New To The Forum - Looking For My 1st Toyota

[gchild]

Hi All,

My family is getting bigger soon, with the impending arrival of twins, has made me look around for a 7 seater. I'm interested in the Toyota Corolla Verso as it seems to have plenty of good reviews - except for the mmt transmission which people seem to class as dangerous, so I'll avoid that.

Having owned a Mercedes for some years, i'm now more focussed on reasonable dealer service/repair costs and better fuel economy. The questions i have are:

1. What is the recommended fuel and engine size to get for best economy and performance when needed for overtaking etc

2. What common issues to check for as I may buy from a car supermarket

3. Trim spec to go for - i'm thinking at least T3

4. Anything else you think i should know!!!

Cheers in advance...

[Haylands]

Hi All,

My family is getting bigger soon, with the impending arrival of twins, has made me look around for a 7 seater. I'm interested in the Toyota Corolla Verso as it seems to have plenty of good reviews - except for the mmt transmission which people seem to class as dangerous, so I'll avoid that.

Having owned a Mercedes for some years, i'm now more focussed on reasonable dealer service/repair costs and better fuel economy. The questions i have are:

1. What is the recommended fuel and engine size to get for best economy and performance when needed for overtaking etc

2. What common issues to check for as I may buy from a car supermarket

3. Trim spec to go for - i'm thinking at least T3

4. Anything else you think i should know!!!

Cheers in advance...

Hi

I saw a fuel cost per 10,000 miles survey the other day and the 1.8VVTi petrol costs £68 more to run than the 2.2 D4D so cost is not really an issue...

My mate has a 55 plate 1.8VVTi and I have a 2008 2.2D4D... I have to say mine is nicer to drive in most situations, the torque of the diesel (even before I chipped it) makes it relaxing to drive, if you are used to a big engined Merc you will find the characteristics of the diesel better over the VVTi which needs to be revved to get the best from it, for me it would be a diesel every time in this car....

If you are going to buy from a supermarket then they should be checked over and come with a warranty, personally I would go to the supermarket and test drive the petrol and diesel, see which you want and then buy one privately, you will get a much better deal and there are loads of companies selling a warranty if you want one... Also try Toyota, they are desperate for sales and you will get a good deal.

There don't seem to be too many common issues, scored disc brakes is the most common, there are threads on here about it.

T3 is a nice spec, I think the T2 is a bit low and the Tspirit is too nice for transporting kids around...

You have made a good choice, they are excellent cars, I have come from a Lexus LS430 before this one and before that a Merc S500 and I am more than happy with a Verso

Good Luck, let us know how you get on

Pete

[gchild]

Many thanks for your reply Pete. I will give both a go and see which i like - the 10k comparison is very interesting, i didn't think it would be that close in costs!

Planning to visit cargiant next weekend, maybe ring round some local Toyota dealers in the week to see if there are any bargains to be had.

Out of interest, what are the service intervals and costs like at a main dealer?

[Haylands]

Hi,

It's 10,000 mile service interval, don't know about costs though, only done 3500miles... My wife’s Yaris's 10,000 mile service was about £140, probably a similar amount for the Verso, if you’re used to Merc costs it will be a pleasant surprise......

I don't know what age you are looking at but the 2.2 diesel has only been out a few years, it was a 2.0 before. I don't know what that one is like...

Pete

[Tawse57]

Comparing petrol to diesel MPG should take into account the differences in price.

Today I specced two used 2008 Versos - one petrol for 11,900 and one diesel for 13,450 - from Toyota. Parkers have a tool that compares running costs and it said that it would take 142,000 miles at 12,000 miles per year just to make back the difference in purchase price from petrol to diesel.

The other things to bear in mind are the supposed better driving of the diesel and issues like dual mass flywheel failures which can be so epxensive they basically wipe out the car.