New Avensis Tourer

[Nightstalker]

Hi all....

I'm toying with the idea of getting a newstyle avensis tourer, has anyone got one of these with 2 or 3 infant seats in it?

I was just wondering if

1. you can get 3 kid seats accross the back seat

2. if you have 2 kid seats in the back is there space for an adult to sit with the kids?

Really like the car and is definately more economic than the Landcrusier I have.... ;-)

Regards

Rob

[Fluffmeister]

Hi all....

I'm toying with the idea of getting a newstyle avensis tourer, has anyone got one of these with 2 or 3 infant seats in it?

I was just wondering if

1. you can get 3 kid seats accross the back seat

2. if you have 2 kid seats in the back is there space for an adult to sit with the kids?

Really like the car and is definately more economic than the Landcrusier I have.... ;-)

Regards

Rob

I have the saloon, not the tourer, but in my saloon I can get my 9 year old twins and an adult in the back, my wife says it's not the most comfortable place to be because the seat backs are sculpted and she is sitting on the flat bench bit in the middle. As the saloon seats also fold flat, I would hazard a guess that the rear seat is the same on both the saloon and tourer, but can't confirm it.

She is more comfy if she is in one of the "proper" seats and we put a booster on the flat bit where the rear armrest folds down and I can fit the other booster to the other "proper" seat.

It's certainly ok on shorter runs, and I only have to do it if my mum is over with us, but you would not want to drive over a continent like that.

Hopefully a tourer owner can shuffle along and give their opinion :)

[Jonny_c]

Hi all....

I'm toying with the idea of getting a newstyle avensis tourer, has anyone got one of these with 2 or 3 infant seats in it?

I was just wondering if

1. you can get 3 kid seats accross the back seat

2. if you have 2 kid seats in the back is there space for an adult to sit with the kids?

Really like the car and is definately more economic than the Landcrusier I have.... ;-)

Regards

Rob

NightStalker, I recently bought a 2009 Tourer 2.0D and asked the salesman if I could test this. So he let me fit both child seats and I squeezed into the middle seat. Fine.

Jonny

[Nightstalker]

Cheers for that.

If an adult can sit in between then I think I should be able to place 3 infant seats in the back (I guess...)

If not then her indoors can sit in the back, she's only 5 foot 3 so should be ok...

Whats the fuel consumption like on your avensis... how many miles do you tend to get out of a tank...?

Regards

Rob

[headhurts]

Cheers for that.

If an adult can sit in between then I think I should be able to place 3 infant seats in the back (I guess...)

If not then her indoors can sit in the back, she's only 5 foot 3 so should be ok...

Whats the fuel consumption like on your avensis... how many miles do you tend to get out of a tank...?

Regards

Rob

I have the 2010 T4 Tourer and this time of year the average mpg is around 41/43 but it goes up significantly in summer and when on a long drive.

Mine has the DPF so not sure if this knocks a bit of mpg.

I really do like the car and it is quite large so should pose no problems for child seats although I have not tried it.

[Jonny_c]

Cheers for that.

If an adult can sit in between then I think I should be able to place 3 infant seats in the back (I guess...)

If not then her indoors can sit in the back, she's only 5 foot 3 so should be ok...

Whats the fuel consumption like on your avensis... how many miles do you tend to get out of a tank...?

Regards

Rob

It's my first tank of DERV, so I'm relying on the trip computer, which is showing 46mpg and that's urban only!

Will come back with proper results after a fill-up.

Jonny

[Nightstalker]

Cool thanks for that....

Anyone here driving a petrol version... would be interested in the MPG and Miles per tank also...

cheers

Rob

[Thermal]

Hi,

According to the T27 documentation, the width between the arm rests is 1508 millimeter.

Convert to inches if necessary, add up infant seat-, MIL- and wife dimensions and see if it fits. :)

My "mileage" over an entire year sofar is 6.3 liter/100 Km, which is 44.8 mpg, of which 75% motorway and 25% city.

It gets better in summer, (like 5.8L/100 km) and a bit worse in winter.

Very nice car overall.

[Nightstalker]

Hi,

According to the T27 documentation, the width between the arm rests is 1508 millimeter.

Convert to inches if necessary, add up infant seat-, MIL- and wife dimensions and see if it fits. :)

My "mileage" over an entire year sofar is 6.3 liter/100 Km, which is 44.8 mpg, of which 75% motorway and 25% city.

It gets better in summer, (like 5.8L/100 km) and a bit worse in winter.

Very nice car overall.

1508mm? You sure, from what I found on the What car website they recon its 1380mm, if it is indeed 1508mm then there should be no problem fitting 3 infant seats in the back, or 2 in the back with the wife stuck in the middle and one up front...

Got my dealership looking for a T4 with the light interior for me.... aim to be in a T4 by the end of the month ;-)

Regards

Rob

[Fluffmeister]

Hi,

According to the T27 documentation, the width between the arm rests is 1508 millimeter.

Convert to inches if necessary, add up infant seat-, MIL- and wife dimensions and see if it fits. :)

My "mileage" over an entire year sofar is 6.3 liter/100 Km, which is 44.8 mpg, of which 75% motorway and 25% city.

It gets better in summer, (like 5.8L/100 km) and a bit worse in winter.

Very nice car overall.

Crikey, your petrol is delivering better mpg than my DPF equipped 2.0D, 44.1MPG on the way back from Scotland last week. God I hate DPF's :)

[Thermal]

... its 1380mm ..

I just went out and measured it myself.

The width between the arm rests is indeed 1380 mm.

The interior width as stated in the documentation is a bit misleading, because it is the "elbow-width".

Sorry.

I also had a look at the 2011 documentation, as I intended to post a snapshot of that page here.

In there, the Avensis grew even wider, to 1511 mm.

I would settle for ~1380mm though.

[brooksm]

Anyone here driving a petrol version... would be interested in the MPG and Miles per tank also...

Mines a 59 plate, 1.8 Estate with the auto (CVT) gearbox and I get roughly 38 - 40 over a tank (had it a couple of months now and getting used to it still) but thats mostly town / short A road driving with the occasional M'way journey to the outlaws thrown in every couple of weeks or so (80 mile round trip).

In comparison, the Audi A6 v6 diesel estate I sold to fund the purchase would hover in the mid 30's over the same mix, so very chuffed! :D

[Nightstalker]

... its 1380mm ..

I just went out and measured it myself.

The width between the arm rests is indeed 1380 mm.

The interior width as stated in the documentation is a bit misleading, because it is the "elbow-width".

Sorry.

I also had a look at the 2011 documentation, as I intended to post a snapshot of that page here.

In there, the Avensis grew even wider, to 1511 mm.

I would settle for ~1380mm though.

AH.... 1380 elbow space.... :-(

so that would mean the seating area is narrower... guess will have to wait n see how things go tomorrow with putting the kid seats in the back of it.... Kinda hoping that the shape of the seats dont restrict the child seats to much and that I can actually place them right up to the edge of the seat...

Regards

Rob

PS whats the CVT box like? I've read it takes time getting used to how the transmission works... all the revving and loud noises etc...

[Fluffmeister]

... its 1380mm ..

I just went out and measured it myself.

The width between the arm rests is indeed 1380 mm.

The interior width as stated in the documentation is a bit misleading, because it is the "elbow-width".

Sorry.

I also had a look at the 2011 documentation, as I intended to post a snapshot of that page here.

In there, the Avensis grew even wider, to 1511 mm.

I would settle for ~1380mm though.

AH.... 1380 elbow space.... :-(

so that would mean the seating area is narrower... guess will have to wait n see how things go tomorrow with putting the kid seats in the back of it.... Kinda hoping that the shape of the seats dont restrict the child seats to much and that I can actually place them right up to the edge of the seat...

Regards

Rob

PS whats the CVT box like? I've read it takes time getting used to how the transmission works... all the revving and loud noises etc...

A lot of that depends on your kiddie seats mate, in mine I have ISOFix booster seats so there is no way of sliding them over a bit, and they are quite wide. The rear seat is sculpted (if you get my drift) and the centre section is bench flat. I can get my 2 ISOFix's in and a regular booster in the back, it's just a faff getting the seat belt clipped in sometimes on the centre seat.

[brooksm]

PS whats the CVT box like? I've read it takes time getting used to how the transmission works... all the revving and loud noises etc...

I love it (now I have got used to it) but it really depends on your driving style. It is definitly NOT a car to drive like your hair is on fire. Under hard acceleration, It revs a lot and is noisy there is no doubt about that. How much more so than a normal Avensis though, I couldn't say and maybe its only perceived to be noisy because when driving normally, it is as smoooooth as silk and very very quiet :D .

These days, I'm happy to get to the other end of the journey comfy, stress free and without emptying my wallet (plus we have a large dog who objects to being flung about in the back) . Driving round town for instance, a lot of the time the only indication of what the engine / gearbox combo is doing is watching the rev counter rising and falling, its that quiet. As with any CVT, it takes some getting used to, watching the rev counter slowly fall as the speed continues to rise but once you manage to divorce yourself from the thought that revs rising = speed rising, its great. Another (happy) effect of the CVT is that, for a pretty highly tuned 1.8 petrol, it "appears" to have lots of torque, because when you ask it accelerate from slow speeds in a "high" gear, the change from the box is instant (hard to notice really) so the car just goes. It was the only worry I had going from a 2.5l V6 Diesel to a 1.8 petrol and it was unfounded. In fact, my only issue with the car is the road noise, thats all you can hear at up to motorway speeds. My Audi was the same though (and also ran Bridgestone tyres). When I changed to Pirelli tyres, this was noticably reduced, so thats on the cards at some point.

All in all, much better than the wifes Civic I-Shift (I have to hide the keys now so she doesn't borrow it).....

[Nightstalker]

... its 1380mm ..

I just went out and measured it myself.

The width between the arm rests is indeed 1380 mm.

The interior width as stated in the documentation is a bit misleading, because it is the "elbow-width".

Sorry.

I also had a look at the 2011 documentation, as I intended to post a snapshot of that page here.

In there, the Avensis grew even wider, to 1511 mm.

I would settle for ~1380mm though.

AH.... 1380 elbow space.... :-(

so that would mean the seating area is narrower... guess will have to wait n see how things go tomorrow with putting the kid seats in the back of it.... Kinda hoping that the shape of the seats dont restrict the child seats to much and that I can actually place them right up to the edge of the seat...

Regards

Rob

PS whats the CVT box like? I've read it takes time getting used to how the transmission works... all the revving and loud noises etc...

A lot of that depends on your kiddie seats mate, in mine I have ISOFix booster seats so there is no way of sliding them over a bit, and they are quite wide. The rear seat is sculpted (if you get my drift) and the centre section is bench flat. I can get my 2 ISOFix's in and a regular booster in the back, it's just a faff getting the seat belt clipped in sometimes on the centre seat.

None of mine are ISO fix seats,

we've got a Britax evolva 123 a mamas and papas one which is for our youngest and a booster seat at the moment for our eldest - which we need to change to a highbacked booster for our trips up to Scotland (gives the wee laddie somewhere to rest his head when he goes to sleep ;-) )

SO I'm kinda looking for perhaps 2 high backed booster seats (they tend to be a bit on the narower side) for the daughter (3) and our eldest son (5)....

But for testing purpose I will use the seats we have as they are the combination we are currently using for shorter trips....

[Fluffmeister]

... its 1380mm ..

I just went out and measured it myself.

The width between the arm rests is indeed 1380 mm.

The interior width as stated in the documentation is a bit misleading, because it is the "elbow-width".

Sorry.

I also had a look at the 2011 documentation, as I intended to post a snapshot of that page here.

In there, the Avensis grew even wider, to 1511 mm.

I would settle for ~1380mm though.

AH.... 1380 elbow space.... :-(

so that would mean the seating area is narrower... guess will have to wait n see how things go tomorrow with putting the kid seats in the back of it.... Kinda hoping that the shape of the seats dont restrict the child seats to much and that I can actually place them right up to the edge of the seat...

Regards

Rob

PS whats the CVT box like? I've read it takes time getting used to how the transmission works... all the revving and loud noises etc...

A lot of that depends on your kiddie seats mate, in mine I have ISOFix booster seats so there is no way of sliding them over a bit, and they are quite wide. The rear seat is sculpted (if you get my drift) and the centre section is bench flat. I can get my 2 ISOFix's in and a regular booster in the back, it's just a faff getting the seat belt clipped in sometimes on the centre seat.

None of mine are ISO fix seats,

we've got a Britax evolva 123 a mamas and papas one which is for our youngest and a booster seat at the moment for our eldest - which we need to change to a highbacked booster for our trips up to Scotland (gives the wee laddie somewhere to rest his head when he goes to sleep ;-) )

SO I'm kinda looking for perhaps 2 high backed booster seats (they tend to be a bit on the narower side) for the daughter (3) and our eldest son (5)....

But for testing purpose I will use the seats we have as they are the combination we are currently using for shorter trips....

I would think you are ok then chap, I have 9 year old twins, they are tall for their age and are now tall enough to go without boosters, I just don't like the position of the seatbelt so will give them another couple of CM before they come out of them for good.

Good luck with the shopping tomorrow :)

[Nightstalker]

... its 1380mm ..

I just went out and measured it myself.

The width between the arm rests is indeed 1380 mm.

The interior width as stated in the documentation is a bit misleading, because it is the "elbow-width".

Sorry.

I also had a look at the 2011 documentation, as I intended to post a snapshot of that page here.

In there, the Avensis grew even wider, to 1511 mm.

I would settle for ~1380mm though.

AH.... 1380 elbow space.... :-(

so that would mean the seating area is narrower... guess will have to wait n see how things go tomorrow with putting the kid seats in the back of it.... Kinda hoping that the shape of the seats dont restrict the child seats to much and that I can actually place them right up to the edge of the seat...

Regards

Rob

PS whats the CVT box like? I've read it takes time getting used to how the transmission works... all the revving and loud noises etc...

A lot of that depends on your kiddie seats mate, in mine I have ISOFix booster seats so there is no way of sliding them over a bit, and they are quite wide. The rear seat is sculpted (if you get my drift) and the centre section is bench flat. I can get my 2 ISOFix's in and a regular booster in the back, it's just a faff getting the seat belt clipped in sometimes on the centre seat.

None of mine are ISO fix seats,

we've got a Britax evolva 123 a mamas and papas one which is for our youngest and a booster seat at the moment for our eldest - which we need to change to a highbacked booster for our trips up to Scotland (gives the wee laddie somewhere to rest his head when he goes to sleep ;-) )

SO I'm kinda looking for perhaps 2 high backed booster seats (they tend to be a bit on the narower side) for the daughter (3) and our eldest son (5)....

But for testing purpose I will use the seats we have as they are the combination we are currently using for shorter trips....

I would think you are ok then chap, I have 9 year old twins, they are tall for their age and are now tall enough to go without boosters, I just don't like the position of the seatbelt so will give them another couple of CM before they come out of them for good.

Good luck with the shopping tomorrow :)

Well I took my car seats to my local MR T and just about managed to squeeze the 3 car seats into the back... its gonna be tight, but when needs must etc... Lovely car though. Just waiting now for a good deal to come up on a T4 tourer preferably with the lighter leather and CVT... Also would like the full screen sat nav, which I have come to notice is not in all T4s as standard eventhough the Avensis booklet states they are... anyone outhere know if these have only just become a standard fit for the T4 spec?

Regards

Rob

[Fluffmeister]

I am certain that the premium nav system was added to the T4 for Model Year 2010. It's like my TR, it got the TNS510 full screen system from MY2010, prior to that it had a regular (panasonic iirc) headunit fitted.

[Nightstalker]

I am certain that the premium nav system was added to the T4 for Model Year 2010. It's like my TR, it got the TNS510 full screen system from MY2010, prior to that it had a regular (panasonic iirc) headunit fitted.

Guess that would explain it....

Not sure but I think the T4 only has the AUX jack which in my opinion is pants... where as the TR system has a USB connection where you could plug your IPOD/IPHONE into which I think would be better but then you dont have the leather which I think is a must when you have 3 kids under the age of 6 ;-) messy little so n soes...

Well as mentioned earlier,,, my local MR T is contacting the Big MR T to find out whats available in my budget range... hopefully they'll get back to me soon, Road Tax is due end of the month and I dont fancy taxing the Landcruiser again unless I really have to ;-)

[Thermal]

... Lovely car though. Just waiting now for a good deal to come up on a T4 tourer preferably with the lighter leather and CVT...

Hi,

Over here in NL, as we speak, Toyota started a promotion for the Avensis 1.8- and 2.0 VVT-i petrol, which can be had with CVT for free!

http://www.toyota.nl/cars/new_cars/avensis/avensis_cvt_actie.aspx

Of course these are LHD models, but maybe a similar deal is due in the UK.... :)

[Fluffmeister]

I am certain that the premium nav system was added to the T4 for Model Year 2010. It's like my TR, it got the TNS510 full screen system from MY2010, prior to that it had a regular (panasonic iirc) headunit fitted.

Guess that would explain it....

Not sure but I think the T4 only has the AUX jack which in my opinion is pants... where as the TR system has a USB connection where you could plug your IPOD/IPHONE into which I think would be better but then you dont have the leather which I think is a must when you have 3 kids under the age of 6 ;-) messy little so n soes...

Well as mentioned earlier,,, my local MR T is contacting the Big MR T to find out whats available in my budget range... hopefully they'll get back to me soon, Road Tax is due end of the month and I dont fancy taxing the Landcruiser again unless I really have to ;-)

Luckly my kids are 9 now, so not quite as messy, and to be honest I made a mistake buying the TR, I wish I had stretched to a T4. The Premium system in the T4 is an excellet system, but it's stone age when it comes to iPod / iPhone conections, you need an additional kit that retails for well over £100 and then only lets you access the iPod / iPhone as a 6 disk changer with a limit of 100 tracks per playlist (It treats playlists as CD's)

The TNS510 has the same navigation capabilities, same software pretty much but it's SD card based as opposed to Hard Disk based. Map updates for the TNS510 should be cheaper as you pop out the old SD card and pop in the new, for the premium system updates can only be done via a special update cable and the local toyota area rep (And they are NOT cheap).

The TNS510 only supports USB sticks / Drives from it's front USB port, you still have to buy an iPod control lead (well a pair of leads) for £100, but then you get full direct control of the iPod / phone and all of it's features.

If Navigation is important to you and you find a car, the maps could be a couple of years out of date, and it's not, as I mentioned earlier, cheap to update them and can only be done by your toyota area rep. I would be looking to get the dealer to include the updated maps, or at least add that info to your line of enquiry because I feel that Toyota actually rely on people just not asking questions, not understanding how their equipment works and just getting fobbed off. There's plenty of people on here (no offence folks) who thought that their Premium System in T-Spirit / T4 T27's is DVD based, and sadly it's not.

Hope this helps.

[Nightstalker]

I am certain that the premium nav system was added to the T4 for Model Year 2010. It's like my TR, it got the TNS510 full screen system from MY2010, prior to that it had a regular (panasonic iirc) headunit fitted.

Guess that would explain it....

Not sure but I think the T4 only has the AUX jack which in my opinion is pants... where as the TR system has a USB connection where you could plug your IPOD/IPHONE into which I think would be better but then you dont have the leather which I think is a must when you have 3 kids under the age of 6 ;-) messy little so n soes...

Well as mentioned earlier,,, my local MR T is contacting the Big MR T to find out whats available in my budget range... hopefully they'll get back to me soon, Road Tax is due end of the month and I dont fancy taxing the Landcruiser again unless I really have to ;-)

Luckly my kids are 9 now, so not quite as messy, and to be honest I made a mistake buying the TR, I wish I had stretched to a T4. The Premium system in the T4 is an excellet system, but it's stone age when it comes to iPod / iPhone conections, you need an additional kit that retails for well over £100 and then only lets you access the iPod / iPhone as a 6 disk changer with a limit of 100 tracks per playlist (It treats playlists as CD's)

The TNS510 has the same navigation capabilities, same software pretty much but it's SD card based as opposed to Hard Disk based. Map updates for the TNS510 should be cheaper as you pop out the old SD card and pop in the new, for the premium system updates can only be done via a special update cable and the local toyota area rep (And they are NOT cheap).

The TNS510 only supports USB sticks / Drives from it's front USB port, you still have to buy an iPod control lead (well a pair of leads) for £100, but then you get full direct control of the iPod / phone and all of it's features.

If Navigation is important to you and you find a car, the maps could be a couple of years out of date, and it's not, as I mentioned earlier, cheap to update them and can only be done by your toyota area rep. I would be looking to get the dealer to include the updated maps, or at least add that info to your line of enquiry because I feel that Toyota actually rely on people just not asking questions, not understanding how their equipment works and just getting fobbed off. There's plenty of people on here (no offence folks) who thought that their Premium System in T-Spirit / T4 T27's is DVD based, and sadly it's not.

Hope this helps.

Brilliant mate... thanks for all the info...

Did'nt know that you could not just use the USB connector which you get with your IPOD/IPHONE kit on the TR system.

Also didnt know that the nav system is not DVD based. The one in my LC is, but to be honest I tend to use my TOM TOM as I dont like the turn by turn system which I have.

I will, when my local dealer comes back to me, let them know I want to have the latest update on the nav system, I'm sure they'll add it - my local MR T (Octagon Reading) have been brilliant over the years I've been in a Toyota, that's one of the reasons I'm not looking at other cars ;-)

Does the screen tell ya what version of maps you have, or is there a way of checking?

As for the adapter lead for the IPOD, I've got a GROM kit on my LC and think it might be of use on the new system, just need to find out how to remove the stereo/nav system on the Avensis, perhaps someone here knows??

On the LC its very easy, just a bit flimsy in places...

The more I think of the Avensis, the more I kinda look forward to driving it, I'm still a bit concerned about the space, it was quite tight back there for them... but as mentioned before its a needs must situation, and with the government not helping us motorists out and the insurance companies are a bunch of robbers :-( they doubled my insurance premium from last year... GITS !

[Nightstalker]

Gutted!

the budget wont reach for a newer T4 model where the sat nav came a standard :-(

So now its going to be a T4 and getting MR T to add reversing sensors to it...

Then it will be mine... I think...

[Fluffmeister]

Gutted!

the budget wont reach for a newer T4 model where the sat nav came a standard :-(

So now its going to be a T4 and getting MR T to add reversing sensors to it...

Then it will be mine... I think...

If you prefer the TomTom, that's not a bad thing really mate. The head unit in the T4 is pretty good, the bluetooth side of things works well it's just a little awkward getting setup. I must admit that I do love the reversing camera though, I find it more useful than sensors as long as it's kept clean (Have it on my TR and had it in the Prius).