The Reason I Chose The Avensis Over Other Cars I Was Going To Buy.

[Konrad C]

There are plenty of reasons why we choose the car we drive. I chose my car - Mk3 Tourer because it was the right car for the money and I need to look for a practical car for future needs. Also it was a lucky find being very local to me.

I actually wanted a Honda Civic 1.8 2008 - 2010 five door, because it had reasonable space, practical, and reliable. My main concern is that I sometimes carry a Dahon Cadenza folding bike, which have 26" wheels, 16 speed, light weight and very fast. It is much larger than a Brompton bike, so the needs a boot space of 90cm x 95cm, with the seats up and the parcel shelf/cover in place. My Mk1 Avensis did this easily with space for other items. It also good for security as nobody will suspect there is a bike in the boot! The Civic cannot do this. The cover will need to be off or the bike stored in the passenger area, or the seat folded down. Have you noticed that load space is measured is litres and not dimensions? Not helpful if you want to chose a car for a specific purpose. The Tourer has no such issues. I got a spare wheel (space saver), extra for the Civic.

The passenger space is much bigger than my Mk1, especially the rear seats.

Next was the engine and reliability. Both engine are the same size, performance and fuel economy. The Civic is geared slightly lower compared to the Avensis, and I preferred a more relaxed engine. Fuel economy is close too!

The Civic is know to have a rock hard ride. The Avensis has a firm ride with tiny bumps filtering through, but comfortable.

The one thing I am not a fan of it the EPB, only known issue. This initially put me off the Avensis, but after some research and experience with my brothers Renault Grand Scenic, I am more confident. Slow compared to a manual handbrake but fine.

What really swayed was brand loyalty! Having been on the forum and gathered plenty of knowledge on all 3 versions of the Avensis. The Mk3 suits my driving style. I was also looking at Mk2 Avensis hatchback (2007-2008) but the Mk3 was close in price and a better buy. If the Mk3 came in hatchback, that would have been my car!

The only thing I did not get with my Mk3 Tourer is the motorised folding mirrors. That would be very useful. May be a retrofit? Parking sensor and rear camera are not missed, as I have no problems parking. Cruise control, speed limiter and dual climate control standard on the car, also bluetooth handsfree which I added to with my Bluetooth/USB adaptor, since my car is the earlier model with AUX only. This feature was updated in the later face lift.

As you realise I may have bought a Honda, but it did not suit my needs. I liked the looks though.

My next target cars in the future will be the Auris Sports Tourer and the Civic Tourer. That way I downsize slightly without loosing the space and practicality.

[fastbob72]

Well I for one am glad you made the right choice and went with the Avensis because if you got the Honda you may well have started sharing you experience, knowledge and willingness to help others with the Honda forum instead lol.

At my work there's a rather attractive receptionist with an 06 T-spirit and our new Delivery Manager has a Tourer very similar to yours. I must admit,sneakingly that I find her T-spirit a better looking more complete looking car than mine but I prefer mine to the later car..... I wouldn't swap her car for mine but I'm tempted to swap her wheels for mine n see if she notices haha.

Have had a mad,insanely busy summer at work which is why I haven't had the time to contribute here as I would have liked. The previous delivery manager threw a strop and a bottle of vodka down an aisle then walked back in June so it fell to me mostly to run things over the crazy period till the new guy started a few weeks ago but the overtime was great to the point where I had a few grand spare at the start of the month.

Another car was a very tempting proposition but as I've been saying for sometime the next car I buy will be a project car which means almost definitely a late 70s, 80s Ford....... have been a Ford and later Vaughan man at heart but Ford's go back for me to when I was about 8 years old and we allowed to stay up till 9pm on a Sunday night (a school night, I ask you lol) to watch the Professionals....... every since then I've only ever had one dream car.

If I won the jackpot on the lottery or even had a spare 5 grand laying around I'd buy a mk2 RS2000.......even if I won millions you can keep your Ferrari, Lambourghinis, M3s or M5s (although the early 80s M535is and the original E30 M3s are pretty tasty lol) and a Bugatti Veron??? No bloody thanks, give me a mk2 RS2000 with a solid body I could work on. i.e convert the rear to take the Sapphire IRS and a Cosworth motor up front and that is my idea of a perfect car...... though the original 70s Celica would be an attractive choice as well with a couple of mil in the bank lol.

£2000 doesn't get you much of an RS2000 these days but a mk3 Escort (I had one of the first XR3is and an RS1600i which was an exceptional car) is another one I hanker after...... also owning almost all versions of mk1 Fiesta except a Supersport and a RWD Sapphire Cosworth in the past I'm always looking out for a mk1 Feesty or a Sapphire as a project but in the end a great deal of it's been thrown at my vvti instead starting with the coilovers, cylinder head, new pistons, rings, bearings, top end gasket kit, timing chain kit, tyres etc, etc, etc plus tools, a new laptop with software to refresh n chip ECUs (if it ever bloody arrives from the US lol).

I liked my old 7A-FE GS and it won my everlasting respect after taking a full boiling of the cooling system without even minor damage..... just a cooling system gasket. That made me opt for the 52 plate vvti when it needed replacing though I may have had thought twice of I had an inkling of the vvti reputation beforehand but thankfully I hadn't a clue and bought I. Have always liked it but since I put it back on the road in March after many months off the road while I got it fit for the MOT a bit at a time I've gone from having a real soft spot for it to loving it to bits.It's not my usual kind of car, it's not a Ford or Vauxhall for a start nor is it a high performance model like the XRs, RSs,SRis,GSis and Cosworths that I've always gone for...... neither a hothatch, sports saloon or a fastback/coupe type like the Capris that I've gone for in the past (In fact I've owned around 25 Capris and Cavaliers in total alone lol) but I love that vvti engine and everytime I've talked about tuning my Avensis people just give a kind of 'must be a bit of a fool who knows nothing at all' look.... I mean why would you modify an Avensis especially a mk1 but that's exactly the point, no one does or would think too. Yes, Accords are fine cos of the Type Rs and the Vtec motor but not a vvti Avensis for f@%k sake !!!!!.

The vvti is the superior engine to my mind that with some significant but sensible modifications could be even better and while the mk1 isn't the coolest or prettiest looking of cars they do look OK, mine has been vastly improved by being lowered, though adjusted since the photos I put up at the weekend I hasten to add.

Am very glad and releived it is, I always thought if you lowered a mk1 Avensis but more importantly levelled it out so it didn't have that higher rear end/forward slanted stance they tend to have the look would be so. much better. It would have been an expensive mistake if it didn't lol.

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

[Konrad C]

Bob, great piece on your own experience. I did own a Fiesta 1.3 S - great handling car. I wish it had 5 speed gearbox.

A great combo would be a Mk2 Avensis, with the 2ZR-FAE engine and 6 speed gearbox. Or, the supercharged Corolla engine. There is that 190 hp screamer, from the Celica.

Talking of fitting the Mk3 wheels into the Mk1, they would not fit. I have my cars parked side by side, and the 17" dwarf the arches of the Mk1! Also the stud pattern is larger on the 17". You could not lower your Mk1 and have large wheels!

When you look at the Honda Civic 8th gen, it has a sporting, individual look plus a great 1.8 petrol engine. The Auris, especially the first version was let down by having really short gearing and being a bit small for my needs. The Auris has improved a lot with every update, and if the 1.8 was introduced into the Touring Sport, that would be my next target.

When you think about it the 1.8 vvti is a very good engine (later 2006 versions), and 1.8 valvematic improves on it.

One thing I know, I will never buy a french car! It will be a British built Japanese car. Not sure about German cars.

[alan333]

Hey fastbob72 :)

Are you aware the T25 Avensis was available with a 2.4 petrol lump from the Camry? That would be a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

[Konrad C]

I have put the nagging feeling about the Honda Civic to rest. I am glad I got the Avensis now.

A mechanic I know has one and had seen it without realising it was his. Anyway, I wanted to know if my Dahon Cadenza folding bike with 26" wheels would fit in the boot with the seats up and the parcel shelf in place. The answer is no!

I had a tape measure in my car and he allowed me to measure the boot space. The boot is big, but at 28" it is 6" too small. My Mk1 boot holds the bike with space to spare.

The problem is that you don't get measurement in length, width and height. Only volume capacity!

Space was my main concern, so I am happy with my choice for now.