blue T4 tourer in the showroom with the stone leather, they looked great to start with but as they got a few weeks old the carpets & the seats started to look a bit grubby in some of the demo cars, hence I went for the black interior,the leather is quite good quality, certainly better than the Passat I test drove but no where near the quality of the custom retrim I had in my old Vauxhall, but I'm pleased with it. The big let down on the interior is the soft easily marked plastics.

Thats interesting. Thats what I feared about the beige interior, particularly the floors. I wonder how the dark blue would look with the black leather interior. I have Decuma Grey just now but fancy a change.

I've got T4 in dark blue with black leather interior and I think it's a good combination. The beige interior might look a little bit more exclusive, but the black leather is far more practical.

HH

Thanks for that. I think you are right. The beige looks classy but then I saw a dark blue Jag this morning with beige interior and thought it looked a bit cheesy and fuddy duddy (an older mans car!). You don't have a picture of your car with interior shot do you by any chance? I'm struggling to find a decent image of one with the black leather.

Thanks again.

I do I'll upload later when I get home.

I had a look at the Toyota UK site and it turns out that my car has the color called Tungsten Blue (Called Galaxy Blue here in Norway). But I still think it would look good in the Dark Blue/Black leather combination.

[gordi]

Go to the Toyota website and build yourself one with black leather , Looks good ! I have the black and its easily kept clean , and no their is no snow mode on the new one , just a sport button and on the 2 litre you get paddles .

[ukjamesy]

I've got a T4 in Decuma Grey with the black leather, when I ordered it I was installing computer kit into Toyota dealers all over the country. Every dealer had a blue T4 tourer in the showroom with the stone leather, they looked great to start with but as they got a few weeks old the carpets & the seats started to look a bit grubby in some of the demo cars, hence I went for the black interior,the leather is quite good quality, certainly better than the Passat I test drove but no where near the quality of the custom retrim I had in my old Vauxhall, but I'm pleased with it. The big let down on the interior is the soft easily marked plastics.

Thats interesting. Thats what I feared about the beige interior, particularly the floors. I wonder how the dark blue would look with the black leather interior. I have Decuma Grey just now but fancy a change.

I've got T4 in dark blue with black leather interior and I think it's a good combination. The beige interior might look a little bit more exclusive, but the black leather is far more practical.

HH

Thanks for that. I think you are right. The beige looks classy but then I saw a dark blue Jag this morning with beige interior and thought it looked a bit cheesy and fuddy duddy (an older mans car!). You don't have a picture of your car with interior shot do you by any chance? I'm struggling to find a decent image of one with the black leather.

Thanks again.

I do I'll upload later when I get home.

I had a look at the Toyota UK site and it turns out that my car has the color called Tungsten Blue (Called Galaxy Blue here in Norway). But I still think it would look good in the Dark Blue/Black leather combination.

Thanks for the photos! Looks nice! I see you went for the tourer with the sat nav. I can't justify the cost of that sat nav for the sort of driving I do, but looks impressive. Tungsten blue looks a bit grey to me (certianly more grey than the website would indicate). I think i'm heading towards the black leather option now. Looks nice and much more practical, particularly as I intend to keep this model longer (5+ years).

[ukjamesy]

Go to the Toyota website and build yourself one with black leather , Looks good ! I have the black and its easily kept clean , and no their is no snow mode on the new one , just a sport button and on the 2 litre you get paddles .

Thanks for info re: snow mode. I guess they think the car is now so good it doesn't need it? I found it handy on my sloping and L-shaped driveway but I'm sure the new model would manage ok. I could always force it into second gear manually anyway I guess.

Re: the website and building my car. I've been doing that a lot recently using the "Configure" option. I can't see anywhere to build a car and choose options like interior colours - am I just being thick? ;-)

[Ben565]

I have a black one with cloth interior.

Black paints nice when it's clean, but it shows the dirt, it's a pain to wash as every little watermark left over shows up, and it shows the tiny spiders web scratchs really badly too despite being careful cleaning it.

I guess the cloth interior doesnt really apply to you, but the cloth inserts in the door get grubby and it shows up, also the plastic door trim shows marks really badly too.

Having said all that I think Blacks the best colour and i'd buy it again.

[ukjamesy]

I have a black one with cloth interior.

Black paints nice when it's clean, but it shows the dirt, it's a pain to wash as every little watermark left over shows up, and it shows the tiny spiders web scratchs really badly too despite being careful cleaning it.

I guess the cloth interior doesnt really apply to you, but the cloth inserts in the door get grubby and it shows up, also the plastic door trim shows marks really badly too.

Having said all that I think Blacks the best colour and i'd buy it again.

Well - thanks to everybody who has commented and offered their advice and opionions. I've gone and done it now - my car is on order. After much deliberation about interior and exterior colours and even body shape I settled on an Avensis T4 in Tyrol Silver which comes with black leather. Took a TR for a test drive today and was amazed at just how different (and superior) it felt in terms of road handling and oomph from the autobox than my current 07 T3X. I take delivery in just over 2 weeks and can't wait. Now I'm to try and relax and worry about just how much money I've spent!!! LOL

[Phoenix999]

You have made a nice wise choice

[jamesholden]

From personal experience of dark and light leather interiors I can say that whilst it may go against conventional theory, beige interiors hide dirt better than dark ones.

General grime and dirt is a medium browny/grey sort of colour so any dirt paler than black instantly shows up on dark colours, which includes mud, dust, fluff etc, beige hides all of these.

[gordi]

What do you think about the keyless entry and start James ?

[hanshin]

I have a black one with cloth interior.

Black paints nice when it's clean, but it shows the dirt, it's a pain to wash as every little watermark left over shows up, and it shows the tiny spiders web scratchs really badly too despite being careful cleaning it.

I guess the cloth interior doesnt really apply to you, but the cloth inserts in the door get grubby and it shows up, also the plastic door trim shows marks really badly too.

Having said all that I think Blacks the best colour and i'd buy it again.

Well - thanks to everybody who has commented and offered their advice and opionions. I've gone and done it now - my car is on order. After much deliberation about interior and exterior colours and even body shape I settled on an Avensis T4 in Tyrol Silver which comes with black leather. Took a TR for a test drive today and was amazed at just how different (and superior) it felt in terms of road handling and oomph from the autobox than my current 07 T3X. I take delivery in just over 2 weeks and can't wait. Now I'm to try and relax and worry about just how much money I've spent!!! LOL

Congrats!

[ukjamesy]

I have a black one with cloth interior.

Black paints nice when it's clean, but it shows the dirt, it's a pain to wash as every little watermark left over shows up, and it shows the tiny spiders web scratchs really badly too despite being careful cleaning it.

I guess the cloth interior doesnt really apply to you, but the cloth inserts in the door get grubby and it shows up, also the plastic door trim shows marks really badly too.

Having said all that I think Blacks the best colour and i'd buy it again.

Well - thanks to everybody who has commented and offered their advice and opionions. I've gone and done it now - my car is on order. After much deliberation about interior and exterior colours and even body shape I settled on an Avensis T4 in Tyrol Silver which comes with black leather. Took a TR for a test drive today and was amazed at just how different (and superior) it felt in terms of road handling and oomph from the autobox than my current 07 T3X. I take delivery in just over 2 weeks and can't wait. Now I'm to try and relax and worry about just how much money I've spent!!! LOL

Congrats!

Thanks! I meant to say that I opted for the saloon 4-door body. The tourer is £1000 more but they were offering me £500 off the price of a tourer. I could have stretched the budget for that easily but it is a very big car and there's only the two of us. Seemed silly. Plus, I still think the saloon looks a bit classier. Also, if they sell more of the tourer than saloon as expected I'll be happy to be driving the less 'common' model.

How am I going to get through the next two and half weeks......

[Phoenix999]

....Plus, I still think the saloon looks a bit classier....

ooooo I think not my friend, I think not

[ukjamesy]

....Plus, I still think the saloon looks a bit classier....

ooooo I think not my friend, I think not

Well, I guess you would be a bit biased woudln't you!? ;)

Regardless of the shape - they are great cars, aren't they? Such a difference in the feel of driving the new gen 3 compared by 2nd gen model. So excited!

[Heidfirst]

The tourer is £1000 more but they were offering me £500 off the price of a tourer. I could have stretched the budget for that easily but it is a very big car

it's all of 2" longer & exactly the same height & width compared to the saloon.

Still if you don't need/want the load flexibility & the saloon is what you want, great.

Enjoy your new car & spend the £500 on something else

[Phoenix999]

....Plus, I still think the saloon looks a bit classier....

ooooo I think not my friend, I think not

Well, I guess you would be a bit biased woudln't you!? ;)

Regardless of the shape - they are great cars, aren't they? Such a difference in the feel of driving the new gen 3 compared by 2nd gen model. So excited!

Style is of course down to personal choice.... but whatever the version they are indeed good cars and very well built for the price.... good luck with your new car

[gordi]

I think the saloon looks classier as well James , Enjoy when it comes ..

[ukjamesy]

I think the saloon looks classier as well James , Enjoy when it comes ..

Thanks folks. I agree - superb cars. I can't wait!

[ukjamesy]

Just had the dealer confirm that my new Avensis T4 in Tyrol Silver will be ready for collection the 21st! Woohoo