Quick Review Of My Verso D4d

[HoneyBear1980]

I have covered 5000 miles in my 08 plate Toyota Corolla Verso SR D4D (140bhp) mini MPV in silver.

It can be a two seater with a boot the size of a small van (a blow up double mattress will lie flat in the back) a spacious 5 seater with ample head, leg and shoulder room all round and a large boot big enough for a dog cage and push chair or a 7 seater minibus (with very limited boot space - enough for a few squashed up coats).

It has cruise control, a six speed manual gearbox, rear parking sensors, all round alloys with disk brakes and front fog lights. The CD player also reads mp3 format disks. Best of all it has duel zone climate control and rear privacy glass to help keep it cool.

I tend to drive quite steady but I have also found that the computer over reads by about 10% on my actual mpg. It normally shows that I have an average mpg of 65 - 75 mpg. However I normally only get 60 mpg when calculating it myself from litres filled up and miles done on that tank - it has dropped as low as 54 mpg (however that was with less than 1000 miles on the clock - it seems to get better with each tank as the engine gets run in). I normally only drive around town however I have done a few hundred miles on the motorway.

The fuel gauge shows the tank is half full after I have done 350 miles, and the computer reads that it has zero miles range after 600 miles. However when I fill the tank up to the top I can only get 45 litres in at best even though the tank is supposed to hold 55 litres. At least this means over 700 miles per tank should be possible.

I have noticed that with the cruise control set to 70 (ish) it does drink the dino juice at an alarming rate. Manually pressing the pedal does seem to use less fuel.

I have found the engine to be very powerful as I often have 6 adults and 1 child on board and you hardly notice the extra weight although mpg does drop by 1-2 mpg.

Refinement is good as the gear ratios are set perfectly.

30 mph is 1400 rpm in 4th

40 mph is 1400 rpm in 5th

50 mph is 1400 rpm in 6th

70 mph is 2100 rpm in 6th

This means that you never need to take the engine above 2000 rpm so it stays very quite. If you go up to 3000 rpm + it takes off like a scalded cat and you reach the speed limit in next to no time. Even with 7 adults on board the engine doesn't break into a sweat.

There is enough space for 7 people if you adjust all the chairs on the runners, however leg room is then tight for all passengers, less so if you just have small kids in the back.

Plus points:

60 mpg, refined motorway cruiser, very flexible rear with 5 fold flat seats, high up driving position, real in gear punch above 30 mph.

Bad points:

Poor turning circle, front armrests too small to be comfortable, cup holders can only take the smallest sized water bottles, right turn indicator self cancels too early (if you are turning right on a roundabout and have to initially turn left it will cancel), electric windows and radio don't work unless the key is in the ignition and start button is pressed.

Niggles - headlights don't project very far unless on full beam, computer can only show one piece of info at a time (not possible to see both the clock and current mpg at the same time etc - connecting a Scan Gauge to the OBD2 port under the steering wheel solves this problem plus it gives you temperature readings rather than a blue and red light), dashboard is always illuminated but dims when you put your headlights on (good so you don't get dazzled at night, bad when at dusk and the dimmed dash is difficult to read).

I have also had (under warranty) the front disks replaced as they were scored and the rear disks (hub part) painted black as they had started to rust, both common problems.

I would recommend this car, I also test drove some of its competitors in comparison to the verso:

Mazda 5: Lower driving position, only 6 adult sized seats

VW Touran: Diesel engine much noisier and seats have to be removed to use maximum available boot space, bulky central tunnel in the middle row

C4 Picasso: Looks much bigger but feels much smaller on inside and the driving position is not comfortable as it is offset with the pedals at a strange angle (not natural)

Ford S-MAX: Too long and wide and feels cheap inside

Honda FRV: Only seats 6 and feels small and cramped compared to all other MPVs, in the drivers seat you are pressed against the door

Vauxhall Zafira: Offset driving position and rough engines.

[hertsnminds]

Thank you for an interesting review. Just a couple of questions.

What pressures to do you use for the tyres (the glovebox sticker mentions a few). I find the fronts can look a bit low on the recommended settings and my MPG figures are nowhere near yours, 48-52 MPG calculated (I do only have 2,500 miles on the clock though).

What information do you lose when you tweak the computer displays, or are you saying the clock stays displayed as well as the other info?

[Zwart_Verso]

connecting a Scan Gauge to the OBD2 port under the steering wheel solves this problem plus it gives you temperature readings rather than a blue and red light)

Thanks for a good review, but you comment about the scan guage has got me interested!

I have googled this and it seems to be exactly what I am looking for, can you please post more information on what you have, how you connected it (I think I have already found the OBD2 port), how and where you mounted it, and most important, how well does it worK?

Please let me know,

Regards, Andy.

[HoneyBear1980]

To answer the questions raised:

I check my tyre pressures every other week and set them to Toyota’s recommendation for two people and light luggage. I do increase the pressures if I know I’ll have 6 or 7 people on board but I can’t be too accurate as I use a foot pump with a small (and not very accurate gauge). I have also noticed that there does seem to be more of a bulge on the fronts than there is at the back, but even if the gauge is out, it should be by the same margin for all tyres. I use the tyre pressure info detailed in the glove box.

I always like to have the time displayed on the dash, a pretty basic feature for any car since the 70’s. However it is annoying that the verso can only show the time (with outside temperature) and that’s it! You have to scroll through the other options such as range and MPG one at a time as they replace the previous display.

This is why I have started to use my scan gauge (you can see more details on the page linked below):

http://www.scangauge.net/

It gets both its data and power from the On Board Diagnostics Port (OBDII) which is a white socket with about 16 pin holes in it located above the accelerator pedal just under the dash. I have plugged my scan gauge into this and just rested it behind the steering wheel in between the two buttons for toggling the dash displays. It is very light so doesn’t move about. You can see 4 data streams at any time. I normally leave the dash computer showing the time and temp. The scan gauge then displays current MPG, average MPG, engine temperature (I don’t trust Toyota’s design of just a red and blue light) and throttle position. I find by driving and monitoring these gauges I manage to drive whilst returning a real average of 60 MPG.

The scan gauge unit cost just over £100 and I think it will probably pay for itself over a few thousand miles with my economy improvements.

One negative: I don’t like wires around the cabin and even though it only has one, it still bugs me. If anyone has a better installation, let me know!

[hertsnminds]

I have also noticed that there does seem to be more of a bulge on the fronts than there is at the back

That sounds the same as I have noticed on mine.

This is why I have started to use my scan gauge

Looks like a handy little gadget.

Thanks for the info

[HoneyBear1980]

I would recommend the scan gauge as it does work, just a bit pricey.

[Boro Sera]

Great review and an interesting comparison with it's peer group.