Is An Auris A Good Choice

[donald packham]

As a long time Toyota owner with previously 3 Carinas and 5 Avensis (my present an Avensis tourer) I now wish to downsize as I no longer require a large car. I have read many of the comments from owners of the Auris, both past and present, and have become concerned about the reliability issues outlined by so many. I have always had totally reliable motoring from all of my Toyota cars (apart from having to pay for two new headlights on my present one) and wonder if my thought of buying an Auris is a sensible choice. Are there any satisfied owners who can give me a positive outlook for this model? Performance is not my main requesite but reliability, comfort and a smooth quiet ride are important. Can anyone advise me?

[adamc260]

As a long time Toyota owner with previously 3 Carinas and 5 Avensis (my present an Avensis tourer) I now wish to downsize as I no longer require a large car. I have read many of the comments from owners of the Auris, both past and present, and have become concerned about the reliability issues outlined by so many. I have always had totally reliable motoring from all of my Toyota cars (apart from having to pay for two new headlights on my present one) and wonder if my thought of buying an Auris is a sensible choice. Are there any satisfied owners who can give me a positive outlook for this model? Performance is not my main requesite but reliability, comfort and a smooth quiet ride are important. Can anyone advise me?

I pick my Auris up on thursday but the ride is very comfortable, can't comment on reliability obviously but I haven't heard too many horror stories! I'm swapping from vauxhall though, anything is better than that!

[Rick D4D]

To be honest I don't think the Auris is any worse than any other car regardless of what some owners will say, yes some things could have been designed better or made of better materials but the overhaul problem here is that everyone wants a car as cheap as possible so an accountant not an engineer makes all the decisions here and Toyota are no different to any other manufacturer when these decisions are made. We have a T180 and apart from some minor niggles repaired under warranty and yes they was minor as I have a very keen eye for attention to detail the only real problem we have is the poorer than expected MPG that is in my opinion caused by the DPF exhaust system which truth be known is fitted to comply with euro emissions regulations, only thing Toyota are guilty of in my opinion is fitting this technology 4 years before they had to but then again I could be an eco warrior and proud of my clean and soot free diesel. Problem here is I value the cost of the fuel more than the emissions but hey you cant win them all, but as for your Auris if you like the car then I would not worry to much and with Toyota's new 5 year warranty who cares as if it is a lemon just get shut before 5 years is up.

[Jike]

As a long time Toyota owner with previously 3 Carinas and 5 Avensis (my present an Avensis tourer) I now wish to downsize as I no longer require a large car. I have read many of the comments from owners of the Auris, both past and present, and have become concerned about the reliability issues outlined by so many. I have always had totally reliable motoring from all of my Toyota cars (apart from having to pay for two new headlights on my present one) and wonder if my thought of buying an Auris is a sensible choice. Are there any satisfied owners who can give me a positive outlook for this model? Performance is not my main requesite but reliability, comfort and a smooth quiet ride are important. Can anyone advise me?

I have had a 1600TR, loved it (other than the infamous pedal recall , but that was dealt with sensibly and without fuss), no problems, a 1600 SR, loved it more, no problems, and now an SR 180. Absolutely love it, touch wood and all other superstitous stuff, no problems. All comfy, perform when needed, don't cost me a mint when I go on holiday. Hope this helps. I can only speak as I find.

I have learnt though, if you want to be put off any car, go on their forum.It's normally negative.

[OldSkoO1]

They are mechanically sound. You get the occasional odd ball. Its the interior that seems to split opinions.

Its a brand new model so initially there were some expected teething problems with noisy brakes and rattles but I've been in a new shape and most things seem sorted

[toytech80]

Ive not seem any major concerens with the petrols and mines been great although there may be odd small issues like any car,i do not recommend the diesels due to head gasket/carbon stamping issues although if you do get one the toyota warranty will cover the majority

[don21]

Compared to your Avensis the interior is rubbish.

Cheap and nasty plastics.

[Aurissimo]

what i would say if you are buying a completely new Auris it should be the BEST choice right now... following their misdemeanour's in recent years (cost downs, recalls , taking shortcuts etc...) and coming into a phase where they are trying to re-build their image...

I am pretty sure they will not dare release anything into market that is not top notch build quality and the overchecks they must be putting at suppliers, manufacturing etc...

All this should eliminate all the niggly issues we have all suffered. I have now put 80k on this car and it has never let me down mechanically, never missed a beat, and still providing the best performance ... I have suffered loads of niggly issues, but i reckon all these would be eliminated from the new Auris.

0

For me I try and think how an 80k miles Astra, Golf etc would feel like...and I am sure I would be hating the car by now...

[Rick D4D]

I have now put 80k on this car and it has never let me down mechanically, never missed a beat, and still providing the best performance ... I have suffered loads of niggly issues

I tell you what mate, knowing you have done 80k and still going strong is a good vote of confidence for me as our car is 3 years old in 3 months so will be out of warranty. This is not a major issue and at 36k the T180 should be fine but a lot of people here would like you to believe the head gasket or dcat will fail soon leaving us with an expensive repair bill but if you have done 80k no problems then I don't see why we cant, mind you in my opinion the head gaskets don't seem a major problem on the Auris even if they are a similar engine as the Rav they are 2 very different cars with different drive trains and heat projection figures and load on the engines.

[donald packham]

I am indebted to all those Auris owners who have kindly given me their opinions in answer to my query. It is good to hear from people who are satisfied owners. I am sure my best choice would be to buy brand new but unfortunetly I am not in a position to buy a new Auris but will get the youngest car that I can afford.

Many thanks for your help.

[jettech]

I have read many posts back on the forum and in my opinion there are 5-6 people that have been happy with their cars. They answered your query now. The majority of owners had multiple issue or they already sold their Toyotas due to amount of faults. I bought my car just few month ago and already had new steering column fitted and now it is waiting for new evaporator as A/C failed. That is enough for me to consider replacement before warranty expires.Some members of the forum like to believe that only Toyota makes reliable cars and all others have to push their vehicles to get anywhere.

[nicecar]

I have now put 80k on this car and it has never let me down mechanically, never missed a beat, and still providing the best performance ... I have suffered loads of niggly issues

I tell you what mate, knowing you have done 80k and still going strong is a good vote of confidence for me as our car is 3 years old in 3 months so will be out of warranty. This is not a major issue and at 36k the T180 should be fine but a lot of people here would like you to believe the head gasket or dcat will fail soon leaving us with an expensive repair bill but if you have done 80k no problems then I don't see why we cant, mind you in my opinion the head gaskets don't seem a major problem on the Auris even if they are a similar engine as the Rav they are 2 very different cars with different drive trains and heat projection figures and load on the engines.

Isnt it metal head gasket on auris 1.6?..How can a metal head gasket get blown?..

[Jike]

I have read many posts back on the forum and in my opinion there are 5-6 people that have been happy with their cars. They answered your query now. The majority of owners had multiple issue or they already sold their Toyotas due to amount of faults. I bought my car just few month ago and already had new steering column fitted and now it is waiting for new evaporator as A/C failed. That is enough for me to consider replacement before warranty expires.Some members of the forum like to believe that only Toyota makes reliable cars and all others have to push their vehicles to get anywhere.

Like I said, I can only speak as I find, no doubt you will say the same. I'm happy with all 3 Auris's I have had. One promise though, if it goes ti*'s up on this one I will let you know. Up to now it hasn't so I've no complaints. Rather the opposite.

[Mooly]

Compared to your Avensis the interior is rubbish.

Cheap and nasty plastics.

I disagree... was in a new Avensis only last month and tbh didn't rate the interior at all. The ride was very hard and unforgiving too.

I've only had my 1.33 Auris around 5 months and believe me, I looked at lot of cars before settling on one, despite being Toyota through and through.

The darlings of the motoring press such as Kia and Hyundai had dreadful interiors, Honda wasn't much better.

I think the Auris is great, it rides superbly and is quiet and comfortable.

[boozehound]

not sure bout some of the interior fittings but everything else should be sound

[Paul Mack]

I am indebted to all those Auris owners who have kindly given me their opinions in answer to my query. It is good to hear from people who are satisfied owners. I am sure my best choice would be to buy brand new but unfortunetly I am not in a position to buy a new Auris but will get the youngest car that I can afford.

Many thanks for your help.

Hi Donald,

here's my twopeneth,

Like you, my previous car was an Avensis T4 Tourer, like you again, I decided to downsize and bought the SR180 57 plate in 2008.

The car has covered 24k carefree miles.

That said, its not similar to the Avensis as its a different car completely.

It's been mentioned already that in many cases, forum chats often err on the side of negativity, for me, I have had no real issues with my car and love it, I would go for the Auris, but, at the end of the day the choice is down to you.

My final bit of advice for what its worth, take the car on a decent long test drive, covering a variety of roads etc.

Good luck, let us all know how you get on.

Best wishes

Paul

[donald packham]

I've had some good response to my original forum entry and finally today tested the Auris. This is a 57 reg but had only done 5000 miles from new. I was able to take it on a decent run though couldn't find any bad road surfaces on route. I found the suspension to give a harder and somewhat more jiggly ride than my avensis but it was a very easy car to drive and appeared to be comfortable. Do other owners find the ride as I did and is it something one gets used to?

[dvd.ribeiro]

My opinion is if you can buy a Golf for for it. The Auris is not a bad car (not considering the problems), but the difference is there, is easy to see.

If it was today this would be my choise.

[adamc260]

I find my auris to be a really comfortable and quiet car, the toyota dealerships are fantastic and its really roomy with lots of kit. Very happy with my choice.

[Daveyonthemove]

I have owned my Auris (SR180) for a month now and over all its a great car.

I have 2 niggles with it, but both can be rememdied easily enough (loud road noise on the factory fit tyres, and poor radio volume/clarity) but they are not big problems and the good points out weigh the bad ones for me.

The car has a good solid feel to it and drives well. The lowered sports suspension is firm and helps it through corners at reasonable speed, although its not a race car so shouldn't be driven like one on twisty roads.

The brakes are very good and have stopped me far quicker than expected when i was getting used to the car in the first few days.

The engine is perky and responds well once you know where the turbo lag is and how to eliminate it.

MPG seems to be an issue for a few owners, but mine is making the book figures or better so i can't complain, and comparing it to a petrol 180bhp car, its always going to be better on MPG with the same power.

I've not experienced any issues with creaky interior, but many people have.

I find it a comfortable car to drive, and its subtle looks usually attract a second look from people who want to know what it is, yet it doesn't stand out like most hot hatches these days.

As for owning a Golf instead, i'm not so sure. Yes they are good reliable cars (I have owned 2 cars from the VAG stable and loved them both) but the Golf is such a common car these days you would be just 'another Golf owner' IMO, and if you were looking to get the diesel version with 170bhp you would be buying a refined car with excellent MPG, but its let down by DPF issues as they don't seem to be as reliable as the Toyota's, so that could add expense to the ownership in years to come.

If you are not looking to buy a Diesel then none of the above is really relevant, but if the 180 version took your fancy, it might help a bit.

I know its only been a month of ownership, but i knew i hated my last car within 2 weeks!

[Jike]

I have owned my Auris (SR180) for a month now and over all its a great car.

I have 2 niggles with it, but both can be rememdied easily enough (loud road noise on the factory fit tyres, and poor radio volume/clarity) but they are not big problems and the good points out weigh the bad ones for me.

The car has a good solid feel to it and drives well. The lowered sports suspension is firm and helps it through corners at reasonable speed, although its not a race car so shouldn't be driven like one on twisty roads.

The brakes are very good and have stopped me far quicker than expected when i was getting used to the car in the first few days.

The engine is perky and responds well once you know where the turbo lag is and how to eliminate it.

MPG seems to be an issue for a few owners, but mine is making the book figures or better so i can't complain, and comparing it to a petrol 180bhp car, its always going to be better on MPG with the same power.

I've not experienced any issues with creaky interior, but many people have.

I find it a comfortable car to drive, and its subtle looks usually attract a second look from people who want to know what it is, yet it doesn't stand out like most hot hatches these days.

As for owning a Golf instead, i'm not so sure. Yes they are good reliable cars (I have owned 2 cars from the VAG stable and loved them both) but the Golf is such a common car these days you would be just 'another Golf owner' IMO, and if you were looking to get the diesel version with 170bhp you would be buying a refined car with excellent MPG, but its let down by DPF issues as they don't seem to be as reliable as the Toyota's, so that could add expense to the ownership in years to come.

If you are not looking to buy a Diesel then none of the above is really relevant, but if the 180 version took your fancy, it might help a bit.

I know its only been a month of ownership, but i knew i hated my last car within 2 weeks!

Good post.

[hardtop]

have owned our auris since it was new, 57 plate, so 3 years about 15k miles, 1.4 diesel, been ultra reliable, apart from squeaky brakes when new (it had the modifications apparently).

i like driving it, and long journeys is fine, actually is a nice driving car, and plenty pokey for the 1.4 diesel, more so then the gutless 1.4 petrol version (yes i did rev it).

i'll be doing my own servicing now the warrenties up

[jettech]

I became Auris owner by "accident". How it drives, feels on the road, space etc you can check for yourself during test drive. You can compare to others and decide. What I can tell you:

- servicing cost seems to be quite good compared to the competition. You can buy quite good service plans from Toyota

- the dealers seems to be quite good too. The customers feedback is very good.

- in terms of reliability the car is disaster. Many common issues ie: steering columns, steering racks, brakes, some clutch issues, seats, gear linkage and now more and more people making complaints about the rust.

- VVT-i engines like high revs- it may be OK at the beginning but after some time you may get annoyed with that. Especially if you do some driving in Golf TSI.

[SR-Manuel]

I didn't find the Golf TSI that great. Certainly not as brilliant as the salesman made it out to be!

[jettech]

I didn't find the Golf TSI that great. Certainly not as brilliant as the salesman made it out to be!

Honestly, do you believe salesmen? :D