Some pics and details released for the Avensis 2009
Front
img378.imageshack.us/img378/4033/3rdgenerationtoyo...g
3/4 Back
img360.imageshack.us/img360/5779/3rdgenerationtoyo...g
Tourer
img137.imageshack.us/img137/3931/3rdgenerationtoyo...g
Interior 1
img54.imageshack.us/img54/6297/3rdgenerationtoyota...g
Interior 2
img354.imageshack.us/img354/6545/3rdgenerationtoyo...g
No official details on specs released yet however
- No hatch
- 6speed automatic transmission offered on diesels
- Possibly 4wd available as an option in the UK
- All petrol engines have been updated
1.6 - 132 HP - 160nm
1.8 - 147 HP - 180nm
2.0 - 152 HP - 196nm
Some rumours say that the petrols can be ordered with 6 speed autos too. We'll see....
Diesels apparently stay the same but have updated ECU maps for better economy.
Toyota have said that the new 2009 avensis has a few new safety features
Steeringassist Vehicle Stability Control (VSC+)
Adaptive Front Light System (AFS)
Pre-Crash Safety System (PCS)
Officially shown off at the Paris Motorshow, October 2.
On sale from Jan 09.
//
I have nothing to do with Toyota, PR or anything associated. Just an interesting update i thought i would share and see what people think of this new release.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 11/09/2008 at 00:07
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Interesting to see that they have not included the daft flying buttress centre console from the Auris. I have sold my Corolla and bought a Mazda 3 rather than Auris. I suspect that Toyota have regretted the flying buttress but presumably tooling costs will prevent them changing it. It is nothing more than gimmic - as is the spoiler in the Civic's rear window.
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It looks better than the previous model especially inside. I thought it was coming earlier when I got my last car in 2007. Deals via the company scheme had them dirt cheap (but not the TR model).
No hatch? Surely either wrong or foolishly thinking like Honda they can chase BMW/Audi/BMW and maybe VW.
I think the new Skoda Superb that is a saloon and hatch is more interesting. VAG cars not on the list or I might have got a Skoda to annoy youngest step son - didn't get one in 2001 because it was uncool.... but "can I have a lift" might have stopped if we had a Skoda :-)
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See those pics have a silly stop start button
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Only 15% of all old avensis were hatch; decision made not to put the effort into making them.
Start button good i think; seems like it would put off thieves stealing the car. But who knows i'm not car thief maybe there is still a way to start it even with a button.
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"Start button good i think"
With immobilisers then even a normal key with chips still needed to steal a car. They keyless open/start is not more secure.
In recent years the keys (and now the keyless keyfob instead) are stolen to take cars. The start button makes no difference to thefts surely?
Most Avensis I see are either estate or more commonly hatchback in the UK. It could be a world/Europe difference but I'd not prefer a saloon... although once had a Passat saloon for 3.5 years. And got a sofa to the tip in it.
Edited by rtj70 on 10/09/2008 at 23:31
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they really need to put a trad autobox in the auris, MMT is such a mistake as the only option
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still a bit unclear on what autobox this will get
personally i dont think it will be the pseudo MMT autobox.
Only 1 report so far suggests its the MMT box.
I think it will be an update of the auto's they use on the petrols or maybe something updated from the lexus range.
Whichever it is - i hope it is good because in the past they haven't been slick enough to create quick changes and instant kick downs. However there is a sport button on the paddles seen in the photos released.
Toyota better get it right because once the journo's pick up this car for testing and press that button; if it doesn't do what it says it will get so much stick.
Edited by OldSkoOL on 11/09/2008 at 00:54
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Why oh why are central consoles getting wider and wider in new cars- they simply decrase available leg-room and make more models unsuitable for the long-legged amongst us... which is an awful lot of people.
I suspect that the particularly ugly, cheap and even dangerous looking Auris central console has lost Toyota loads of customers. We seem to live in an age of luvvie designers whose egoes are allowed to run amok with a disaster of design over functionality. The Auris inside is just plain ugly though.
Problem with the Avensis is that unless a company is buying one for you to use a private buyer will take a huge hit on depreciation. Give it 12 to 18 months and you will be finding them for about 40 to 50 percent of new price.
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I agree with lakelad - daft flying buttress on Auris and Civic spoiler a gimmic - in general Civic design is too eccentric ( triangular exhausts ) yet good engine.
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The fake wood on the centre console (as shown in those pics) is a fiendishly clever piece of design. It's the first car I have seen to follow the interior design trend for grey-brown wood, and in doing so it manages to achieve a remarkable combination of innovation and tastelessness. It's a piece of genius, outstripped in recent times only by the Honda Civic's faithful recreation of the design aesthetic of an Amstrad stereo system.
Shame about the side windows of the estate (which will doubtless be rebranded as a "touring sport hatch"), where there the designers have copied the taper-to-nearly-nothing-at-the-rear logic of the last model Honda Accord. Rear visibility though those slits behind the C-pillar must be abysmal, and I can't figure out what that achieves other than boosting the market for reversing cameras.
I do hope though that the the diesel automatics make it to the UK. Toyota has been particularly bad at condemning diesel-car drivers to the fossilised technology of stick-waggling-cum-pedal-pushing, and repentance is long overdue.
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132BHP from a 1.6?
That's going some -- there are still some European 1.6s only pushing out 80s BHP.
I do hope though that the the diesel automatics make it to the UK. Toyota has been particularly bad at condemning diesel-car drivers to the fossilised technology of stick-waggling-cum-pedal-pushing, and repentance is long overdue. <<
Does seem a bit strange when you consider that Toyota are the largest producer of autoboxes in the world. But, like the other Japanese makes, they've been most reluctant to embrace the noisy fuel anyway so perhaps not so surprising.
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>>- No hatch
It won?t be on my shopping list. What a shame.
Clk Sec
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When you look at all the specs for this one it becomes obvious that this is not a car tailored to UK/Euro tastes.
And at the end of the day, when non-premium mid-size cars that are not being bought in bulk (i.e. Ford/GM) sell so poorly, who can blame Toyota for not being bothered?
Far better to design one for the US market where it will sell by the bucketload, and tweak it a bit for the 10,000 or so UK buyers who appreciate Japanese quality.
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Funnily this was designed in europe for the euro market.
Also 136bhp from a 1.6 is down to the valvematic dual VVTL engines they have developed; a lot like BMW's engines.
I'll add my thoughts on the design
Updated/more modern yet conservative.
A lot like the Lexus IS - should look not bad on the road. Certainly an improvement on the old avensis.
Interior is actually ok providing they dont put that AWFUL hideous wood type finish in all models. I mean its just stupid. I'm hoping a black / chrome finish will be the standard. Cream leather and wood is so 80's.
Tourer actually looks really nice; i like what they have done but again will need to see on the road pictures.
Avensis is now more inline with the competition. Will offer great reliability, good comfort drive, possibly a more exciting drive (seats at fitted lower for a sportier feel and models get an uprated suspension, double whishbone for stability. Excellent safety, cheap to own and good economy and not at the exception of design. The design is not the downside anymore. Its made the C grade at least where as the old avensis would had been given an F.
:)
Edited by OldSkoOL on 11/09/2008 at 20:34
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Yuk, Yuk, Yuk.
Headlights that reach all the way back to the front tyres (as seems the current trend), lots of steps and angles at the rear, odd looking crease just above the cill, brown centre console looks like cheap imitation lino.
Thank goodness there is Alfa!
Edited by Webmaster on 12/09/2008 at 01:32
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It was the interior of the current Avensis as much as the exterior that put me off getting one last October. I'd have been better off by around £250pa with it. Yet I still got the Mazda6.
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Headlights that reach all the way back to the front tyres (as seems the current trend)
It's a way of reusing the glass they have removed from the side windows :(
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This is all really dull. Externally it looks like a heavy facelift of the current model, and that 'wood' on the dashboard looks straight out of a 70s Toyota Crown!
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I really like it.
I think the front looks a bit Cadillacy - especially the headlights.
Well done Toyota!
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I also dislike that odd looking crease - it's like adding a "go faster" stripe - yet more car models now seem to feature this kind of crease.
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I had a look at it at the Paris show last week and it looks a nice car both inside and out. I reckon it'll do well. It works better in the metal than in photos.
Another car which is the same is the new Megane which looks odd and bland in photgraphs but is actually quite good looking in the metal, particularly in 3-door guise.
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I must say I hate steering wheel mounted buttons with a vengance. I have them on my corsa - even the kids never use them - they have obscure symbols on them and if you want to turn the volume up you are guaranteed to change channel or set off a station seek instead. Also I feel buttons should really stay in one place and not move about.
I see this toyotas got ten buttons, maybe it can double up as an SMS pad.
And why havent car manufacturers got round to putting GPS information display somewhere remotely near the line of sight?
Also while I'm ranting, when is this late 90's AIWA hifi silver thing gonna finish in the car world?
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>>I suspect that Toyota have regretted the flying buttress <<
I don't think they have regretted that much as it is in the new 2009 Prius.
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I actually like the design of the new Avensis and no doubt the quality and reliability will be spot on from day 1.
I suspect this will also appeal to all the Honda Accord owners who can no longer afford to buy an Accord because it is in a different segment now - according to Honda !
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I like the look of this one - bit more distinctive than the current Avensis which is a bit bland, but a good car nonetheless. Particularly like the wood effect formica centre console - very stylish, but then I also like the "wood" on the new Mondeo Ghia.
Edited by Marc on 17/10/2008 at 22:26
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I must say I hate steering wheel mounted buttons with a vengance. I have them on my corsa - even the kids never use them - they have obscure symbols on them and if you want to turn the volume up you are guaranteed to change channel or set off a station seek instead.
The buttons on my Almera work very well, Clearly marked, and easy to distinguish just by touch, without looking. I use them a lot.
Also I feel buttons should really stay in one place and not move about.
The buttons in the middle of the dash don't move. In any case I reserve the steering wheel buttons for when the wheel is in the centre; when maneouvring I focus 100% on the road
Also while I'm ranting when is this late 90's AIWA hifi silver thing gonna finish in the car world?
Not until the used car market is full of cars with badly-scratched silver-coated plastic :(
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> I must say I hate steering wheel mounted buttons...
Nothing wrong with the principle - it's all in the implementation. My Volvo has them and they work brilliantly - a neat group by my left hand to work the cruise control (with a big, easy-to-find OFF button right on the top of the spoke) and another on the right for audio volume and track / station preset change.
Our Toyota Verso has them too and they're a mess. The audio controls need too firm a push, and yet the effect on volume is minimal - I have to hold the button for ages to make a difference; and the cruise control is down by my right knee, where I'm wary of using it at all because finding it to cancel in a hurry is so difficult.
Those who say modern cars are increasingly alike may have a point in major mechanical areas, but these ergonomic areas really make a difference. And the Swedes - in my experience - do them best of all.
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I was talking with someone who has just started to build the new Avensis and they were telling me it is rammed full of kit, including stuff like lane assist & electronics in the drive train etc for safety and handling. The internal quality is up there with Lexus (as ever with Toyota there is another huge effort in terms of building and designing quality into this product) and I think HJ has already pointed out that it will come with a Diesel auto box. The other thing that was pointed out to me was that it has some huge (and heavy) safety bars surrounding the passenger cell, not only in the front and sides but also in the rear to protect from rear end shunts.
My impression from talking to these people was that this will be one very safe car, with a level of safety that EuroNcap will not do justice to as it does not check for rear end shunts like they do in the USA (as far as I know). Also all the electronics will no doubt be bullet proof like the rest of the car (electronics on the German brands is always a worry of mine). This car is certainly moving to the top of my list come changeover - as I said earlier I think this will be taking Accord sales from Honda.
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The internal quality is up there with Lexus
It might be a good idea to wait and see if that if that claim is supported by someone who doesn't work for Toyota ....
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Point taken NowWheels but this guy is big VW fan in fact and has been scathing about the internal quality of the Auris, so I would think he is unbiased - although he recognises the Auris is probably very durable (we are getting into the durability and quality debate again I know).
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PS - the other thing he did say was that he has not seen any of that fake wood on the centre console down the line.
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There was another worker from burnaston on the toyota forums that had similar things to say.
He said something along the lines of, most past toyotas he's not been his taste but he said the new avensis looks good in the flesh and the interior is a big step up from older toyotas. Going as far as to say he would like to own this one. It looks nice....
But as said, we will see - toyota have a rep: well built, near bullet proof, reliable and cheap to run cars that are very average look inside and out.
No different really to ford or skoda. Apparently the new mondeo is easily as good if not better than some of its german counterparts which cost A LOT more but german car buyers wouldn't be seen dead in a ford (some rough quote from a review... maybe topgear). And then there is skoda, near enough audi interior and well tried and tested and refined VAG guts... hardly gets a look in because of its badge; some women even saying recently she absolutely hated having to drive a company skoda because her precious TT was off the road.
Anyone some vid's for you
uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xuOH2KSm3n4
uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VG4KPiDDjq8
Edited by OldSkoOL on 21/10/2008 at 20:35
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Seats are also mounted lower to the floor to give a sportier seating position
2.2 150bhp diesel manual looks like the sweet spot as it has 10% more torque than the older 150 engine.
From the way its worded it sounds like the manual 150bhp diesel will be the standard d4d engine and the 150 automatic diesel will have the d-cat low emissions technology.
With 10% more torque (340nm) and the abilty to chip the it more easily, thats a nice quick car in manual form. Probably 180bhp, 450nm and 55mpg.
MPG seems to have improved slightly for the diesels too. Manual its
2.2 150bhp = 51mpg
2.2 180bhp = 47mpg
Tourer looks better i think, some reviews say the same
I'd like to start the rumour mill whether toyota will do the following
Release a twin turbo diesel engine in the near future
And within a year of launch bring out an sr180 model.
Toyota should definitely do both!
Edited by OldSkoOL on 21/10/2008 at 20:49
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Forum wont give me enough time to add to my posts so here is another
Even though its a mainland europe brochure the new avensis as mentioned earlier is rammed full of stuff.
Forgetting the absolute basic poverty spec that no1 ever has you'll get (according to the promo material)
Mid spec
Auto wipers
Auto lights
Leather steering wheel with command buttons
Auto ambient air con
Front power windows
Rear power windows
Traction console, stability control (2nd gen)
6 spk audio
step it up to the higher models and you get as standard
leather either black or beige
power folding mirrors
auto dimming rear view mirror
voice control and bluetooth pack
cruise control
smart entry
privacy glass on tourer
power adjusted steering column with 2 memory settings
power front seats with 2 memory settings
Bi-xenon front lights with adaptive light for going around corners
rear parking sensors
panoromic roof on tourer
11 speaker audio
The highest spec car as standard will be the tourer with all the above at £24,995 according to some folk over at the toyota forums. Intially i thought that was too much for a toyota but considering the above its not bad.
only options are
pre-crash
lane assist
active cruise
touch screen sat nav / 10gb music server, rear parking camera
Its just like the honda accord, with the pre-crash and lane assist in the accord its about 28 / 29k which is crazy but i reckon the avensis will be the same price.
Edited by OldSkoOL on 21/10/2008 at 21:07
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Is it my imagination, but since BMW launched the Proton lookalike 3 series, are more and more cars starting to look like Protons.
When I saw the insignia at the motorshow looked very protonesque, and think the new Avensis is going the same route.
Although saying that, the C5, XF and Mondeo all look very similar IMHO.
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I have to say I think it's your imagination PW.
The 3 series does look like a proton but not the Avensis - more Lexus IS.
Lexus do actually make some good looking now IMO.
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Just been looking at the front of the impian and the front of the new Avensis, and still think they do bear a similarity.
Impian here:
tinyurl.com/5pewgh
Avensis:
tinyurl.com/66q76q
Is just personal view, and does seem to have been the trend over the last few years for the mainstream brands to ape the prestige marques in their design. Now you've mentioned it can see the link to Lexus which makes sense, but initially, as with the Insignia just thought Proton!
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Sorry PW - I still don't see it - maybe I need glasses though.
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PS - but I did not think the old Mazda 6 and Accord looked the same - an they do according to everyone else.
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mmmm .. looks awfully like the new Camry to me !!
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