Goodbye Avensis

[robvensis]

Hello

After 30 days with the 2.2 T4 2006 Avensis I have now returned it to the dealer and paid a bit more to swap for a Prius T-Spirit with 24k miles shock horror

Although I really liked the avensis I felt it had some shortcomings, the seat being the killer that i couldnt live with. why they shove that slab of non adjustable concrete in the back (they call it lumbar support) is anyones guess. Park bench time!

I didnt like the handling round town either having to heave it round corners.

and what the hey is that "rain sensing wiper" about? it bears no relation to what the rain is doing and tends to loon off at 100 miles an hour.

Apart from the seats its minor stuff and ill miss the power and acceleration of the 2.2 and its exceptional ability on the motorway. i am however enjoying the prius, its a very different world

nice to have met you all and ill now be found kicking around the hybrid forums

All the best

Rob

[Phoenix999]

....and what the hey is that "rain sensing wiper" about? it bears no relation to what the rain is doing and tends to loon off at 100 miles an hour....

What the ******* heck are you doing driving at 100mph anyway

[robvensis]

Nice one

Also i didnt realise that the wiper used a 2.2 turbo charged motor of its own

....and what the hey is that "rain sensing wiper" about? it bears no relation to what the rain is doing and tends to loon off at 100 miles an hour....

What the ******* heck are you doing driving at 100mph anyway

[yeehaa2.2d4d]

Hello

After 30 days with the 2.2 T4 2006 Avensis I have now returned it to the dealer and paid a bit more to swap for a Prius T-Spirit with 24k miles shock horror

Although I really liked the avensis I felt it had some shortcomings, the seat being the killer that i couldnt live with. why they shove that slab of non adjustable concrete in the back (they call it lumbar support) is anyones guess. Park bench time!

I didnt like the handling round town either having to heave it round corners.

and what the hey is that "rain sensing wiper" about? it bears no relation to what the rain is doing and tends to loon off at 100 miles an hour.

Apart from the seats its minor stuff and ill miss the power and acceleration of the 2.2 and its exceptional ability on the motorway. i am however enjoying the prius, its a very different world

nice to have met you all and ill now be found kicking around the hybrid forums

All the best

Rob

Hope you enjoy the Prius; the seats are very comfortable and the cabin an enjoyable place to be for any length of time.

However I wonder what Rob's motoring consists of? The Prius IMHO is unsuitable for long motorway journeys at anything over 60mph due to the thrashy small petrol engine. The fuel consumption will also disappoint if you compare to the offical figures.

However around town the torquey (and of course auto) electric/petrol combo is great fun - and you can still hear the JBL audio ;)

The Avensis also puts the Prius's boot space to shame; so I wonder what made Rob go for the Avensis in the first place?

[t-spiritpete]

Hello

After 30 days with the 2.2 T4 2006 Avensis I have now returned it to the dealer and paid a bit more to swap for a Prius T-Spirit with 24k miles shock horror

Although I really liked the avensis I felt it had some shortcomings, the seat being the killer that i couldnt live with. why they shove that slab of non adjustable concrete in the back (they call it lumbar support) is anyones guess. Park bench time!

I didnt like the handling round town either having to heave it round corners.

and what the hey is that "rain sensing wiper" about? it bears no relation to what the rain is doing and tends to loon off at 100 miles an hour.

Apart from the seats its minor stuff and ill miss the power and acceleration of the 2.2 and its exceptional ability on the motorway. i am however enjoying the prius, its a very different world

nice to have met you all and ill now be found kicking around the hybrid forums

All the best

Rob

All the very best Rob, I might have a look on the Prius forum to see if you are causing any trouble on there with the old men, .

Take care mate .... Pete.

[robvensis]

Cheers Pete, ill do my best.

now where is that old cardigan and those open toe sandals........................

Hello

After 30 days with the 2.2 T4 2006 Avensis I have now returned it to the dealer and paid a bit more to swap for a Prius T-Spirit with 24k miles shock horror

Although I really liked the avensis I felt it had some shortcomings, the seat being the killer that i couldnt live with. why they shove that slab of non adjustable concrete in the back (they call it lumbar support) is anyones guess. Park bench time!

I didnt like the handling round town either having to heave it round corners.

and what the hey is that "rain sensing wiper" about? it bears no relation to what the rain is doing and tends to loon off at 100 miles an hour.

Apart from the seats its minor stuff and ill miss the power and acceleration of the 2.2 and its exceptional ability on the motorway. i am however enjoying the prius, its a very different world

nice to have met you all and ill now be found kicking around the hybrid forums

All the best

Rob

All the very best Rob, I might have a look on the Prius forum to see if you are causing any trouble on there with the old men, .

Take care mate .... Pete.

[robvensis]

Hi

I liked both the Avensis and the Prius when i was looking to change and test drove both as we needed to change our car as my wife is expecting. I waved goodbye to my celica SS3 import a couple of months ago which was a wrench, so you can see im not your typical lentil eating save the world type of guy (I am actually a bit of a climate change denier as it goes so you can see ill fit in straight away with my new pals in the prius forum)

I was a bit nervous of the hybrid stuff as it was so different, but out of the choice between the 2.0 diesel Avensis and the prius I would have chosen the Prius 100%. I happened to give the 2.2 a drive before I made my decision and was carried away by the superb performance and was still expecting to get 40-50MPG (which I did!). If the seats had been better for me I would have probably kept it, but ended up still wishing that I had taken the prius. The boot isnt as big but is still a big boot. It feels more spacious inside, definately has more space in the back for passengers and is just designed incredibly well. Driving it is space age and we joke that its like an episode of the Jetsons!

It is a very different driving experience but the more I drive it the more I like it. it doesnt have the acceleration of the 2.2 clearly but still manages a combined 143 bhp and 0-60 in 10.9 (just like my old 2.0 vectra!). I am doing a 20 mile run down the A1 and then 10 mins through stevenage town to work and so the hybrid is great. it charges on the A1 and then I get through the town on purely electric. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that my fuel econmy is returning 57mpg doing this run which was the same as my yaris + £15 road tax. I do have criuse control which makes a huge difference and so I only have to steer most of the way with the odd speed change being done on the cruise control stalk. Also its very quiet at 70 mph, hate to say it but quieter than the avensis on the motorway too.

all the best

rob

Hope you enjoy the Prius; the seats are very comfortable and the cabin an enjoyable place to be for any length of time.

However I wonder what Rob's motoring consists of? The Prius IMHO is unsuitable for long motorway journeys at anything over 60mph due to the thrashy small petrol engine. The fuel consumption will also disappoint if you compare to the offical figures.

However around town the torquey (and of course auto) electric/petrol combo is great fun - and you can still hear the JBL audio ;)

The Avensis also puts the Prius's boot space to shame; so I wonder what made Rob go for the Avensis in the first place?