Toyota

Auris Hatchback/Touring Sports/Hybrid

Excellent economy plus a package of first class features helps the Auris stand out from the crowd. It boasts an excellent safety spec and delivers a great ride, not only in town, but out on the open road too.

Test Drive

Toyota Auris – first drive (2015)

Boasting sharp new styling, stacks of innovative on-board technology, new safety systems, improved handling and the introduction of some exciting new fuel-efficient engines, the latest Toyota Auris certainly has plenty of wow factors.

With a choice of five trim levels called Active, Icon, Design, Business Edition and Excel, the car is priced from £15,245 to £25,095 and is available in both Hatchback and Touring Sports body styles.

Customers also have much more choice when it comes to engines too thanks to the introduction of an all-new 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine which joins the existing 1.3 petrol version. Then there is the 1.4-litre diesel unit along with a new BMW-sourced 1.6-litre diesel powertrain which was recently launched in the new Avensis. Finally to neatly round off the range there is a hybrid model which mates a 1.8-litre petrol engine with an electric motor to generate 134bhp.

And when it comes to styling, the new Auris has a much broader and sportier stance thanks to a number of design enhancements. The revised bumpers help to emphasise the width of the vehicle, the grille stretches to the headlights and the rear of the car looks much lower and wider.

Step inside the Auris and it’s impossible not to be impressed with the chic layout and upmarket premium environment that greets you. There is a 3D-looking dashboard, plenty of soft-touch materials, neatly housed instrumentation plus a 7-inch colour touchscreen with smart neon blue surrounding buttons which is very simple to operate and offers access to most of the vehicle’s infotainment systems.

The Auris is generously equipped with even the entry level Active grade boasting the likes of LED daytime running lights, LED rear lights, Bluetooth automatic air conditioning and powered front windows.

Step up a grade to Icon and you will see the introduction of the Toyota Touch 2 touchscreen with DAB audio, multimedia control, 16-inch alloys, a reversing camera, powered rear windows, a leather steering wheel and fog lights.

The Design grade adds visual upgrades such as rear privacy glass, 17-inch alloys, various upholstery options and cruise control.

Then the new Business Edition, which is geared towards fleet drivers, is fitted with Toyota Touch 2 with Go sat nav, heated seats with powered lumbar adjustment and cruise control.

Finally the range-topping Excel has The Toyota Touch 2 Go Plus package with voice recognition and WiFi hotspot function, LED headlights, 17-inch alloys, dual-zone climate control, intelligent park assist and heated part-leather seats.

Toyota has also focused on safety as a priority and this year launched its new Toyota Safety Sense system.

This pack which is available as a £450 option on all Auris models except the Active style features a pre-collision system, lane departure alert, automatic high beam and road sign assist.

I tested out two versions of the new Auris and they each had their very own driving characteristics and appeal.

First up was the new 1.2 turbo 114bhp petrol version in hatchback style with a six-speed manual gearbox in Icon trim.

This model costs £18,295 (it also had a few options such as the sat nav system). It can sprint to 62mph from a standing start in 10.1 seconds and reaches a top speed of 124mph. According to official figures it can achieve combined fuel efficiency of 58.9mpg with carbon emissions of 112g/km.

Despite its compact engine and concerns it would not have enough spirit to propel a car of the Auris’s size, any apprehensions were proved totally unfounded.

It is punchy, full of bite and has ample power on tap at all times. You do have to work your way through the gears carefully when climbing long, steep hills, but otherwise the car handled beautifully.

The road holding was flawless and comfort levels also impress with good all-round visibility. Leg room in the back is a little tight for taller adults if the front seats are not pushed forward, but the space is certainly very reasonable for a car in the C segment.

Storage is catered for courtesy of the generously-sized boot with its 435 litres capacity (increased to 1,199 litres with the 60:40 split-folding seats dropped down). There is an underfloor compartment in the boot plus good-sized door pockets, a deep glovebox, cup holders, handy central bin and overhead sunglasses holder too.

The new Auris has also undergone suspension and steering revisions to improve the ride comfort, handling and driver involvement and this was very apparent when moving swiftly along sweeping country roads.

Sound levels within the cabin have also been addressed with an upgrade in insulation although you will still hear a little road surface noise if the car is pushed particularly hard.

Next up was the highly popular hybrid model which accounts for 55 per cent of Auris sales in the UK. Once more this was in the hatchback style and in Icon trim with a few extras added. The starting price for this car is £20,695 and it can reach from 0-62mph in 10.9 seconds with a top speed of 112mph. It can deliver 78.5mpg on a combined run with emissions of 82g/km.

This model was fitted with a CVT automatic gearbox which is a bit like marmite in the motoring industry – you either love it or hate it. On some smaller-powered cars it can whine and screech but thankfully not on the Auris.

In electric-only mode the car can be driven up to speeds of 44mph and there are also ECO and Power modes which can be introduced at the press of a button and alter the car’s driving dynamics and economy accordingly.

Once again the car was a most accomplished and capable performer – it coped well with fast-moving motorway traffic, especially when in Power mode and then in busy town centres the ECO setting was ideal as it meandered effortlessly along.

To be honest the cars were completely different in their handling and characteristics and would appeal to very different buyers, but both had their own distinctive qualities.

And when you take into account the choice of highly-efficient diesel options on offer it would seem there is an Auris to suit all budgets and demands.

Test Drive

Toyota Auris hybrid T Spirit CVT 1.8 (5 door) Auto

If it’s a family car with all the spec, a great warranty and excellent performance you’re looking for then Toyota could have a car that’s right up your street.

The five-door Auris seems to have the lot – it boasts excellent fuel economy thanks to its hybrid engine but loses nothing on its performance or handling, the list of creature comforts seems almost endless, it has great looks and there is bags of room for all the family and their luggage requirements too.

Admittedly, at just under £22.7k, the top-of-the-range T Spirit model supplied for my test drive is not the cheapest option out there, but when it comes to all-round packages, it is leagues ahead of many competitors.

From the outside the Auris looks neatly streamlined and boasts smart 17-inch alloys. But it’s once you take your seat behind the wheel that the Auris really impresses. The vehicle is deceptively spacious and there is ample room for two adults (of the taller variety) in the rear seats.

Up front, the instrumentation is very neat and simplistically arranged for ease of use. Instead if switches, dials and levers everywhere that act as a distraction to drivers, the Auris has clear and simple blue read-outs and all controls are perfectly positioned.

Creature comforts include multi-information display, climate control air conditioning, steering wheel mounted audio controls, cruise control, dusk-sensing headlights, rain-sensing wipers, rear view camera display, smart entry and start plus plenty more besides.

The interior is beautifully crafted with leather and Alcantara upholstery and there are two large glove box compartments to store away your goodies, along with the very generously-sized boot area with a capacity of 233 litres.

On faster winding roads the Auris handles extremely well hugging tight bends for fun and then on the more open road, the 1.8-litre engine bursts into life delivering outstanding power.

One factor that was really impressive was the acceleration through the automatic transmission.

Some hybrids seem to whiz and hesitate as they move reluctantly through the gears, but not so the Auris which was very smooth and responsive.

As one would expect, Toyota has fitted a very comprehensive list of safety features to the Auris including numerous airbags, vehicle stability control, electronic brake force distribution, brake assist and lots more.

And when you take into consideration the five-year/100.000-mile warranty and eight years for the hybrid battery, that initial outlay doesn’t seem so bad.

All in all, the Auris is an excellent all rounder that will appeal to the fashion conscious, those watching their pennies, the business motorist or the family buyer who enjoys the finer things in life and the outdoor lifestyle.