Looking For Opinions On The Verso

[RodM]

We are possibly looking to get a Toyota Verso in the next couple of months and I was wondering what your opinions of it are?

We currently have a Yaris which I use as a commuting car (I've just had it for a couple of months) and a Honda Jazz which we use as a family car - 2 adults, 2 kids and a boot full of luggage fit perfectly. However, we are possibly going to get an extra child in a couple of months and there is no way we could fit 2 child seats and a booster in the back of the Jazz so I would be looking at something a bit bigger.

From what I've seen, the key thing is to get three equally sized back seats and some of the more suitable models I've looked at include the Honda FRV, VW Touran and Citroen Xsara Picasso as well as the Verso. Of these, the Citroen is by far the cheapest but I'm a little wary about their reliability and I think having some occasional extra seats would be useful.

I had a look at the specifications of the Verso and even the base T2 model appears to do everything we would want and, having had a look at the running costs, the 1.6 petrol model would appear to be best (even over the diesel). I'm not sure whether to get something second hand or to go for a lease-purchase agreement - then keep the car for 3 years and then see what we think.

I also noticed on the Toyota UK website that the 1.6 is described as "1.6/1ZR" - is this the same as the new Auris engine (1ZR-FE)? The specification figures don't match up but I can't think what else they would mean.

Thanks in advance,

Rod.

[hertsnminds]

I have had my Verso since April. So far it is doing a good job. I have the D4-D as I do a lot of miles and like the torque from a diesel engine. Whilst the 3 seats in row 2 do allow for a mix of full child and boosters I find that the with a booster in the middle it can be a fiddle to buckle up the standard seat belt. With row 3 seats flat there is plenty of boot space, room for double buggy, shopping and rucksack full of child kit (wet wipes, nappies etc).

On the motorway with the 6 speed gearbox the Verso is a very good cruiser and surprising unruffled by crosswinds.

I would definitely take your 3 child/booster seats to a showroom and make sure you can get them to fit before you buy.

Before the Verso I had a Citroen C4 hatch and have to say the cruise control in the Citroen is far superior to the Toyota. If you want the most cost effective car that will meet your requirements go for a new C4 Picasso (much better than the Xsara) and you have the choice of the 5 or 7 seater.

As I am a member of both the C4 forum and the Toyota forum I can say there are just as many happy and unhappy owners on both. Look for MMT, brake disc, RFT and DMF issues on this forum and EGS, recalls and trim issues on the Citroen forum.

[Zwart_Verso]

I have had a look at the UK websites and you are right, the 1ZR is all over the place, but the specifications given are for the 3ZZ engine.

I suppose it is possible that they have fitted the 1ZR engine but I think this is probably a mistake. I have seen it nowhere else!

With regards to your purchase, one thing you need to consider is that a new Verso is planned Q1 2009, so it might be worth waiting if you can, and either get the new model or the old one with discount.

I bought a 15month old 1.8 petrol in March this year it now has 25000KM on the clock of which I have done 7000KM, I have had no problems with it (except that I need to make an appointment to get the rear discs replaced (guarantee), for the well know Verso brake problem). I have no experience with the 1.6, but I can thoroughly recommend the 1.8 (which I bought because I tow on holiday). What I did notice here in Holland that the new price difference between a 1.6 and a 1.8 is quite small but second hand the price difference is much higher. If this I the same in the UK, then it might be worth considering a 1.8, for the higher trade in value. I am fairly sure if you drive the 1.8 gently, the fuel consumption will be little more than the 1.6, however I know nothing about the UK tax and insurance situation for the 2 models. In Holland these are exactly the same.

Hope this helps you.

Andy.

[HoneyBear1980]

My thoughts on my Verso I have covered just over 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). Also trim feels a bit cheap.

Ford S-MAX: Too long and wide and feels cheap inside. You also sit quite low down.

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.

[RodM]

Many thanks for your responses. You have gone to quite a bit of trouble on this and it has certainly given me something to think about.

I would definitely take your 3 child/booster seats to a showroom and make sure you can get them to fit before you buy.

Before the Verso I had a Citroen C4 hatch and have to say the cruise control in the Citroen is far superior to the Toyota. If you want the most cost effective car that will meet your requirements go for a new C4 Picasso (much better than the Xsara) and you have the choice of the 5 or 7 seater.

As I am a member of both the C4 forum and the Toyota forum I can say there are just as many happy and unhappy owners on both. Look for MMT, brake disc, RFT and DMF issues on this forum and EGS, recalls and trim issues on the Citroen forum.

I think that's some fairly sound advice with regards to the child seats. I didn't realise that the Picasso was available as a 7 seater - I popped into the Citroen dealer in Stirling and had a quick look. I think we will have to look at this when we go for test drives although I'm still not sure about Citroen's reliability record.

MMT and EGS don't worry me as I would go for a manual. RFT = Run Flat Tyres? I didn't know this was an option. DMF presumably means Duel Mass Flywheel which is one of the things that puts me off diesel models.

With regards to your purchase, one thing you need to consider is that a new Verso is planned Q1 2009, so it might be worth waiting if you can, and either get the new model or the old one with discount.

It's worth bearing in mind. By all accounts the market for larger cars in the UK is dying on its feet at the moment so I'm hoping to see big discounts by the time we come to buy.

I bought a 15month old 1.8 petrol in March this year it now has 25000KM on the clock of which I have done 7000KM, I have had no problems with it (except that I need to make an appointment to get the rear discs replaced (guarantee), for the well know Verso brake problem). I have no experience with the 1.6, but I can thoroughly recommend the 1.8 (which I bought because I tow on holiday). What I did notice here in Holland that the new price difference between a 1.6 and a 1.8 is quite small but second hand the price difference is much higher. If this I the same in the UK, then it might be worth considering a 1.8, for the higher trade in value. I am fairly sure if you drive the 1.8 gently, the fuel consumption will be little more than the 1.6, however I know nothing about the UK tax and insurance situation for the 2 models. In Holland these are exactly the same.

The situation in the UK seems to be the other way around. There is very little difference between the price of petrol models second hand with diesels having a £1000 or so premium. The tax situation is changing here and the 1.8 will cost around £60 more per year than the 1.6 with the diesel being £30 less. Insurance should be less for the 1.6 and more for the 1.8 and diesel. Having said that, it is possible that we could have a change in government which may change the taxation one way or the other.

If you can recommend the 1.8 for towing then I can't see any problems for us as we will just be lugging people around. For what it's worth I find the performance on the Jazz when fully loaded to be more than adequate.

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

…

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). Also trim feels a bit cheap.

Ford S-MAX: Too long and wide and feels cheap inside. You also sit quite low down.

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.

The disk problem seems to be guaranteed! I wonder if they have changed the supplier at the factory yet?

I don't think I would consider the Mazda 5 as the seating would mean having to use one of the rear seats all the time. However, the car I replaced with the Yaris was a Mazda Premacy diesel which was a poorly made unreliable rust-bucket. The dealers weren't much use and I ended up getting Kwik Fit to do the servicing because it was so much cheaper and the car might actually work afterwards! In the end I swapped this for the Yaris because we didn't trust the Mazda any more and the Jazz works well as a family car.

The Touran appears to make some sense but I didn't like that plastic bulk that hangs down between the front seats. I've usually found VW diesels to be fairly reliable but we've had a couple of Passats on the company fleet that have gone spectacularly wrong (fuel pump failures costing over £1000 to put right) so maybe that doesn't hold true any more.

I've still to try the C4 Picasso although if they have offset peddles I may avoid this. I had a miserable weekend with offset peddles in a Peugeot 206 when that came out - needless to say I didn’t buy one.

The S-Max looks good but is probably too big for what we want. We did look at a C-Max but I don't think the child seats would work that well in it.

I know what you mean about being right next to the door in the FRV. Also, I thought the boot was a bit on the small side. Having said that, I've really loved the 2 Hondas I've had and I've never had any trouble from them.

The Zafira looks like a good package but I drove our personnel manager's car and it seems very top heavy. Also, he has had more than his fair share of trouble with it although his dealer seems pretty decent.

The main things I'm looking for are reliability and low running costs. Also, if anything does go wrong I'd like the dealer to put it right without fuss and at my convenience. I've checked the running costs that Fleet News publish and, as far as the Verso is concerned, the 1.6 T2 is by far the lowest. The T3 does have a couple of things we would like to have (rear electric windows and heated mirrors) but we could live without them. I think we will have to try one out to see if it will meet our expectations.

Thanks again,

Rod.

[Alp]

I part exchanged a 2.0 TDI Touran Sport Diesel for a Verso SR 2.2 Diesel. In my opinion the only advantage the Verso has over the Touran is the internal space made possible by the seating arrangements. The Touran is a much better engineered car and did not suffer from scored discs or poor headlamp aim. You won't beat a diesel for towing capability because of the torque characteristics.

[Tawse57]

I am still considering whether to go for a 1 or 2 year old 1.8. petrol or the 2.2 diesel. I have seen these on dealer forecourts for as low as 10.5K petrol and 11.5K diesel.

I asked on here previously about the power of the 1.8 and a Dutch chap posted that he has a 1.8 petrol and took 5 adults plus towed a trailer from Holland to Croatia and back with no problem - alas, all the Corolla Verso posts seem to now have disappeared from this forum.

I am put off by diesel due to health issues with the particulates - asthma, lung dieseases, etc - plus I have read over on HonestJohn's website about the cost of repairing diesels outside of warranty. I was shocked.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/faq.htm?id=113

However, I am put off by buying a 1.8 petrol now as petrol costs are on the rise and the VED is basically about to double in 12 months. HonestJohn has great reviews of the Verso on his site in both the road test section and the car by car section. Autoexpress also has very good reviews of the Verso.

I would not consider the Touran as they are over-priced, IMPO, for what they are, look like a van and I assume VW servicing would be very expensive. I also considered the C-Max but build quality seems a bit iffy with people either loving or hating them.

[hertsnminds]

I think we will have to look at this when we go for test drives although I'm still not sure about Citroen's reliability record.

Have a look at www.c4owners.org to read real owner experiences of the Picasso.

[Zwart_Verso]

I asked on here previously about the power of the 1.8 and a Dutch chap posted that he has a 1.8 petrol and took 5 adults plus towed a trailer from Holland to Croatia and back with no problem - alas, all the Corolla Verso posts seem to now have disappeared from this forum.

The posts are still there in the Corolla Forum, but here is what I said:

***

I am very pleased with my 1.8 petrol model, I have just done 3,000 KM. to Croatia and back with 5 adults on board and towing a trailer tent of approx 650Kgs. Absolutely no problems. I certainly would not say it is underpowered.

That said, I must admit I would have liked the 136 HP diesel! Slightly more power, a lot more torque, and a six speed gearbox. But the choice here in Holland is somewhat easier. Our road tax is done according to weight (the diesel is 150KG heavier = 2 tax classes higher) and for a diesel there is a large surcharge, this is offset by the fact that diesel fuel is cheaper that petrol. But the bottom line here is the road tax for the:

1.8 Petrol is €552 per year.

2.2 Diesel is €1320 per year.

Insurance is also higher because it is also based on weight (3rd party part) and catalogue price (comprehensive part). Which means if you do less than 25,000 KM per year the diesel is just to expensive.

It is just a question of doing the maths, which will of course be different for the UK, If the difference is not much then I think it is just a question of which one you come across first.

***

I don't think you would be disapointed with either model, again, its just the maths, personal preference and availability!

I would not consider the Touran as they are over-priced, IMPO, for what they are, look like a van and I assume VW servicing would be very expensive.

I am afraid I have to agree with you here! From road tests the Touran is much more expensive but there is never anything in the results to justify this price difference (perhaps it's the styling costs ;), sorry couldn't resist it!) Aslo I know from a long term test there were many problems with the earlier versions, but I don't know about the newer ones.

Hope this helps you with your choice,

Regards, Andy.

[hertsnminds]

Insurance is also higher because it is also based on weight (3rd party part) and catalogue price (comprehensive part)

Always find it interesting that one country will judge risk on the above, so a light cheap sports car costs less to insure than a minibus. But another (like the UK) increases the premium based upon engine power and the cost of replacement parts.

[Zwart_Verso]

Always find it interesting that one country will judge risk on the above, so a light cheap sports car costs less to insure than a minibus. But another (like the UK) increases the premium based upon engine power and the cost of replacement parts.

Actually I have always found this to be a good way of doing it!

The 3rd party insurance (i.e. the damage you do to others) is based on vehicle weight: ie the heavier the car the more damage it can do, therefore the risk is higher. Speed is of course a factor but with speed limits and congestion everything tends to move at the same speed, also a light sports car would have better handling and brakes than a minibus.

The comprehensive part (i.e. the damage done to you) is based on the new price, the higher the price the higher the risk. The maximum damage possible is the price of the car.

seems very fair to me.

Andy

[hertsnminds]

Actually I have always found this to be a good way of doing it!

I agree. I would much prefer to pay less insurance for a 2 seater roadster than my Verso, but in the UK it is the roadster that costs more to insure.

[bigdave146]

Hi

I had a 08 plate Verso SR D-4D. One of the main complaints was the inaccurate fuel gauge, that stayed on full for ages then plummetted to zero rather quickly !!!! Other than that, nothing else that really mattered.

The main point is that the car was recently written off when someone pulled out in front of me when I was doing 35mph. The front offside was crushed and there lots of damage but my son (in an ISOFIX car seat in the back) and my pregnant wife (in the passenger seat) had some bruising from seatbelts and airbags, but nothing more than that and they have no long term injuries. I have some whiplash injuries but it could have been so much worse. The safety features of the car are one of the main reasons we bought it and it did its job. So much so that I am picking another one up tomorrow.

Dave

[PSM]

BigDave, Glad you and the family are all ok. Safety was one of the reasons I picked one of these cars for the wife too as she drives our 2year old son around alot too. That must have been some collision to cause an 08 plate car to be written off!! or is this the sign of the times with modern crumple zones (they disipate so much energy by deforming that it is not ecomonic to repair them). I would not have assumed a 35mph accident would have caused such a new car to be written off especially as the insurance will be buying you a brand new car (believe most insurances give brand new replacement in the first year). However as stated above the important thing is that you and the family are all OK.

[bigdave146]

BigDave, Glad you and the family are all ok. Safety was one of the reasons I picked one of these cars for the wife too as she drives our 2year old son around alot too. That must have been some collision to cause an 08 plate car to be written off!! or is this the sign of the times with modern crumple zones (they disipate so much energy by deforming that it is not ecomonic to repair them). I would not have assumed a 35mph accident would have caused such a new car to be written off especially as the insurance will be buying you a brand new car (believe most insurances give brand new replacement in the first year). However as stated above the important thing is that you and the family are all OK.

Hi

Yeah the front of the car crumpled up nicely taking the impact. You may want to check your insurers to see if they will replace a new car if its written off as mine dont (Admiral Multicar) and I didnt take the GAP insurance from the dealer, so I am currently arguing with the insurer about the valuation and settlement. They first offered me £12,800 for a 6 month old car with 3400 miles on that cost £17,600 !!!! Lots of people have told me their insurance covers new cars written off but that has been assumed and on checking quite a lot dont have that bit covered. Have attached a pic.....

Dave

[PSM]

I will have to check on my insurance. On the settlement front I would get your local garage to quote for replacing your car with one of the same age. When I bought mine new the garage I was buying for had a 6month ex demo car with 5000miles and they want around £16k for that I believe. If you get the quote in wrtining you can give it to your insurance as proof of what it would cost to replace your car with a like vehicle. On the plus side if you have a new SR you may find you get a couple extra toys on it now. When we got ours in July they now include front parking sensors and a multi CD changer stereo. Looking at the picture although there is a far amount of damage I struggle to see how it would cost over £12k to repair it!! unless there is a lot of damage under the surface you can not see.

[bigdave146]

I will have to check on my insurance. On the settlement front I would get your local garage to quote for replacing your car with one of the same age. When I bought mine new the garage I was buying for had a 6month ex demo car with 5000miles and they want around £16k for that I believe. If you get the quote in wrtining you can give it to your insurance as proof of what it would cost to replace your car with a like vehicle. On the plus side if you have a new SR you may find you get a couple extra toys on it now. When we got ours in July they now include front parking sensors and a multi CD changer stereo. Looking at the picture although there is a far amount of damage I struggle to see how it would cost over £12k to repair it!! unless there is a lot of damage under the surface you can not see.

I think there was floorpan damage from the ISOFIX seat, and i insisted that the mountings were replaced. There was chassis damage to the front and the A pillars were twisted.

We bought a 3 year old T-Spirit to replace the SR.

Dave

[RodM]

Just a quick update on this - we have taken the plunge and gone for an 18 month old Verso 1.8 T3 with 12,000 miles on the clock. I did have to trek down to the Borders to pick it up but I thought £9,000 on the approved scheme seemed pretty reasonable value - I'm just glad it's not me who has taken a 50% hit on depreciation.

I've driven it back and it seemed quite a comfortable and relaxed 90 minutes drive. I set the trip computer before setting off and it registered 45mpg - I have no idea how accurate that is (although my Yaris is spot on) and we will have to see how it does in day-to-day driving.

So there we have it - a two Toyota family. Does that mean I like the marque or does it just show a remarkable lack of originality? ;)

[Haylands]

Just a quick update on this - we have taken the plunge and gone for an 18 month old Verso 1.8 T3 with 12,000 miles on the clock. I did have to trek down to the Borders to pick it up but I thought £9,000 on the approved scheme seemed pretty reasonable value - I'm just glad it's not me who has taken a 50% hit on depreciation.

I've driven it back and it seemed quite a comfortable and relaxed 90 minutes drive. I set the trip computer before setting off and it registered 45mpg - I have no idea how accurate that is (although my Yaris is spot on) and we will have to see how it does in day-to-day driving.

So there we have it - a two Toyota family. Does that mean I like the marque or does it just show a remarkable lack of originality? ;)

Hi

Welcome to the Verso fold, you will enjoy it, I like mine more and more it's a great car....

I hope it doesn't show a lack of originality as we have 4 Toyotas in the family, I like to think it's because I'm fed up with paying for repairs on other makes, I know people moan on here about faults but personally I've had nothing go wrong with any Toyota we've had.

My mate has a 1.8 verso and he is getting about 36mpg on all sorts driving..... we worked out the difference between his and mine and it's less than £60 a year extra for the petrol, take into account the diesel costs more to buy and it's cheaper to get the petrol. I had the diesel because it was a free upgrade by Toyota....

Pete

[mikeverso]

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

How exactly can I get mine to give more than one reading at a time? Do i need to have the obd thing connected all the time or just modify the car settings??

[hertsnminds]

How exactly can I get mine to give more than one reading at a time? Do i need to have the obd thing connected all the time or just modify the car settings??

You will need to connect a code reader to the OBD port. Search the forums and internet for "scangauge"

http://www.scangauge2.co.uk/index.html