Auris Hybrid Questions

[adamada]

I'm thinking of buying a used Auris Hybrid and was hoping I would be able to get the following questions answered. I've tried searching and finding answers already but nothing concrete. If you can answer as many of the questions as possible that would be great.

1) My current commute consists of a mix of motorway and urban driving - 25 miles each way. On the motorway I frequently go 70mph. I also drive ~100 mile journeys fairly often to visit family. How suitable is the car for this kind of use?

2) In addition to the above, what mpg can I expect if I predominantly drive at 70mph on the motorway (assuming I'm average in terms of acceleration and plan ahead to keep speed at 70mph as much as possible)

3) Any tips for buying a used hybrid? I am looking at a 2015ish age and <30k miles, which should be about £13k currently.

4) My other option is a 1 or 2 year old 1.0l Astra petrol. A friend has one and it returns 50mpg. The upside to getting this one is that it is ~£10k so cheaper and there are a lot more available. I'm struggling to justify the extra £3k for an Auris Hybrid - can you persuade me?

[FROSTYBALLS]

For an idea of the real world fuel consumption have a look at the Honest John Real MPG pages - https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/toyota/auris-2013/18-hybrid

The Auris was facelifted in mid-2015 - so both pre and post facelift Auris could be in your budget.

Bear in mind that for a true comparison on fuel consumption, you need to compare the Auris, which has an e-CVT transmission, with automatic versions of whatever diesel/petrol cars ytou're considering. Also this site isn't about persuading people to buy Toyotas - whether you do or not is your choice.

[chrismorrow]

Hello Adamada. I will actually answer your questions.

1, The hybrids are very suited for that type of driving. The long distance especially as it is always good to give them a long run. All the Toyota hybrids are automatics.

2, for best economy I found sitting at around 65mph is best, however even when you start going above that like 80-90mph overtaking, as long as you do it all smoothly economy doesn't seem to drop that much. I used to regularly get 55mpg - 65mpg on a long run usually in ECO mode or normal.

3,  Main thing I would look for is service history, there really isn't much to go wrong with them. Like with any normal car, make sure the tyres and brakes are good. Also I would advise getting it serviced after you buy it and make sure the car has 0W20 oil as for best economy that is what they require.

4, I have driven the Astra 1.0 and it is a good car, however quite underpowered I thought. Much prefer the 1.6 diesel in the new Astra. The hybrid system is 134bhp at peak. However has plenty of torque from the electric side of things when setting off.

 

Overall you cannot go wrong with a hybrid in my opinion. They are proven workhorses and as long as they are looked after will easily reach the 200k plus mark. They are so easy to drive, put it in D and off you go, if you really want the best economy, then I set the tyre pressures to the higher pressures stated on the side of the drivers door and constantly look at the MPG indicator. Doing this i have seen an average of 64.9mpg over 210 miles on a drive to Scotland. It really does vary from person to person, I have also seen it as low as 36mpg in PWR mode and a lot of foot down driving. However normally expect high 50's mpg. 

 

Hope this helps,

 

[adamada]

Hi Chrismorrow - thank you very much for your reply. It's much appreciated. Now I just need to decide whether I want to pay the extra few grand!

 

[adamada]

Quick follow up question - is there much difference in the pre and post 2015 Auris hybrid? I.e. is the hybrid tech significantly better (resulting in better mileage?)

 

[st901]

17 hours ago, adamada said:

Quick follow up question - is there much difference in the pre and post 2015 Auris hybrid? I.e. is the hybrid tech significantly better (resulting in better mileage?)

Having owned a 2014 Hybrid Excel and currently a 2016 model I can confirm that there is no difference in mpg .

17 hours ago, adamada said:

 

 

[adamada]

Thank you for your help. Just one further question I hope!

How good is the sat nav? I'm looking at getting the business edition version. I currently use Google Maps in my old car (smartphone mounted to windscreen).

How does it compare to Google Maps, especially in terms of traffic updates and reroutes? The Astra has Car Play, which allows you to use Google Maps on the screen...

[kennybase]

I updated the map the 2017 version and it is just as useable as Google Maps but not sure it reroutes as efficiently. It's also not as easy to program it, but then again I'm used to just saying my destination into Android Auto.The speed limit warning is useful although not always accurate.

The update is very easy using a USB stick and I actually found a seller on eBay that cost £70 for the update saving £50 on the official route, but exactly the same. 

[Heidfirst]

19 minutes ago, kennybase said:

The update is very easy using a USB stick and I actually found a seller on eBay that cost £70 for the update saving £50 on the official route, but exactly the same. 

Fairly certain that the eBay seller is selling cracked/counterfeit activation codes. You can get 3 years of Mapcare/connected services from Toyota for £199 (new cars come with this foc - if he is buying a 2015 car it may still have some left).

Proprietary in-car systems mapping is never as up to date as Google Maps.

[Sir Jestalot]

On 12/20/2017 at 6:57 PM, adamada said:

Thank you for your help. Just one further question I hope!

How good is the sat nav? I'm looking at getting the business edition version. I currently use Google Maps in my old car (smartphone mounted to windscreen).

How does it compare to Google Maps, especially in terms of traffic updates and reroutes? The Astra has Car Play, which allows you to use Google Maps on the screen...

Hi Adamada, I have a late-2015 Auris Excel Hybrid.   The onboard satnav is pretty good, though is prone to the occasional (rare, I'd say) freeze-up where it falls silent and/or the map stops 'moving', and you have to stop somewhere and restart.   The spoken instructions can be a bit premature; for example it will say "in 300 yards, turn left" but will shortly afterwards say "now turn left" when you are still about 50-100 yards from the required turning, which can be a bit confusing if there are any other left turns before the one you really want.  Other than that it's pretty good.   When I bought mine (February 2017) the Toyota dealer agreed to upgrade the satnav to the latest version as part of the purchase deal.  An upgrade would normally cost upwards of £100 so that's worth considering.

One other comment:  the Auris Hybrid engine, being CVT, can sound rather raucous under hard acceleration or when climbing a fairly steep hill.  OK if you like that sort of thing but I could do without it.  Otherwise under normal driving conditions it's a very quiet and relaxing car to drive.

Hope that helps.