6 Months Of Ownership - My Opinion So Far.

[Lizzi]

Have had my 2005 2.0 T3 petrol auto since May now, and here is my opinion of the car so far :-

Try as I do I just cannot get excited about this car. I'm not a 'girl racer', but like largish sized/engine and comfortable cars due to the mileage I cover each year.

Previous car was a 1.8i Honda Accord. Didn't miss a beat. Sold it at 135,000 miles, having driven 100,000 miles over the 6 years of ownership. Nothing except 'consumables' needed replacing.

Moving to the Toyota 2.0, also an auto, there felt no difference in performace. I suppose it might be a heavier car than the old Accord?

Things didn't start off well, as the engine light kept coming on after just a fortnight of ownership. Give Toyota their credit; three oxygen sensors and an ECU changed all under warranty. (On 3 seperate visits.) Since then, (touch wood) all has been well.

Perhaps this made me picky, but there are lots of little irritents I find with the car:

Why does it bleep if you have the key in the ignition with the drivers door open?

Why does the heater control revert to feet everytime I switch it on, regardless of the last setting it was one?

For a large car, why oh why are the headlights so rubbish on dipped beam?

Annoying rattle comes from the rear shelf unit, which after much invertigation cannot be traced. (Its a hatchback)

Is there really no light in the boot? Or has it blown and I'm just not looking it the right place?!

I have never heard such noises coming from the front wheels / discs on slow speed turning.(IE When parking) -I took it back to Mr T to have this checked out, but was told brakes/discs/tyres etc were all fine.)

Car starts fine, but always seem to need a few turns before it ignites, whether from cold or warm starts. Perhaps I was just spoilt by the Honda leaping into life milli-seconds after turning the key, even on the coldest of mornings....!

Keeping an eye on the oil levels,(as all good moterists should!)- Have had to top it up a little over the 7,500 miles covered, which I'm ok with, but am hearing such horrow stories about engines using 0.5ltrs per 1,000 miles I'm getting paranoid!

Also watching the coolant level; it was a little 'over full' at the beginning, and since then I notice some pink spots around the top of the bottle. Might just be the overfill, but will watch the level anyway.

The Toyota aftersales and warranty and certainly top class, but I really can't see me keeping this car for anything longer than the loan term. Would I get another just because of the excellent warranty cover? I think not.

Certainly not knocking all you Avensis lovers out there. We're all different have have differing expectations of what we want from a car - just my opinion on this particular car!

[Heidfirst]

I agree that it's not a car to get excited over but neither is it a car to curse.

I very nearly bought a top of the range Vectra instead which would have been a more exciting drive but the cabin was imo an incredibly gloomy place. & I have found the Toyota dealer experience better than Vx.

My heater controls don't revert.

Swap the bulbs for X-Treme Power or Nightbreakers.

Mine has a light in the boot on the l/h panel (& there is a switch so it could simply be switched off on yours if you do have 1).