Rarely have I seen a facelift as successful as for the new Auris.
With seemingly few moves, the designers have made the lines flow as they should. The Toyota Auris Hybrid is a car the whole world has pressed to its chest, whether it's called Auris, Corolla or Scion. I'm not going to decide whether hybrids will be the drive of the future, but I like it when both the electric motor and the petrol motor start at the same time.
Look-and-feel
New Auris in Dark Blue Mica looks good in the car park. The metallic sound I got when I grabbed the doorknob made me stop. Have Toyota's audio engineers slept in class? Nope. The door closed with a "pop" as it should.
Inside the compartment I got a bit of a retro feeling. Especially the deep bells, the vents and the way the middle part of the dashboard was connected to the driver's seat. Some of the buttons are similar to the ones we find in our old youth car (Civic). I pause at buttons that seem to be scattered randomly across the dash on both sides of the steering wheel. The buttons on the right side of the steering wheel are particularly inelegantly mounted together with blind panels. The whole thing is reminiscent of a 70's period colourist.
The flimsy lever for adjusting the step-by-step seat back didn't feel good either.
The steering wheel seems luxurious and is good to hold. I like the large color screen and discover that it has navigation, a reversing camera and a graphic display of how the engine power is distributed. I also like the little screen between the instrument dials.
The dashboard takes some getting used to. So do all the functions that sit on the stalks by the steering wheel. The small automatic gear selector has RND with P on its own button, similar to BMW's solution. I think a completely normal PRND gear selector would have been more intuitive.
I give a plus for keyless start button. The key just needs to be nearby.
Driving pleasure
The hybrid solution has a normal programme, as well as three optional driving settings. EV for full electricity, Eco and PWR. The normal program always starts with electric operation. But this is no electric car. When I tried to see how long it could go on pure electric power, I only got one and a half laps in Forneburingen. Then I received a message that there was no more electricity and the petrol engine was switched on. By the way, it's fantastic that the petrol engine can kick in without a starter sound, or any noticeable delay - absolutely seamlessly.
PWR (Power) was more fun. Then the 99-horsepower petrol engine received more support from the electric motor. It primarily boosted the torque and gave a much better response to the throttle. Then the car became far more entertaining to drive. I liked the sound image, - and thought the CVT gearbox worked better. Sound image and shift pattern gave me a feeling of driving an American compact car with V6 and conventional automatic. But the CVT gearbox creates unnecessarily high revs.
The car seemed quite firm, and rocked little in the corners despite the weight of the batteries under the back seat. I got the impression of good weight distribution. I got the feeling that the center of gravity was in the middle of the car.
The steering is speed-sensitive and very easy when parking.
I give it a four for driving pleasure. I give a plus for displaying the speed limit and speed camera warning. Why don't more cars have it as standard?
Comfort
Every fourth new taxi in 2014 was a Toyota, and it is the Auris Touring in particular that has caught on. I quickly found a good sitting position and I thought to myself that driving a night shift would have been no problem.
The sound level in the Auris is very low, not only during electric operation, but also when the petrol engine is on. It may seem that Toyota has done a good job of shutting out both engine noise and road noise. In PWR mode, the engine sound is more present, especially when accelerating, but in a very pleasant tone. It hums almost like a six.
The car copes well with bumps in the road. When I think about it, the car would hardly have caught on among Oslogryta's taxi owners if it didn't cope with bad city streets.
Place
I have only driven the 5 door combikupe variant, not the Auris Touring. I perceive the trunk to be the same size as the previous model Opel Astra and Ford Fous. With its 360 litres, it is average for its class. The rear seat space provides considerably less usable knee room than the outgoing Astra and Golf. When I (1,88 meters) sit behind myself with a rather steep upright seatback, I barely get room. The knees go into the seat back. In the front seats, however, I have plenty of room. I think that if I were a taxi owner, I would primarily want more legroom in the back seat.
Security
The Toyota Auris was tested by NCAP before the facelift and came out with good results, almost on a par with the Volkswagen Golf in terms of passengers and children. The Auris, on the other hand, is slightly better than the Golf with regard to collisions with pedestrians. In the summary from NCAP, it appears that the Auris was pulled over because the right driver's door (right-hand drive car) opened in the side impact test.
An important safety advantage is Toyota Safety Assist which automatically warns, brakes and changes course in the event of a collision at city speeds.
Economy
The tested model costs NOK 289 including shipping and delivery. It's an Active S, and the S is necessary for you to get Toyota Safety Assist. In addition, it would cost me NOK 4 for reversing warnings in the rear. Let me add that Toyota offers a 531 year and full 5 km warranty. It also contributes to good trade-in prices.
What speaks against it in terms of loss of value is that the new Prius has a stronger and more economical 1,8 liter petrol engine. This will hopefully find its way to new Aurisers eventually as well. I also add that cars and engines delivered to Norway are manufactured in Great Britain. Although Toyota's warranties are good, everyone knows that British production was never a success for either the Nissan Primera or the Honda Civic. And was the British-made Avensis really the success that had been imagined?
I have not set up fuel consumption, but can conclude that a tank goes very far. The stated consumption is 0,35 both in the city and on country roads. Based on my rides, I am convinced that you can drive economically even if you prefer to drive in PWR mode.
According to Toyota, the hybrid solution must be both operationally reliable and affordable in terms of maintenance.
Conclusion
The electric motor provides a boost in torque that can produce the same effect as a turbo. The biggest environmental advantage of hybrid solutions is that the cars can use electric power within urban and residential areas. Many people question the environmental benefits of driving around with an extra 250-300 keg due to low batteries. The tested Auris weighs 1370 kg without driver. It is only 100 kg more than a Golf with TDI 110 HP. So I don't think weight is anything to worry about.
The hybrid solutions will be developed in step with new battery technology and new engines. There must be room for improvement when the world's leading mass-produced hybrid solution only manages to get 99 HP out of a 1,8 liter engine. Not only for the environment, but also for driving pleasure.
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