Avensis 1.8 VVti automatic

[Mowgli56]

I have a 2003 MkII 1.8 estate which has been an incredibly reliable and comfy long distance car over 130,000 miles. Am thinking of buying a 4 to 5 year old MKIII and wondering if anyone has any experience of the automatic gearbox on those. Are they equally reliable to the manuals? And what about fuel economy? I guess it’s a bit down on the manual versions. 

[Heidfirst]

Hi David,

Welcome to TOC 

Whilst I don't have personal experience the CVT seems to be very reliable indeed.

& having moved back to petrol recently I can see why some reckon that it suits that engine best (with all the low down torque of a diesel I have become lazy in gearchanges) especially in urban use.

Fyi whilst looking at cars the 2012 MY was the first facelift of the Avensis T27 (you can tell from different front grill & front & rear lights).

[Mowgli56]

Thanks Scott. I guess Toyota have a lot of experience with CVTs from the hybrids they do. Some reviews say the engine sounds noisier with the CVT but my driving style is gentle cruising on the motorway. My old MkII 1.8 is very quiet, especially on the roads here in France where I live.

[alan333]

I owned a 12 plate 1.8 valvematic auto for about 2.5 years.  Before buying I searched as much as possible and couldn't find any reported problems with the CVT auto box, and mine was also faultless during my ownership (approx 25k miles, from about 12k to 37k IIRC).  I always raved on about how great the engine/box combo was - it creeps well against any hill you'll encounter during normal driving, it's quick on the pick up, 'gear changes' are smooth, and it lifts it's heels quite nicely if you want it to (it really sits up and takes notice above about 3k revs) - but it doesn't encourage you to drive fast.  It's a nice serene place to be.

However, I changed my daily commute route to include more (hilly) motorway driving... and the CVT really annoyed me.  Say you're sitting on a motorway incline at about 65/70mph - instead of sitting at 2k revs it decides you need more power so the revs rise to about 3k (or more), and the change in engine note is really noticeable in the cab.  Either that or the noise isolation degrades over time such that you notice the noise more - either way it's put me off having another CVT.

The official fuel economy figures are about the same as the manual box.  I could get about 50mpg driving like a nun, 45mpg fairly easily, and about 38-40 around town.

I recommend you take a long test drive in one - It's a-really comfy car, and really easy to live with.  And if you do lots of town driving, or A-roads it's a great drive.  If you like to hold maximum motorway speeds on hilly roads the noise might get to you over time. 

 

[Mowgli56]

Thanks Alan. My existing Avensis estate had 72K on it in 2013 when I bought it just before moving to France. It’s been used like a builders van while we’ve been renovating a house here but has been faultless, has 129k on it and we get 45 mpg on long runs cruising at around 65-70 mph...Over the next few years we will be doing a lot more travelling back and forth between France and UK so have been mulling over whether to go for another Avensis or perhaps a hybrid Auris or Prius...need something quiet and comfy on these long runs and I see no reason to go away from Toyota.

[Heidfirst]

2 hours ago, Mowgli56 said:

Over the next few years we will be doing a lot more travelling back and forth between France and UK so have been mulling over whether to go for another Avensis or perhaps a hybrid Auris or Prius...need something quiet and comfy on these long runs and I see no reason to go away from Toyota.

There is no doubt in my mind that you can tell that the Avensis is a class above an Auris. Sadly no hybrid option in an Avensis whereas there is in an Auris. 

Having said that if you really are going to be racking up the miles there is always diesel ..

[nielshm]

The one and only thing I hate about the CVT is its behavior in cold weather. When temprature drops below 10 degrees celsius, it suddently becomes a priority to heat up transmission oil as fast as possible. What happens is that revs are really high even if the speed is low. 2,5 - 3K revs and only 40 mph is normal right after start up. It lasts for 2-3 miles until engine and CVT is back to normal low revs condition. If I was to live in areas with general cold weather or long winters, I would get a engine heater installed. 

[Mowgli56]

Thanks all for your insights. In the event I am keeping the old Avensis here in France while we bought an 07 plate Gen II Prius for my wife. She loves it and after a week of us both driving it in the UK I got back in the Avensis and thought ‘why is this engine running when I’ve stopped?’...Electric drive is definitely the future with the hybrids a stepping stone to that. Good to see the demon diesel is rapidly dying in sales terms.