Bought Another Car

[Konrad C]

I went out and bought another car.

Top of my list was Honda Civic 1.8, but got a Toyota Avensis 1.8 TR Tourer 58 plate, in silver, 50800 miles, FDSH, 1 owner.

The only thing it does not have is parking sensors, but I never missed that feature. I checked the doors and straps, all fine.

I did not check for USB, but will get the music on cd in MP3 form and sort the USB later. The cruise control worked fine and the air-con works very well.

As much as I wanted the Honda, the Avensis was too tempting with that huge boot, and relax drive.

I will still have the mk1.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Congratulations on the new car.

[SaveOurSouls]

I'd be tempted by a Civic also but that boot space in the Avensis sure comes in handy!

[avensisd4d786]

congratulations Konrad, you got a picture?

[fastbob72]

Ah you see a true Toyato man now, you had the chance but kept the faith lol.

Well done :)

[Konrad C]

Thanks guys.

The smoothness and spec was too much to pass up. The car is with my brother as I was a bit busy and he collected it for me. I could not turn down all the advantages. Got all the keys, including the grey key.

The Honda Civic was very tempting, but the boot space issue, as I carry a Dahon Cadenza bike in my Mk1. The longer gearing of the Avensis is another plus.

Actually my brother spotted a nice T4, but it was the 2 litre version and cost £2400 more. I hope he brings it over because he likes it a lot! My mum likes it too.

When I get to chance you will see the photos.

[lestermester]

Kongrats, Konrad! You can never have too many Toyotas.

[frankie406]

Congrats hope you get years of trouble free motoring!👍

[Konrad C]

Some photos of the Tourer

I am still using the old car as the economy is still good and it is not lacking.

I have to get used to the EPB especially when applying, as I have to hold the button until the brakes are fully applied. If not the car rolls. Auto release is fine. I have driven my brother's Grand Scenic and the EPB is one pull to apply, plus it auto applies when the engine is switched off.

There is no USB, but I have sourced a few USB adapters that can be fitted to the W53828 audio unit.

I have the pin outs so it is a matter of choosing a suitable USB unit.

The front brakes may need to be changed next year. Few scratches on the front left of the bumper and left front door. Rear bumper has a slight crease. I will get these sorted at some time.

Every happy with the car.

[alan333]

I have to get used to the EPB especially when applying, as I have to hold the button until the brakes are fully applied. If not the car rolls. Auto release is fine. I have driven my brother's Grand Scenic and the EPB is one pull to apply, plus it auto applies when the engine is switched off.

There is no USB, but I have sourced a few USB adapters that can be fitted to the W53828 audio unit.

You don't need to hold the EPB button, just a good press applies it. You do need to hold the car from rolling until it is fully applied tho. The handbrake light on the dash flashes until it has fully applied, then stays lit.

According to my 12 plate owners manual there's settings for auto enabling the EPB, I'm pretty sure my 59 plate TR had the same settings. From the book...

Stop car on a horizontal condition, switch ignition on.

When switching auto apply mode from ON to OFF - Pull and hold the parking brake switch for 5 seconds or more. The Auto P-Off indicator light will illuminate.

When switching auto apply mode from OFF to ON - Push and hold the parking brake switch for 5 secs or more. The Auto P-off indicator light will go off.

Temporary cancellation of the auto apply function is available for car washes etc. To activate... the parking brake switch needs to be pulled when the engine switch is switched to ACC position. When switch is being pulled for more than 5 secs auto apply changes from ON to OFF.

My 59 plate TR had a 3.5mm jack port inside the centre armrest. Maybe you could use an ipod or something there instead of fitting USB, although obviously it wouldn't "integrate" so you'd need to press play/stop etc from the ipod itself.

[Konrad C]

Getting used to the EPB, but find little bumps cause slight jiggling compared to the old Mk1.

I have my first mod lined up, USB adaptor. There are 4 models I looked at :- Connects2, Xcarlink, Yatour and one on eBay based in Manchester who imports a similar gadget -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Stereo-USB-SD-AUX-MP3-CD-changer-adapter-Toyota-Avensis-Mark-X-2004-2009-/121474710036?hash=item1c4874fa14

This one is cheap at £35.50 and though it does not show Avensis 2009 onwards other later Toyotas are shown. They all use the same 6+6 (12) pin socket, so I can assume every audio unit uses the same interface.

For now I am using MP3 cd which is okay, but when you have lots of memory sticks full of music, you want to the USB.

The Mk1 Avensis has Connects2 iconnect USB which is connected to the Sony Audio unit. The iconnect has a pass through for the 10 disc CD changer, so from the Sony I can choose from 4 sources (excluding the cassette).

Glad the bluetooth works. I know there is Aux in but there is no control to skip tracks/albums.

The Xcarlink and Connects2 are favourites but cost £59.99, the Yatour average £45 including post.

I will read up before spending.

[Konrad C]

I have gone through the car and found a few minor issues to be fixed.

First the Battery is not secured properly be because the "J" clamp is missing and the top bar is being held by cable ties!

I have ordered a new "J" clamp and collect it today.

Next is the glove box was clicking and when I removed it, found that the strut hinge was disconnected. The post the strut connects to, has partially broken off. I have used a strong glue a few days back and left it to cure.

While I had the glove box off I checked the pollen filter and it needs changing. Not too bad as I have seen worse from my brothers car (Renault Grand Scenic), which had a service, and advised about changing, but not changed! The work involed to change that was a lot. By comparison, this is simple.

I will pick up the new filter today and may change the air filter too.

The other reason I was looking being the glove box area, is to install a USB/Bluetooth adaptor.

I find writing MP3 CDs very slow, and I have lots of music on memory sticks on my other Avensis.

The final thing I have noticed is a possible missing cover for the boot door lock.

I spoke to the parts guy at Toyota Sidcup, but he could tell me a part number. I searched all my databases and no luck.

Will check again.

Everything else is fine, apart from the 3 minor dents (one of which I partially pushed out), and a few minor scratches.

Just got the call from Toyota Sidcup for the parts so, the work begins.

[Konrad C]

Latest update.

Did my first motorway driving and used the cruise control. It works well, but the slow to respond to speed changes, so it best not to use during busy traffic.

The engine is quiet like the Mk1, with the added bonus of the sixth gear keeping the revs down. This adds about 10+ mph for the same revs of the fifth gear which in turn is the same for both cars I own. The 2ZR engine needs more revs for power in comparison to the 7AFE at low rpm and low speeds. In the right gear no problems. The gearboxes for both cars have same ratios (rpm/mph) with the exception of 6th gear which the Mk1 does not have. Also the Tourer is heavier. Once flowing the Tourer can accelerate at a good rate. I have hardly gone over 4000 rpm in any gear.

Tyre noise is higher than the Mk1, due to the wider tyres and firmer bushings. Small bumps make the car restless in the Tourer, compared to the Mk1 which is smooth. Both absorb large bumps okay.

There is not much feedback in the controls like the clutch, brakes, and steering, which are all light. The engine is very smooth and quiet so getting biting point is more work, with the occasional higher revs. Getting more used to it. The brakes need a very light touch and if slowing from a high speed, back off the pedal or the will stop hard. The steering feel is a lot less than the Mk1.

Driving position is fine and all the controls fall to hand. With the exception of the EPB.

Dusk seems to fool the auto lights to switch on and off.

The audio system needs midrange lift! The bass is really strong and boomy, whilst treble is okay. Voices in the midrange sound distant. Different Speakers may cure that issue. I replaced the Speakers in the Mk1 with JBL 2way 6.5" Speakers, and the sound is great. Bass smooth, midrange/stereo imaging and treble fine. When you have two cars to compare the same music with, then you can hear the difference. Project speaker change may be on the cards for the Tourer. I brought the Tourer up to later specs, by adding USB via an USB/Bluetooth adapter. I have lots of music and the new adapter allows me to use my memory sticks, and also takes 32GB capacity. More than enough music. The additional bluetooth playback is useful for iPod users, since the USB does not support Apple products. Not a problem for me not owning any Apple products. This fixed the issue of connecting two mobiles which I can do in my other car. The USB extension socket replaced the AUX only socket in the centre console storage, like the later models.

What made me decide on the Avensis Tourer, was the fact I can place my folding bike in the luggage area, with the cover and the seats in place. My Mk1 could do this too, but the Honda Civic may struggle

.

I am not a fan of bike racks, plus the bike is secure out of site. Also I have carried long loads in my Mk1 and the Civic would not be capable of.

The Civic is more sporty with lower gearing, so on the motorway the car will feel like the Avensis 5th gear, even though the Civic is in 6th gear. Great for acceleration, not for refinement at speed. The ride is known to be very hard. The fuel returns of both 1.8s are evenly matched. Just the smaller boot with my bike swayed the decision.

Now that the Auris and Civic are available as Tourers, I may downsize in the future.

For now I am happy with this car.

[alan333]

Dusk seems to fool the auto lights to switch on and off.

The auto lights have different sensitivity setting (from 1 to 5 IIRC). You'll need Techstream to access the setting, although you can do it from the later model touch screens.