A Week And A Bit With My New Auris Ts Hsd

[DarrenM]

I've had my Auris Touring Sports hybrid for just over a week now and I've been keeping mental notes as I'm coming into hybrid cars completely blind.

I've been a bit of a petrol head ever since I started driving 19 years ago. My cars have all been fairly quick saloons or hot hatches and I came to this car from my old petrol Octavia vRS. The way the deal worked out was I didn't get chance to have a test drive or even go inside of any hybrid before buying it. So the first time I had any idea what it was like was driving it off the forecourt on the 1st March.

As there's only 2 things I don't like, I'll get them over with first:

* The engine cutting in and out when cruising between about 30 and 45 mph. When you're following traffic and on light throttle, the system doesn't quite know what to do with itself. It keeps going into EV mode, then a few seconds later will start the engine again which gives a little surge each time. I think it's perhaps because the program is quite aggressively trying to go into EV mode whenever it can, but it could do with holding on where it was for a bit longer. It's not really dangerous but sometimes when cruising around long bends it can do it which unsettles the car slightly. Not a major issue but a bit frustrating sometimes.

* There's no right foot rest. When using cruise control I've gotten so used to having somewhere to rest my right foot it's now very awkward having nowhere to put it. There's 2 spaces to put my left foot, the gap where the clutch would be, and the left sided rest.

After that, everything good.

It looks fantastic. I really like the look. I went for the icon+ with the 16" wheels because the 17s gave no benefit for the poorer return on economy and CO2. I've now got the full Thule Roof Rack on ready for cycling season and the sportives which makes it look amazingly 'ready' to me.

The ease and smoothness of driving is incredible. It doesn't reward harsh acceleration due to being actually able to perceive engine noise under load, but when cruising about it's a great place to be. I actually really like the light steering but I can see that the lack of loading on the wheel at speed might unsettle some people.

MPG. I'm getting 52-55 on my route to work. It's a combination of national dual carriageways, country lanes and A roads. But all quite sharply undulating. As soon as I come out my road I'm on a steep climb on a dual carriageway where I have to get up to speed fairly quickly - with a cold atkinson engine. The engine is working hard up the hills and getting it back down the hills. Not ideal for a hybrid it seems but it evens out a bit. I am driving like miss daisy to get those figures though. I used to get 29-31 out of my Octavia on the same route, but without driving anywhere near as frugally. When driving similarly I could get close to 40 with the Octavia, so it's still better but that's what you would expect between a 2l turbo 200PS petrol and a 1.8vvti atkinson hybrid. The major difference is with my journeys through the town though. I've seen 70/80 MPG on short trips which is amazing. On my old car that would take loads of fuel to be ticking over in traffic or at the lights on cold start cycling and give me back MPG in the teens.

But even if the MPG was the same I'd still prefer driving this because it's so easy and smooth. The silent pull away and return home, reversing up the drive without the exhaust throbbing is lovely.

I'm quite happy with the interior. The front heated sports seats are very comfortable, even if the rear seats are a bit flat. The clock is actually a bit retro and I like it :)

[johalareewi]

* The engine cutting in and out when cruising between about 30 and 45 mph. When you're following traffic and on light throttle, the system doesn't quite know what to do with itself. It keeps going into EV mode, then a few seconds later will start the engine again which gives a little surge each time.

This might sort itself out. Toyota hybrids seem to learn what works and what doesn't. After a few hundred miles things settle down as you get used to each other. Or try turning ECO mode on/off. With ECO mode on in stop start traffic, the ICE doesn't fire up as often.

[Sooty]

Congratulations on your new purchase.

Welcome to the Hybrid Fold.

That was a very nice write-up.

Enjoy your new ride.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

* The engine cutting in and out when cruising between about 30 and 45 mph. When you're following traffic and on light throttle, the system doesn't quite know what to do with itself. It keeps going into EV mode, then a few seconds later will start the engine again which gives a little surge each time.

This might sort itself out. Toyota hybrids seem to learn what works and what doesn't. After a few hundred miles things settle down as you get used to each other. Or try turning ECO mode on/off. With ECO mode on in stop start traffic, the ICE doesn't fire up as often.

Exactly this. There shouldn't be any surge. Give the car time to bed in; it takes about 5,000 miles at least! Mine doesn't do it and has 10's of thousands of hard miles on it.

If the HV Battery is low then the system seems a little rougher than normal but there really shouldn't be any reason why it is low, unless you've been in very slow traffic for 15-20 minutes OR you're forcing the car into electric mode.

Do try to avoid Eco mode other than in town. Also 40-45 mph is a strange speed with a Toyota hybrid as it's when the system swaps the two electric motors (keeping it simple) and will run the engine pretty much all the time with assistance from the electric motor. If you're stuck behind a truck on an A road it can be that you have no choice but to travel at this speed. Normally it doesn't run the HV Battery down and will return 80+ mpg on the flat.

Don't fret, you've only had it a week. It will get better.

You're also not alone with having been a petrol head. I used to drive some really nice and fast cars and I don't hang around. Now my driving is much more relaxed and I get great economy and save money. I can also floor it if needed :)

[MEP's Yaris GS]

Do try to avoid Eco mode other than in town.

Care to expand on why out of interest?

I've always got mine in ECO mode in the PiP and can't see how not using it out of town would help? Perhaps I'm missing something?

[PeteB]

me too. I almost never take mine out of ECO, and only use PWR once or twice a year in one particular location.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Because he was new to the car and struggling with the way it was running. Eco mode has a use but it can restrict the driveability when on A roads - something the OP appeared to be suffering from.

Eco mode is fine in town and it's where I used to use it most. Overall Eco mode can usually be replicated by an experienced user anyway and I did find the reduced heater and a/c use too restrictive.

[CPN]

Do I take it that when you guys are speaking of a "PWR" (button), you're talking about a Prius?

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Do I take it that when you guys are speaking of a "PWR" (button), you're talking about a Prius?

Yes but the other parts of Eco mode and 'normal' still apply to the Yaris HSD.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

Do I take it that when you guys are speaking of a "PWR" (button), you're talking about a Prius?

I forget you've got a PWR button on the your Pri, in the PiP we don't have this, only the PWR band on theHybrid system indicator.

[PeteB]

I wouldn't miss it. Flooring it in any mode gives maximum power.

PWR just remaps the throttle response the other way around to ECO - a tiny bit of pedal travel gives quite brisk acceleration, and by halfway down I think it's giving about 80% of the available power. Not sure if it affects heating and cooling, probably unlikely.

It can also cause brief wheelspin before the traction control kicks in, and overuse can be costly in tyres as well as fuel! One of my drivers when I was a Fleet Manager used it all the time and came in for new front tyres at just 10K!

[Duffryn]

me too. I almost never take mine out of ECO, and only use PWR once or twice a year in one particular location.

Likewise - although I do occasionally like burning off the boy racer alongside me at the traffic lights. Naughty but nice (for a 100 yards or so anyway). Then I back off and give him a contented smirk as he zooms past me.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I fried my inverter after an enthusiastic 20 mile drive in Power mode. Be warned.

Since then Toyota have changed the software in a recall last year (or the year before). Didn't Power mode boost the voltage more than the other modes? I'm sure it did on the early ones and I think it still does on the CT200h. I wonder if it's why that wonderful surge of acceleration has now gone since the recall :((((

[kithmo]

SWMBO's Gen2, which doesn't have any of the mode buttons, feels like it's in power mode all the time.

I just leave mine in normal mode all the time now. I used to use ECO to make the engine come on less in traffic when the heater was on, but this can be achieved by just turning the heater temp down.

I wouldn't miss the mode buttons if they took them out on the next gen. PWR mode can be simulated by WOT, ECO by a light right foot and lower heat setting and EV, let the car sort that one out by itself.

[johalareewi]

Not sure if it affects heating and cooling, probably unlikely.

No it doesn't.

[cbcdesign]

Its a nice looking car and I very nearly got one to replace my Prius which goes back in May. What put me off though was the lack of certain options that are readily available in the rest of Europe such as HID headlights & the JBL Stereo. I cant go back to Halogen after having LED lights!

Also no option available for Adaptive cruise control and no heating to the rear seats either. With the options I could have my Auris TS would have cost £26.500 car and yet all these missing features that I wanted. I don't know why Toyota UK do what they do but they seem to think UK customers want or deserve less and that coupled with Toyotas fairly steep pricing on certain options just put me off.

Toyota UK have a lot of catching up to do I think. When I looked at Seat and what they offered on their ST, the massive choice of colours and interiors, reasonably priced extras (£550.00 for Adaptive Cruise with the safety system, £350.00 for a 10 speaker sound system with sub woofer for example) I just could not justify getting an Auris which I would never be happy with and the Prius is just too expensive. I save £70.00 a month with Seat over the Prius and that buys quite a lot of petrol!

[Heidfirst]

How often do you need heated rear seats? I would imagine that the majority of people rarely have passengers in the back. & whilst I live in Scotland & have heated front seats (not my choice, standard spec.) I rarely use them.

Seat is still losing money, Toyota is profitable ...

[FROSTYBALLS]

VAG products also come with a lesser warranty (3years/60,000 miles), with exclusions after six months (seat and floor coverings, shock absorbers, etc).

[cbcdesign]

I didn't say anything about heated rear seats, I said heating to the rear seats. Unless something has changed there is no ducting through the central console delivering heat to rear of the cabin in the Auris and passengers have complained that it gets cold on a long journey. Is that acceptable in a car costing over £20,000? I think not!

The profitability of Toyota or Seat matters not a jot in my selection of a Vehicle but since you raised it, like Scoda, under the VW ownership Seat will make profit, particularly as their EU market share grows. Seat offer their customers lots of choice too which Toyota unfortunately do not. The myriad of extras and packs you can have with a Seat Leon ST is truly inspirational. Toyota take note!

Sure Vag vehicles come with a 60,000 mile 3 year warranty but here the maths from my perspective driving less than 5,000 miles per year:

Lease 1: 4 Years Prius £423 per month with servicing, 10,000 miles per year. (Last year of warranty and 85,000 miles of no real interest to me)

Lease 2: 3 years Seat Leon ST DGI £353.00 per month with servicing, 5,000 miles per year (3 Year Warranty is ample for term of lease and 45,000 miles of no real interest to me)

And I get LED Headlights, Seat 10 speaker sound system, adaptive cruise control and heating to rear of cabin, all features the Auris lacks.

[Heidfirst]

Seat has been under VAG for years (since 1986) - losing money for at least the last decade even with the cost benefits of being able to share VW platforms rather than develop their own. Skoda makes ~7.5%, VW~2.5%, Audi & particularly Porsche are very profitable.

For a volume manufacturer Toyota's margins are what all the others would love to achieve (& this week they have announced details of how they are going to improve their production processes to cut cost even more).

[MEP's Yaris GS]

I didn't say anything about heated rear seats, I said heating to the rear seats. Unless something has changed there is no ducting through the central console delivering heat to rear of the cabin in the Auris and passengers have complained that it gets cold on a long journey. Is that acceptable in a car costing over £20,000? I think not!

The profitability of Toyota or Seat matters not a jot in my selection of a Vehicle but since you raised it, like Scoda, under the VW ownership Seat will make profit, particularly as their EU market share grows. Seat offer their customers lots of choice too which Toyota unfortunately do not. The myriad of extras and packs you can have with a Seat Leon ST is truly inspirational. Toyota take note!

Sure Vag vehicles come with a 60,000 mile 3 year warranty but here the maths from my perspective driving less than 5,000 miles per year:

Lease 1: 4 Years Prius £423 per month with servicing, 10,000 miles per year. (Last year of warranty and 85,000 miles of no real interest to me)

Lease 2: 3 years Seat Leon ST DGI £353.00 per month with servicing, 5,000 miles per year (3 Year Warranty is ample for term of lease and 45,000 miles of no real interest to me)

And I get LED Headlights, Seat 10 speaker sound system, adaptive cruise control and heating to rear of cabin, all features the Auris lacks.

Not everyone feels the need, or wants to, have a replacement car every 3-4 years though, in which case over a longer period of time the Toyota will outshine the Seat residule and warranty wise etc.

I do agree about spec options though, when looking back in July I wanted a newish hybrid but with spec to match or exceed my previous car, Looked at the Yaris, the Auris and finally the Prius to get the spec I wanted, which basically was HIDs (or LED as I've ended up with) and a few other bits that the Yaris and Auris hybrids couldn't offer, then when looking at the money of used 6-12 month old Prius vs PiPs I though sod it, already gone from Yaris hybrid cost to Prius, whats another few £k over the length of ownership when you plan on running the car for more than just a few years :)

[cbcdesign]

I can only comment on my perceptions of the car industry as I see them as a customer. I like a new car every three or four years because my company pays for it and I like to have the same options I had in the previous model but like to change to something new each time. I found that difficult where Toyota are concerned, particularly as the Gen 4 Prius isn't yet available and may not even come to Europe according to some rumours floating around.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Think the Gen 4 will come to Europe, but as a hybrid in the D market segment - Avensis/Mondeo/Passat. The Gen 3 already has the same size wheelbase as the Avensis, and Toyota stated last year they wouldn't be offering an Avensis hybrid.

[cbcdesign]

There I am complaining about the headlights on the Auris and the new 2015 model due out later this year apparently has led headlights, Yey! I bet it also includes rear heating ducts and Adaptive cruise control options too to compete with other EU manufacturers offerings. Its a pity the timing is just not right for me this time around.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Part of the rich tapestry of life.