Auris Test Drive

[alanbradley]

I'm not Jeremy Clarkson, but I wrote this for another site and thought it may be of interest over here too...

Hi folks,

As my Mr-T-of-choice had sent me a text and two invites to try the Auris I thought it would be rude not to take them up on their kind offer, so today I popped north to give their 2.0 D-4D Auris T Spirit a wee shotty.

Exterior

Looking like the offspring between a Fiat Stilo and a Mk2 Yaris has never worked so well. The Auris has touch of menace to its face that stops it looking as doe-eyed as the Yaris always has done and its wheel arch treatment makes it look more dynamic than the Corolla ever has. Sadly it is still only available in 5-door format but I feel the 3-door will be quite a handsome motor.

The colour choice is limited to just 6 tones - black, white, 3 shades of grey and a single red - so don't expect any Auris to scream "look at me" for quite a while. The car I drove was Decuma (ie dark) grey, probably my favourite of the choices. There are a few words of warning about the spec'ing of Decuma and black cars, but I'll come back to that later.

The test car was also fitted with the "Style Pack" comprising of the rather smart TTE rear spoiler, "Auris" etched metal scuff plates and Astra-esque chrome trim at the bottom of the boot lid. Personally I'd skip the chrome trim, but the other two items were nice. Especially the spoiler.

You'll also notice that the Auris stands on its tip toes. The T180 (ie top-spec 2.2 diesel one) sits fractionally lower, but I know that I would be selecting the TTE Springs (listed in the main brochure for a change) from the options list as a matter of course.

Interior

Right... Back to the topic of the colour choices... I mentioned before about being careful of choosing Decuma or black when spec'ing an Auris. The reason is that if you choose either of those colours and T-Spirit trim level you get the beige velour interior my test car had. Did I say beige? I meant "Sahara". There is a reason the alternative black interiors of the rest of the range are shown in the brochure. Its because this one is gross.

Now we've got that out of the way, apart from the colour the Auris interior is really a very pleasant place to be. Although high, a comfortable driving position can be found in seconds and the multi-adjustable steering column has plenty of range to help matters. The pedal spacing is good for the larger-of-feet and the steering wheel is pleasantly chunky. The seats were comfortably bolstered and grippy.

The dash is pretty conservative bar the strange-looking buttress on which the gear leaver is mounted. There is a micro-cubbyhole underneath it but, well, there's a fine line between "different" and "odd". Aesthetically, this has more than its toe in "odd". I can, however, forgive it this though as it places the gear lever exactly where your left hand would fall should you release the steering wheel. The positioning of the lever is right up there with that of the previous generation Civic Type-R whilst you feel cocooned in a way the bus-like dashboard of the previous generation Civic never approached. Mention should also go to the spherical aluminium and leather gear knob. It truly is a pleasure to hold and I don't see why people would want to change it for an aftermarket one.

The instrument binnacle is clear and a pleasant balance of analogue and digital for a technophile like me. My only two criticisms are that the "info" button to scroll through the computer functions is both miniscule and impossible to use on the go and also that there are just too many numbers on the speedometer. Small things really...

Otherwise, there are few "surprise and delight" features in the cabin. The grab handles are better damped than the ones in the BMW 5-series I was in yesterday and the twin glove box could easily be used to carry newborn twins home from the hospital. Its enormous!. Sadly, despite having door bins large enough to hold litre-sized bottles of juice all around, Toyota saw fit to install pop-out ones in front of the outer face vents so as to impede entry and exit when they're in use. Why to manufacturers do this? One final point to note is the world's most pallic handbrake mounted at the bottom (no pun intended) of the buttress. It works well, but...

Driving

I know from previous experience that the 2.0 D-4D engine was both smooth and refined and once again that has been proved to be the case. There is next-to-no lag and performance is easily accessible throughout the rev range.

The cockpit is well damped from both wind and road noise and with little fuss the car accelerates far more swiftly than it feels. Time and time again I found that I was carrying at least 20mph than I would be in the Yaris. The gearing of the very long-legged 6th gear puts the legal speed limit at the bottom of the torque band and you soon find the car creeping to 80. The thought "just one more before the end of the dual carriageway" and a twitch of the right foot could easily be a licence loser in the wrong circumstances so keenly does this pull towards 3 figures.

In twisties the Auris is equally accomplished. Bodyroll is well suppressed whilst at the same time bumpy, uneven surfaces were dispatched with the same aplomb as my Dad's air-suspended Jaguar. Never di this car feel uncomfortable. The Yokohamas on the test car gripped like hyperactive limpets despite the low temperatures and the steering was nicely weighted (although the self-centering was very strong at speed). Never did it scare me and only once did I feel the slightest hint of understeer.

Verdict

The Auris was a car I wanted to like - I'll get that off my chest now - and I did like it. Its well built, comfortable, swift, well spec'd and everything you would want from a car really. I just didn't feel that it particularly liked me back. I know, I know, its a car and not a dog, but at the halfway point of my test circuit I was faced with "Sma' Glen" of "A9" for the route back to the dealer's and I chose A9.

Whilst it was all very good it was just, well, all very good. I got to Aberfeldy and it was a case of "There, that's me completed the tasks you have set." No "Is that all you've got? Work me harder!" or even a Yaris-esque "didn't I do well?".

No feedback. That just disappointed me a bit.

A

[Red Yaris 54]

Nice review Alan (Move over Jeremy Clarkson :P )

I totally agree with you about the appalling interior trim colour and am dissapointed at the lack of body colour choice.

Maybe we shall see an expanded choice with the 3 door.......................I certainly hope so.

Was the demonstrator THAT dirty when you picked it up....................or did you take it on your "rally" test course ;)

[alanbradley]

Lol...

I had a look in a few other Auri (when will Toyota come up with a model designation that's easy to pluralise?) in different specs and the black interior is really quite nice. The trouble is that I would prefer a TSpirit in either that colour or black but there's no way that's going to happen with the beige. Actually I could more than live with a T3, which solves the problem.

The car was pretty clean when I got it, but the road salt up here just sticks. I'd done about 45 miles over damp, salted roads so I was responsible for most of it. I promise I didn't off-road and more than pulling in to the viewpoint. :P

A

edit: I forgot to mention the interior door handles, which are like something like a Smeg fridge...

Look how the pop-out cupholder would obscure the door handle <_< (spot the product designer)

[jay dh]

good review.

the rear of the car looks like a swollen 2006 and the interior looks very cheap.

other than that it looks like a good car, if u get the right choice of colours

[DaveSR]

I can't understand why they can't colour code the door locking switch and the electric window switch ..... there are one or two good things about this car however there is alot which isn't

Compaired to the old Corolla it's nothing - feels smaller inside, smaller boot, the plastics are the same from the new yaris etc etc

It seems that the designers has robbed ideas from every manufacturer and tried to put them in their own design. Don't get me wrong isn't a bad idea ....... It's just that it doesn't work here.

My next car isn't going to be a toyota

[Snert]

Hi Alan,

That's a great review, well done.

I thought I spotted a hint of Scots when you ended your first paragraph with "a wee shotty" which raised a knowing smile from the wife as she read the review over my shoulder.

I know the A9 well and whizz the MX5 through the Sma Glen often in the summer months, breaking in Dunkeld for a coffee and a walk round the Cathedral. It's because of this that I'm now worried that the Auris will be boring as I often take the long way home if it means I can drive my car (facelifted TSport) rather than just be in control of it's general speed and direction.

Of course I should wait for a TSport derivitive to arrive before throwing the boring word about but I'm looking at the new Civic Type R just now and it's lighting my fire...

Snert

[alanbradley]

Hi Alan,

That's a great review, well done.

I thought I spotted a hint of Scots when you ended your first paragraph with "a wee shotty" which raised a knowing smile from the wife as she read the review over my shoulder.

I know the A9 well and whizz the MX5 through the Sma Glen often in the summer months, breaking in Dunkeld for a coffee and a walk round the Cathedral. It's because of this that I'm now worried that the Auris will be boring as I often take the long way home if it means I can drive my car (facelifted TSport) rather than just be in control of it's general speed and direction.

Of course I should wait for a TSport derivitive to arrive before throwing the boring word about but I'm looking at the new Civic Type R just now and it's lighting my fire...

Snert

Thanks for the compliments....

My folks live in Aberfeldy and I went to school a few miles from the Sma' Glen itself, so I do know the area well despite curently living in sunny (?) Lanarkshire.

I know exactly what you mean. If its any help I was coming from Dunkeld and was just out of the tree-lined twisty bit after Corbenic when the whole "passion" thing hit me. There are, however, a couple of factors that you should consider before pumping for the Type-R.

1. The T180 Auris has multilink rear suspension where the "cooking" Auri have a cheaper, simpler torsion beam rear setup. Now, the product designer in me thinks that for a company as well known for streamlining production techniques and efficientcy management as Toyota (its methods have been adopted across the globe in all streams of manufacturing and service industries) to introduce as fundamental a change/complication as this means that there must be some significant payoff. Otherwise, I just don't see them spending the time and money.

2. The Type-R has just received a pasting from Autocar for basically not handling nearly as well as its predecessor. A large part of this is assigned to the torsion beam rear suspension where Civics have traditionally had double wishbones all around.

In a few months I might give the T180 a try if I can. I think it would be interesting. The engine is the same as in my Mum's RAV and its a stormer there so I am expecting interesting things. It may be a different driving experience to a rev-happy T-Sport engine, but it may at least be worth a test drive.

If you still don't like it, well I see that Struans still have the CTS Compressor siting outside unregistered. Must be a bargain to be had there ;)

A

[Snert]

If you still don't like it, well I see that Struans still have the CTS Compressor siting outside unregistered. Must be a bargain to be had there ;)

It's tempting, very tempting but Mrs Snert has decided that at 4 years old the MX5 will require changing 1st. She would love another one but at nearly 20k for the electric roofed version I'm attempting to talk her round to a 2nd hand Boxster. Pretty confident I can source a nice 3 year old 3.2s example for similar money.

It means I'll need to suffer the TSport for another year or so before changing it, hopefully the Auris TSport will be available by then and I can compare it with the Type R.

If the old Type R had ridden a little softer and had climate control and some other toys, I would have bought one 4 years ago. It didn't, so I ended up with a TSport, which offered us everything we wanted in a hatch.

Cars, jees, sometimes I wish I had a less expensive hobby!

Regards

Snert

[geoffb]

I'm with DaveSR I'm afraid. The interior of the Auris isn't a patch on my E12 Corolla T-Spirit in either design or quality. In my view it is definitely a significant backward step. The E12 interior was one of the first Toyota interiors to match the quality of the Golf interior - a benchmark in my opinion. As I've said in other threads. the Auris just follows the current very disappointing Toyota trend of turning out new models with reworked fascias from hell that look like a bizarre cheap plastic toy. The handbrake just looks silly and the colour of the dial illumination is just horrible (personal opinion of course). Like the position of the gear lever though.

I've ended up feeling rather glad that it isn't called a Corolla in the UK!

When my much loved Corolla is finally up for replacement I suspect I will find myself eyeing up other manufacturers - and I don't say that lightly having been a Toyota fan for many years.

A real shame

[DaveSR]

I'm with DaveSR I'm afraid. The interior of the Auris isn't a patch on my E12 Corolla T-Spirit in either design or quality. In my view it is definitely a significant backward step. The E12 interior was one of the first Toyota interiors to match the quality of the Golf interior - a benchmark in my opinion. As I've said in other threads. the Auris just follows the current very disappointing Toyota trend of turning out new models with reworked fascias from hell that look like a bizarre cheap plastic toy. The handbrake just looks silly and the colour of the dial illumination is just horrible (personal opinion of course). Like the position of the gear lever though.

I've ended up feeling rather glad that it isn't called a Corolla in the UK!

When my much loved Corolla is finally up for replacement I suspect I will find myself eyeing up other manufacturers - and I don't say that lightly having been a Toyota fan for many years.

A real shame

Just to let you and other Toyota owners that all isn't down the pan ..... I have recieved a brand new Rav4 as mine is in for a service.

This car not only looks good on the inside and the outside the plastics are of high quality

This is one awsome motor and one current Toyota I would be proud sitting on my drive - and not just because it's a 4x4 as i'm not like that ;)

[geoffb]

Funnily enough it was a toss up between a RAV and the Corolla when my wife and I changed out the car 18 months or so ago. That was the old RAV of course but I was impressed then. We decided though that we didn't need the size of the RAV. Haven't looked in detail at the new RAV but if it has decent plastics etc inside that has to be good!

I've just been so so disappointed in the interior plastics on models like the Aygo, new Yaris and Auris.

[alanbradley]

I'm with DaveSR I'm afraid. The interior of the Auris isn't a patch on my E12 Corolla T-Spirit in either design or quality. In my view it is definitely a significant backward step. The E12 interior was one of the first Toyota interiors to match the quality of the Golf interior - a benchmark in my opinion. As I've said in other threads. the Auris just follows the current very disappointing Toyota trend of turning out new models with reworked fascias from hell that look like a bizarre cheap plastic toy. The handbrake just looks silly and the colour of the dial illumination is just horrible (personal opinion of course). Like the position of the gear lever though.

I've ended up feeling rather glad that it isn't called a Corolla in the UK!

When my much loved Corolla is finally up for replacement I suspect I will find myself eyeing up other manufacturers - and I don't say that lightly having been a Toyota fan for many years.

A real shame

Just to let you and other Toyota owners that all isn't down the pan ..... I have recieved a brand new Rav4 as mine is in for a service.

This car not only looks good on the inside and the outside the plastics are of high quality

This is one awsome motor and one current Toyota I would be proud sitting on my drive - and not just because it's a 4x4 as i'm not like that ;)

The RAV rocks. My parents are on their 4th and we've had all variants bar the Mk1 P2. The Mk2 P1 was possibly the least successful edition (maybe because we had the lowest spec at the time, I forget what it was called) but had a funky dashboard (like a Casio G-Shock watch). The Mk3 is great but my Mum won't let the rest of us drive it... :(

A

[DaveSR]

Well I drove the Xt4 2l D4d and it was pure quality ...... it was my first experience in a 4x4 and I loved it

The Rav has to be one of the best looking 4x4s out there - not to big and not to small and very well designed

However the 21k price tag made me feel sad :(

*I could go on but I don't want to go even more off topic ;)

[G79]

Is it me, or does the back sit higher than the front?

I'm sure it is higher

G

[DaveSR]

I would take a guess and say that it's something to do with the 2l beast under the bonnet ;)

[G79]

Hahaha... So it looks like a kind of drag car because it has such a beast of an engine in the fron then :D

G

[sirua]

Great review Alan, very useful. I was particuarly interestred in your comments about the ride height (it looks like a 4x4 doesn't it!) and the possibility of fitting TTE lowering springs. What I would like to know is what affect the TTE springs would have on ride quality. A 30mm lowering would look great, but how much stiffer are the TTEs? I asked Toyota Motorsport in Germany this question but got the answer "vee cannot give you zis information as it is commercially secret".

[uumode]

Is it one of those cars where you cannot see the bonnet from the driving seat?

Also, is there a numerical digital read out of how many litres/gallons left in the tank, as the granularity of the digital bar for the fuel indicator is a bit coa-rse, looks to be about 10 segments, but perhaps that is enough - a gallon+ a segment? So when the 2nd from last bar just extinguishes, it means you could have 2 gallons left when it displays 1 bar.

btw the censor filter for this forum is a bit strict, I can't mention the word coa-rse as a word, or je-rk as a word when I was describing the transmission as being a bit jer-ky ?

[Red Yaris 54]

btw the censor filter for this forum is a bit strict, I can't mention the word coa-rse as a word, or je-rk as a word when I was describing the transmission as being a bit jer-ky ?

Ha Ha............that is so true........................but you soon found your way round it, didn't you? ;)

It is a good job you are not from Subikhorpe ;)

[Silver_Shadow]

I test drove the 1.6 litre not long ago and as a big big big big big big corolla fan - i was most and very disappointed withis car - exterior shaped wise it looks like a glorified yaris........ interior was too plasticy...... gear knob is too high going into third gear was not pleasant, handling was ok but not thrilling, room wise loads of room which was good, no cubby hole on the driver side........when i was driving aobut i didnt really feel too safe in the event of a crash despite the auris getting a high rating on n cap tests which i did read but also in the boot the spare tyre was one of those thin ugly looking spare wheels........... Toyota have assured me that when they get the 2.0 litre in my branch i can have a test drive with it and it will change my mind.........it was a car that i really did want to like but im afraid it will never replace the corolla for me....... :.(

[alanbradley]

Sorry for the delay in replying, I've been really busy lately and not on t'internet as much as a result...

You know, I can't remember if you can see the bonnet or not . As a Yaris driver of many, many miles I don't miss it if the bonnet's "not there". Sorry...

Great review Alan, very useful. I was particuarly interestred in your comments about the ride height (it looks like a 4x4 doesn't it!) and the possibility of fitting TTE lowering springs. What I would like to know is what affect the TTE springs would have on ride quality. A 30mm lowering would look great, but how much stiffer are the TTEs? I asked Toyota Motorsport in Germany this question but got the answer "vee cannot give you zis information as it is commercially secret".

The TTEs would make the ride harder, but not to silly levels. I have TTEs on my Yaris and they have given a definite reduction in body roll during cornering and on roundabouts (the reason they were bought - I'm not much into purely cosmetic mods). The ride is firmer, a bit more jiggly on broken tarmac but to me that's a fair trade-off for the aesthetics and tighter handling. Hope that's some sort of help...

I test drove the 1.6 litre not long ago and as a big big big big big big corolla fan - i was most and very disappointed withis car - exterior shaped wise it looks like a glorified yaris........ interior was too plasticy...... gear knob is too high going into third gear was not pleasant, handling was ok but not thrilling, room wise loads of room which was good, no cubby hole on the driver side........when i was driving aobut i didnt really feel too safe in the event of a crash despite the auris getting a high rating on n cap tests which i did read but also in the boot the spare tyre was one of those thin ugly looking spare wheels........... Toyota have assured me that when they get the 2.0 litre in my branch i can have a test drive with it and it will change my mind.........it was a car that i really did want to like but im afraid it will never replace the corolla for me....... :.(

Funny, you Corolla folk are as bad as the Yaris ones... Anything new can "never be as good as the old one". I think that, being British, its somehow in our genes! .

Was it a 1.6 petrol you drove? If its the 2.0 D-4D then I know that Struan's in Perth have one (the one I drove). It may be worth giving them a call (pm me for contact details ;) ).

Your issue of "not feeling safe" is because the entire dashboard is set lower than in the Corolla and the windscreen is further away. Its a psychological trick. Surely the further obstructions are from your head and torso then the less likel your body is to be whacked off them in the event of an accident - safer from where I'm sitting... Also, the increased glasshouse will be giving you more visibility. Surely more visibility is a good thing as it will help you avoid the crash in the first place. Anyhow, nothing focuses the mind on safe driving that the knowledge that there's very little between "you" and "it"

Can I also just pick up on something else? What's the big thing about space-saver spare wheels? When was the last time most people had to use one? One a car like a Corolla with a "standard" trye size then you're never going to have to wait long for a replacement tyre, so its hardly going to be a big deal. Buy yourself a can of aerosol sealant and keep that in the car as a "just in case". I can't see how people can use that sort of thing as a reason to not buy a car... :!Removed!:

Anyhow, apologies if much of that sounds like a rant, its just that - as a product designer - the irrationalities of customers never ceases to amaze me...

A

[G79]

I've noticed some people on here, and in the media have refered to the interior as being "Plasticy" or "bland".... well at the weekend I decided to look at a few other cars and to my surprise their interiors were much worse. As far as I'm concerned the interior of the Auris is far superior to that of other makes, the only other car I found which was in fact better than then Auris was the Honda Civic (interms of interior), but every time I got in and out the Civic I kept banging my head (and I'm not that tall, maybe 5'8"), and felt that the whole interior felt rather small.

All I would say is, before judging the interior of the Auris, go and look at SEAT, Vaxhuall and Mazda (as these are the vehicles I looked at) and then tell me the interior of the Auris isn't all that! Of course I went for the T-Spirit so I've got all the fancy digital climate control's, but in all honesty, it seems to me that it is now a current trend of manufacturers to produce cheap looking interiors. I was very tempted by the SEAT Leon (new) however, I felt that after a few months of driving I wouldn't feel as happy getting inside the car.

G

[Silver_Shadow]

Everyone has their own opinions but yeah what i will do is test drive the 2.0 litre before i make my final judgement, as for hte plasticy part, it just is, i know other cars are not as good for inside build but i dont know, i really do want to like this car and was looking forward to driving it hoping it would be better in everyway from my CTS - but i will wait till i test drive the 2.0 litre.

[MyGo]

I only had a dry run in it, and was not overly impressed with the interior, exterior however looks good IMO.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3106951

[alanbradley]

Meh! vwvortex... They're just jealous because their windows relays keep going "fut!"

A CTS to a 1.6 is not really a very fair comparison, is it?

Anybody read the group drive in this week's Autocar yet?

http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/RoadTe...-Spirit/223862/

A