T180

[GT4 BOOSTER]

im looking to comming back to the toyota fold soon and been looking at the t180 model avensis , the 400 nm of torque seems quite impressive but apparently the gearbox is retarded some what with long gears for economy , do we have any t180 owners on here that can shed some light on this model avensis - cheers - marc.

[Groovy Mucker]

im looking to comming back to the toyota fold soon and been looking at the t180 model avensis , the 400 nm of torque seems quite impressive but apparently the gearbox is retarded some what with long gears for economy , do we have any t180 owners on here that can shed some light on this model avensis - cheers - marc.

I foresee the swear filter getting some use!

I really like mine. It's the best car I've ever had (which is perhaps not saying a great deal). There is plenty of power for me; I never have difficulty keeping up, or nipping past. You just need to get it going before you release the clutch; then let it go gradually. And nobody expects an anonymous-looking car like that to accelerate quite so efficiently.

Economy is not a strong point. I average mid-40s if I'm very careful. If I press on, I get high-30s.

Better than my Accord 2.0 petrol, which struggled to do better than 30 mpg.

[GT4 BOOSTER]

mid 40's is fine by me . so if you say drop from 6th to 4th does it take off?

[GT4 BOOSTER]

ANY T180 OWNERS ON HERE. ?????????

[Trev the Van]

ANY T180 OWNERS ON HERE. ?????????

Hiya

Love my T180. Not perfect but does what I want of it. Gearing is high, esp 1 and 2, but 3 and 4, 2000rpm and she'll shift with the best of them, even with the Van attached. 6th pulls well but do need to keep it spinning above 1800 rpm, 2000 prefereably to get the best out of the car. Do need to push rpm up to 5000 at times to clear the EGR (dealer advice after clean up of system). Only problem I've had are seat squab collapse on drivers side, new mod came out so all okay, ECU reprogramme and EGR replaced as she was coughing on start up, all under warranty no quibbles. MPG, usually get low 40's with mixed driving, did get about 45 a few times but unusual and usually involves constant 65 - 70 so really depends on roads/traffic. All day comfy, even with a knackered back.

I've seen lots of forumists (?) have a pop at the car for one reason or another but actually, most cars have foibles and depends on what you are expecting. Merc/BMW may get better mpg but I can't afford them and bang for buck, I think I got a good deal with the car and what it does. It is slightly stealthy in that such a mild looking car can surprise a few hotter cars.

Hope that helps though if have specific questions, feel freee.

[Pat2u]

We have a 57 plate diesel T180 tourer from new both I and my wife drive it and we both have different ways of driving our mpg is around the 40ish combined however whilst I had the vehicle for a whole week I did manage 49 mpg.

Now for some minor points of dislikes, exterior the headlights are somewhat dull if driving on country ill lit lanes, main beam is adequate. Interior the driver seat “something I mean to speak to dealer about” tends to rub against the centre console when positioning and can be heard “wearing” as it moves. Both myself and my wife find the gear gate a little close 1^st and 3rd more so and 3^rd we find can be mistaken for 1^st when rushing from traffic lights, I find on motorways once in 5^th gear it can stay there until we meet congestions ect.

Good points, the interior is very comfortable for driver and passengers, boot area is big enough to accommodate an electric mobility scooter and a few shopping bags. On the whole the vehicle is an all rounder, if you need to step on it to overtake then the power is there and it handles well at all speeds and tows well.

[GT4 BOOSTER]

My passat is 285 nm , and it goes well , id expect 400 nm to be a flying machine for a derv engine. i do 200 miles a week to work n back so looking for something thats gonna last and be enjoyable to drive each day . it would be interesting to know what you compare this car to when the power comes in as i do like a bit power and the thrill of speed still ( sorry officer )

[ptri]

The T180 is, quite frankly, a bit of a disappoinment, not designed and built to a particularly high standard.

The 400NM of torque between 2000-2600 rpm does not really happen, and the turbo has lots of lag. Although the acceleration can be good if you change down and get to the right rev range, it doesn't seem to be as quick as advertised. (It was fairly lively when new, but this soon wore off.)

The speedometer is about 7% over-reading.

The audio is terrible: the one-note base response is tiring and oppressive and the treble is shrill & fierce (the -3 setting for both base and treble is about the best compromise).

The cruise control is irritatingly forgetful: the resume function is cancelled at slow speeds if, for example, after you negotiate a roundabout - you have to reset the speed again. On some dips in the road the cruise control will let the car slow down by up to 8mph and surge to 5+mph above the set speed before settling down. After using the accelerator to gain a bit more speed, cruise control will not kick in again until the speed drops 5-10mph below the set speed before picking up again.

In colder weather (10C or less), the heating seems to likes to come on at full blast for the first 15-20 minutes before settling down to the set temperature. After about an hour the heater temperature noticably drops a degree or so. (Normally I have the a/c off.)

The turning circle is very poor.

The sat-nav is a complete disaster area. The agreeing to observe traffic regulations is an unnecessary pain - especially as the system cannot survive starting the engine without rebooting.

The automatic headlamps stay on when conditions are quite bright and sunny.

The automatic windscreen wipers like to go into panic mode even in light drizzle - and can continue for 10-15 wipes after a screen wash.

The centre arm rest is very hard and slightly too short - it's a bit painful on the elbow. The seats aren't particularly comfortable and are thin on padding

The clutch is fierce - it makes it very difficult to make a smooth gear change from 1st to 2nd. I find that when trying to go from reverse to 1st gear, the gearbox often fails to fall out of reverse.

Road noise - although this could be better I don't find it quite as bad as some people report. However it certainly hasn't been 'kept to a minimum' as the brochure states.

Why is the fuel gauge marked with an 'R'? It doesn't seem to have a mark for empty!

It would also be useful if the brightness of the centre console could be varied - it's a bit dim.

Good points:

There aren't that many. At least it hasn't broken down (but then I've never had a car break down on me this side of 98,000 miles). The fuel economy is averaging 54mpg over 26k miles, but it rarely does anything but long steady motorway journeys. The auto dimming rear view mirror works well - about the only auto-feature that does.

[Trev the Van]

The T180 is, quite frankly, a bit of a disappoinment, not designed and built to a particularly high standard.

The 400NM of torque between 2000-2600 rpm does not really happen, and the turbo has lots of lag. Although the acceleration can be good if you change down and get to the right rev range, it doesn't seem to be as quick as advertised. (It was fairly lively when new, but this soon wore off.)

The speedometer is about 7% over-reading.

The audio is terrible: the one-note base response is tiring and oppressive and the treble is shrill & fierce (the -3 setting for both base and treble is about the best compromise).

The cruise control is irritatingly forgetful: the resume function is cancelled at slow speeds if, for example, after you negotiate a roundabout - you have to reset the speed again. On some dips in the road the cruise control will let the car slow down by up to 8mph and surge to 5+mph above the set speed before settling down. After using the accelerator to gain a bit more speed, cruise control will not kick in again until the speed drops 5-10mph below the set speed before picking up again.

In colder weather (10C or less), the heating seems to likes to come on at full blast for the first 15-20 minutes before settling down to the set temperature. After about an hour the heater temperature noticably drops a degree or so. (Normally I have the a/c off.)

The turning circle is very poor.

The sat-nav is a complete disaster area. The agreeing to observe traffic regulations is an unnecessary pain - especially as the system cannot survive starting the engine without rebooting.

The automatic headlamps stay on when conditions are quite bright and sunny.

The automatic windscreen wipers like to go into panic mode even in light drizzle - and can continue for 10-15 wipes after a screen wash.

The centre arm rest is very hard and slightly too short - it's a bit painful on the elbow. The seats aren't particularly comfortable and are thin on padding

The clutch is fierce - it makes it very difficult to make a smooth gear change from 1st to 2nd. I find that when trying to go from reverse to 1st gear, the gearbox often fails to fall out of reverse.

Road noise - although this could be better I don't find it quite as bad as some people report. However it certainly hasn't been 'kept to a minimum' as the brochure states.

Why is the fuel gauge marked with an 'R'? It doesn't seem to have a mark for empty!

It would also be useful if the brightness of the centre console could be varied - it's a bit dim.

Good points:

There aren't that many. At least it hasn't broken down (but then I've never had a car break down on me this side of 98,000 miles). The fuel economy is averaging 54mpg over 26k miles, but it rarely does anything but long steady motorway journeys. The auto dimming rear view mirror works well - about the only auto-feature that does.

Don't agree with the turbo bit, my torque kicks in quite nicely, speedo is meant to overread by no more than 10% if I remember my legal bits correctly, mine does it by about 4-5%, audio fine though I could be tone deaf, cruise does have the occassional brain !Removed! but not seen the scale of issues above, the sat nav isn't the best in the world but I tend to do map recce's beforehand so it's just part of the picture as it were, the wipers do indeed have a mind of their own and need some corrective action, centre arm rest is okay for me, tend not to lean on it anyhow with elbow, really not getting the clutch issues, mine not fierce at all, but mostly really keen to know how you got 54 mpg. That is possibly the best I've ever seen recorded on this forum, borders on the stuff of legend. What spped did you achieve that at please as in these days of credit crunching, that kind of mpg, a saving of some 25% over my normal mpg, would save me a minor fortune.

[GT4 BOOSTER]

guess i will just have to test drive 1 at a toyota dealership and make my own mind up. if the 400nm isnt delivered at a decent rate i may end up opting for the lesser powered avensis available out there.

[Steve84]

I'm very impressed with mine. The mid range grunt is great. I do a lot of driving up and around wales and i find the torque is great for nipping out and passing slower cars when there is limited strights. Has for mpg Take it easy and not thrash it i can get 50mpg. If i unlesh all it has to give i drop down to mid 30's. A mixture of driving mid 40's. At the moment i just seeing how long i can make a tank of fuel last i've just clocked up 502 miles and the lights not on yet. I'm not a big fan of quoting mpg and range tho has a lot depends on driving style and what loads are in the car at the time. For example my dad can just about get 33mpg in my car i can get mid 40's without trying to hard. Its not has if he aint use to driving diesels cos he's a wagon driver.

It's been reliable on the whole i did have a problem with poor starting and hunting for rev's then random stailling, that was fixed by a ecu update. I've had to have the injectors replaced due to heavy knocking. Only thing i do get is a cough and splutter some times when it is its first started but blip the throttle and it clears. I also had to have the gearbox cables replaced has i could not find 1st or 2nd with out feeling the gearbox kick back. If you sat in the passenger seat all you could feel was the box kicking on the mounts everytime a 1'st to 2nd gear change was made. I do also find that 2nd gear does not always clear when the clutch is dipped is can drag and crunch a bit.

Reading Trev the Van's post it sounds like a i may need a EGR valve, the dealership did say if it does give any trouble again on starting they will replace it.

[revband]

Hi

My advise is buy the 2.2 150bhp and fit a tuning chip from Lindop Toyota, this will bring it up to 180bhp, save you loads of money, reduce the turbo drag dramatically, increase fuel consumption, surprise T180 drivers when you leave them behind. :o

[Bry]

Some will be glad to know (the reps) I got rid of mine, but not as glad as I am! If it cost 8K less it would have been a fair buy, unfortunately it was the worst value for money I have experienced and good riddens to it. Without question the most under performing car I have owned. Makes a mockery of owning a diesel.

PS I lost 12K in 20 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bigfiiish]

Hi All,

I got a T180 for a loaner recently while my car was with the dealer for its final (3year) service. Mine needed a new water pump and some seals replacing, nothing major but i was without the t-sport for about 4 days in all.

I had been hoping to be impressed by the T180, but sadly i wasnt :( . Yes, ill agree 3-4 days wasnt a proper test of the car given the low mileage i put in daily but it just didnt tick the right boxes for me. The quality of the interior didnt really seem up to par (especially given the price tag if you were buying it new) and i didnt like the position of the gear lever.

Ill have to agree with "ptri" the audio quality leaves a lot to be desired - i hardly ever have the radio on in the t-sport because you cant hear it over the exhaust and engine ;) but the T180 has much better soundproofing, which i think shows up the flaws in the speaker quality.

Mainly though i was depressed at the performance, yes its a diesel so its not "really" fair to make direct comparisons with petrol N/A cars BUT for a car which Toyota are marketing as the top "performance" model of the Auris it really was a bit luke warm. Ill admit there are absolutely bags of torque (which my t-sport certainly lacks) but the power band is so narrow and low down the rev range that i really didnt find it useable. Granted if you give it the shoe anywhere between 1800 and 3000rpm you will probably loose the loose change out of your pockets into the back seat :D , but after that narrow band it completely runs out of puff, and then you have another almost 2500-3000 very unimpressive rpm left to cover before you reach the red. I really thought the power deliver could have been better thought out to make it a bit more useable, and more importantly - a bit more fun.

I will have to concede that its all very much personal taste, and im used to having to wring the neck of my tsport to get all the power out, but it just seems more fun that way. I have to say i wasnt overly impressed, but that it was a lot more to do with personal preferences rather than any real problems or shortfalls of the car. I was really hoping to be impressed by the T180, it just didnt happen sadly.

G

[MickeyBlue]

I recently bought a new D4D 150 T Spirit. When I test drove a similar spec car I was really impressed but now I done a few hundered miles I find it one of the most underwhelming cars I have ever driven. I moved from a Skoda Octavia 2.0 tdi 140 Elegance and not only did the octavia cost loads less, easily outperform the supposed higher power output Avensis but I NEVER got less than 45mpg.

If you're considering the T 180, try an octavia vrs TDI. It really packs a punch and genuinely gives 50+ to the gallon and over 60 on a longer journey.

[warriorman]

Without wanting to cause an argument I have been in an octavia and agree it goes very well but the ride quality , noise insulation and gruff engine are a more than a few notches below my friends Avensis (t180). His car has a venom chip and between 1800-4200 rpm goes like the wind and is quiet and smooth. The chip which cost him approx £300 has made a big difference but the power band before this was still very strong from 2000-4200rpm. I think expectations have a lot to do with it .

[ptri]

...but mostly really keen to know how you got 54 mpg. That is possibly the best I've ever seen recorded on this forum, borders on the stuff of legend. What spped did you achieve that at please as in these days of credit crunching, that kind of mpg, a saving of some 25% over my normal mpg, would save me a minor fortune.

The current average mpg is 54.3, but the cold weather (and/or 'winter diesel'?) looks like bringing it down a bit (only 50 mpg on the last tank!). The car very rarely does short journeys and spends most of its time on motorways at just over lorry speed and under cruise control. I have to leave early to avoid the rush hour, but don't need to arrive early so driving at such speeds is ideal for me - and I don't have to fight it out in the outer lane (there was a point last week when the outer lane was nose to tail, but I was in the inner lane with nothing for at least a mile behind or in front and not going much slower). I suspect the EGR suffers sooting up as a result of this style of driving, even with the occasional turbo blast (anyone know how to clean it?). I also rarely use the aircon, which also helps. So the car is driven extremely economically, but it's not 'real world' driving for most people.

[enyajtrebor]

I have now got to 21000 miles with my T180 and have never got less than 46mpg (except when towing 1200kg of caravan !!) Best mpg was 56 but that was really gentle no more than 60 mph driving. The air con doesn't seem to make a lot of difference, perhaps 1 mpg less.

I too have driven the Octavia plus the previous model Mondeo ST2.2 TDCi and Mazda 6 and none of them compare with the ride and quietness of the Avensis. I agree it might not be the most economical of the bunch but other areas make up for it.

Try overtaking in 3rd in the ST 2.2 TDCi Mondeo and it runs out of power right on the 60 mph line, so its a 4th before you start. The Avensis pulls well up to 80 mph in 3rd.

[Trev the Van]

Ah, got the mpg bit now. Rarely drive below 70mph on the motorways etc, and towing the 'van drops it down to mid to high 20's. By the way, my EGR was cleaned and ultimately replaced because of gentle driving according to my dealer. So now acclerate up to 5000rpm on slip roads etc to help clear the soot from the EGR.

[warriorman]

I can see you don't like your car but if you ask 10 drivers of any car what they think of it from merc to kia there will never be 10 who like it .