Auris Hybrid And Me- A Positive Experience

[Black Knight]

Sounds like its volume rather than weight required (note the pram and buggy comment above from nocolai)

Sports tourer would manage that plus plenty of space for luggage for a holiday trip without being too overwhelmed weight wise

[FROSTYBALLS]

Think Nicholai is concerned about rear seat space as well - apparently when he is in contortionist mode he finds it difficult to sit behind himself.

[geo13647]

Just had a couple of test drives in an Icon hybrid.

Friday's test, I concentrated on the general economy & handling, comfort etc.

However, yesterday's was all about performance.

Kept the car in pwr mode for most of the test.

Regarding Nicolai's question re pwr band, my findings were as follows.

On driving a little over the recommended speed, the car handled very well, was sure footed and stable.

Yes! Most definatly, the Atkinson lean cycle does sound weird, and takes a bit of getting used to.

However, I found the best driving style, for me anyway, YMMV, was to accelerate vigorously to your desired speed.

(Weather, road conditions & other users permitting, of course), then back off the pedal, the car immediately drops into

Eco range, and with some reasonable attention, is easy to maintain Eco, even at very high speeds.

Be aware, that high speed driving & lashings of welly, does impinge a bit on your mpg. (Last run was 44.8)

Wind/ road noise was reasonable at high speed, not Rolls Royce quiet, but good for the style & price level of the car.

As cruise is only available on the Excel, I had no chance to test it.

Regards,

G...

[Tbolt]

I have had my 2011 Auris hybrid since 19th June and done nearly 1000 miles.

I have changed from Skoda Superb 2.5 tdi auto. They are worlds apart but I wanted a car for my wife to learn in.

I am learning to adapt to the car and happy with 58 mpg with mixed driving.

People new to the Toyota hybrid do not realise there is a normal mode and this is not explained before any test drive.

Just turn off ev eco and pwr. This gives the true impression of the car.

Gerry

[Nicolai]

Just had a couple of test drives in an Icon hybrid.

Friday's test, I concentrated on the general economy & handling, comfort etc.

However, yesterday's was all about performance.

Kept the car in pwr mode for most of the test.

Regarding Nicolai's question re pwr band, my findings were as follows.

On driving a little over the recommended speed, the car handled very well, was sure footed and stable.

Yes! Most definatly, the Atkinson lean cycle does sound weird, and takes a bit of getting used to.

However, I found the best driving style, for me anyway, YMMV, was to accelerate vigorously to your desired speed.

(Weather, road conditions & other users permitting, of course), then back off the pedal, the car immediately drops into

Eco range, and with some reasonable attention, is easy to maintain Eco, even at very high speeds.

Be aware, that high speed driving & lashings of welly, does impinge a bit on your mpg. (Last run was 44.8)

Wind/ road noise was reasonable at high speed, not Rolls Royce quiet, but good for the style & price level of the car.

As cruise is only available on the Excel, I had no chance to test it.

Regards,

G...

How was fuel economy when you focused your driving on saving petrol?

I take it you drove it quite hard to only manage 44 mpg?

The tourer can have a tow bar fitted, however, with the maximum tow weight being only 345 kg., I find it pointless to have one fitted.

[geo13647]

How was fuel economy when you focused your driving on saving petrol?

I take it you drove it quite hard to only manage 44 mpg?

The tourer can have a tow bar fitted, however, with the maximum tow weight being only 345 kg., I find it pointless to have one fitted.

My 'normal' test on Friday was good too, I kept the car in normal, I.e. no buttons pressed, & let it do it's own thing.

Was interesting to watch the car switching between EV, Eco & Normal modes all on it's own.

Wasn't really trying for best mileage, too busy enjoying the car :) however, with an hour's mixed town, and fast road driving,

The car indicated a respectable ( to me anyhow) 56mpg average'

Yes, the Saturday 'performance' run was a bit of fun, with an average speed of well over 60 mph. Well that's all I'm admitting to :)

No real need for the sport tourer here, the hatchback is quite roomy, now that the traction batteries are under the back seat, and not eating into the trunk space, as on the earlier Auris Hybrid.

A towbar on anything other than large diesel, is to my mind pointless. Perhaps a Tesla Model X might be an exception, as the twin electric motors certainly have enough torque. Small petrol & hybrid cars do just not have sufficient torque for proper (and safe) towing of anything bigger than a 1metre small garden trailer, and they are a !Removed! to tow, as they are too light. Well that's just my opinion.

I really did enjoy the Auris, it's much more refined than the Yaris, really, I think it's just as good as a gen 3 Prius, in fact, the ecu programming of the Auris is more responsive than the current Prius. Not had the chance to try a Prius + or the Lexus CT200h yet,

as an 'upmarket' comparison.

Regards,

G...

[Nicolai]

Did you feel massive torque from the electric motor when acceleration hard?

[geo13647]

Not much, certainly not 'massive'. It's certainly not a race winner, but it does surprise other drivers off the lights.

Smooth, if not rapid acceleration, the engine noise does take a bit of getting used to though.

It sounds like you are slipping the clutch rather badly, but as soon as you back off slightly, everything settles down rather nicely.

My impression, once you are used to the unusual characteristics of an Atkinson hybrid, you can relax and enjoy a comfortable and good (not exceptional) performing car. Just waiting to see what the new deals are, then it's back to the showroom.

Regards,

G...

[Nicolai]

By the way: The way I understand it, the HSD system is more reliable than a conventional petrol/CVT/auto combination. However, a user on a Danish forum states that the HSD system is no more reliable than the traditional petrols used by Toyota. A part of the reason for me to buy HSD is the superior reliability of this system compared to a conventional petrol/diesel from Toyota. Who is right?

[timberwolf]

Mechanically a conventional CVT is more complex than a Hybrid power split device.

Electrically/Electronically a Hybrid is more complex than a conventional CVT.

I don't have any sources of data to say if Toyota Hybrids are more reliable than conventional CVT.

Are Hybrids cheaper and simpler to maintain and service than conventional CVT?

FWIW my guess is that a Toyota Hybrid is mechanically simpler and therefore probably more reliable.

Although for you Nicolai it is merely academic because a Hybrid isn't really going to suit you unless your recent post about 90mph, towing and massive torque were just wishful fantasy.

[Nicolai]

I will be doing 90 mph. seldom, and I probably won't need towing ability all that much. Not a boy racer, but I wan't the car to be able to overtaking with danger on motorways and to be able to pull ok with reasonable acceleration when fully loaded.

[timberwolf]

I think your currently stated criteria do not match a Hybrid and I think you will be unhappy even if those criteria are even in the seldom needed category - otherwise grow-up and forgot about them.

90 mph unrealistic as the top speed (specification) of the car is only 102 mph, conventional cars are specified at say 120-125, i.e. the hybrid just isn't designed for 90 mph and getting there will be disappointing in some situations that a conventional car would find easy.

Tow bar probably really only meant for bicycle carriers and not for towing due to the restriction in weight.

Acceleration are you serious. It is pleasant at low speed, but at a high speed over take from say 70 to 90 mph forget it that diesel guzzling power rep car is going to have you and in a nice cloud of black smoke

[johalareewi]

Not a boy racer, but I wan't the car to be able to overtaking with danger on motorways...

. :eek: :toot: :help2: :crutchy:

[Glyyde]

driving at 90mph and you want to talk about fuel efficiency? They do not go hand in hand.....

[FROSTYBALLS]

Autocar 'first drive' review of Auris Touring Sports Hybrid: http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/toyota/auris/first-drives/toyota-auris-touring-sports-18-hybrid-excel-first-drive-review

Auto Express review: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/toyota/auris/64750/touring-sports

[Nicolai]

The Danish speed limits are:

City: 50 km/h

A roads/country roads 80/90 km/h

Motorway 110/130 km/h

I do a lot of city driving. Quite a bit of A/country roads and a bit of motorway. The 140 Km/h will be only for emergencies if needed.

I predict that my motorway speed 95 per cent of the time will be 110-120 km/h. with cruise control.

[Nicolai]

Not a boy racer, but I wan't the car to be able to overtaking with danger on motorways...

. :eek: :toot: :help2: :crutchy:

Oops, I meant be able to overtake with sufficient speed in case of emergency without coursing an accident :)

[Nicolai]

driving at 90mph and you want to talk about fuel efficiency? They do not go hand in hand.....

I'm not talking about doing 90 as standard. See my post about the Danish speed limits.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Think there is some confusion here re speeds.

Nicholai has mentioned the ability to drive at 90mph. He then stated the Danish motorway speed limits are 110/130kph (equating to 68/81mph), and has predicted that for 95% of the time his motorway speed will be 110/120kph (68/74mph).

Please use one or the other speed measurements - preferably Imperial (mph).

[Nicolai]

Thanks for converting. As previously written, the 90 mph is likely to be called for extremely seldom. But Autocar really hates the car and really thinks it is underpowered. Too bad if it feels strained with nothing/very little load in the boot.

[FROSTYBALLS]

I've had Autocar every week since 1971, and in recent years they seem to be quite biased against anything non-German. Bear in mind though the Autocar article isn't a full review.

[wass]

Hmm you've driven an Auris hybrid, what do you think about the torque available at various speeds? I assume that you were asking these questions because you didn't know if what you felt whilst driving the demonstrator was going to suit your requirements. Do you think that the high speed throttle response whilst loaded is sufficient to your needs? I don't really understand why you are asking some of these questions having driven the car for yourself.

Arent you the best person to judge the merits of the vehicle which you are driving?

Comparing various mechanisms simplicity and extrapolating some sort of reliability index from it would have us all driving Trabants. Simplicity of design is only part of the whole range of infinite variables and so.... make your own mind up. I guarantee one thing... you will never find the best , most reliable longest term solution amidst a sea of infinitely changing parameters. The best we can hope for is an acceptable compromise.

[Cyker]

The HSD should be pretty reliable as, like torque converters, there are no friction wearing parts as there are in normal CVT, manual or semi-auto-style gearboxes.

The engine has a similar dutycycle to a diesel under normal running so lower wear-rate should also increase longevity.

I don't know what the speed-burst of HSDs is like; Off the line they are surprisingly quick but I've not tried in-gear acceleration much.

It may be like my Yaris, which has a very square torque curve (Pulls nicely and evenly right up until just before you hit the engine limits and then abruptly drops off; Very different to petrol engines which tend to have no pull at all at first but gradually builds until you hit peak then tails off again gradually)

[kithmo]

I've had Autocar every week since 1971, and in recent years they seem to be quite biased against anything non-German. Bear in mind though the Autocar article isn't a full review.

and the reviewer doesn't even know how the HSD works, he speaks of the continuously variable belt driven transmission ???

[Cyker]

Hahaha! Busted!