First off I think this is a great looking car, it caught my eye before I even realised it was a Hybrid. In an attempt to make it more aerodynamic, Toyota have lowered the car, smoothed the front end and fitted some pretty slick alloy wheels along with a boot spoiler. All designed to help with aero but actually make it look more sportier than the rest of the range. Now the press release photos are always photoshopped so I expected the tinted windows, big wheels and other details not to be present on the showroom model. To my suprise though, they were...
On walking into the dealer I found the Auris particularly striking in white with the blue highlighted badges, especially as this particular car had the tinted window "privacy pack" which looked very sharp. The interior wasn't a let down either. Half clad in Alcantara and half leather, the sporty seats are very comfortable and supportive. The dash arrangement is very stylish and modern with the instruments behind the wheel, not on top of the centre dash like in the Prius. The nav option put a lovely big LCD in the centre console which doubles up as a reverse parking camera. The only thing giving away the Hybrid game is the rather small auto CVT gear lever which initially looks a little too small. But then you realise it doesn't have 1234DRNP like a normal auto, just D,R and B meaning once it's in D you're unlikely to touch it again. Unless that is you pop it into B mode when going down a steep hill, this uses the motor as a brake and bangs the amps back into the battery...
Anyway onto the driving. A nice little touch on the demo car was the keyless entry. The salesman told me to put the key in my pocket so I did and on arriving at the car the door was already unlocked. I jumped in and looked around for the ignition, which of course, isn't there. Instead there's a power button. One foot on the brake pedal and a push of the power button saw the dash light up like Christmas much in the same way as a normal car does then settles into it's normal display. No hand brake here, just a park button to press then you're free to roll. I was suprised to find the engine started immediately and the car didn't pull away on the motor alone. This apparently is the case until the engine is up to operating temperature to provide heating etc...
A few miles down the road with light throttle gave a very smooth, very quiet ride. On pulling up to a roundabout, I noticed two things. Firstly is that when you're still rolling at a good speed, the motor is used as a brake to provide a charge for the battery. As you slow to about 10mph, the disc brakes kick in and bite hard, throwing you forward in the seat a bit, strange but I suppose you'd get used to it and learn to brake differently. Secondly, I experienced the engine stopping for the first time. Hardly noticeable due to how quiet it is anyway but none the less, eerily quiet at a stand still...
Green lights, GO! No engine this time. The motor has PLENTY of torque to get you off the line and the car remains on battery power alone upto 31mph, provided you don't accelerate too hard, in which case the engine kicks back in to assist. So, on the slip road up to the dual carriageway I gave it a healthy dose of right foot to get up to speed, the combined output of motor and engine is supposedly 130bhp-ish but it didn't feel like it to me. My Mondeo is 125bhp and feels quicker. Also, when the engine revs build up it gets noisy, unfortunately it's a really tinny engine too which made me wince a little. No matter though, you don't buy a Hybrid to accelerate fast!Book 0-60 is 10 seconds, yeah OK it probably will do it but you wouldn't want to make a habit of it. One point to note though is that the transition to engine power is seamless and inaudible, at least it was to my slightly worse for wear hearing...
Once up to 70mph I engaged the cruise control and went straight for the inst. consumption page on the trip computer to see what the Auris would do to the gallon. Initially on a slightly up hill incline I saw 50+ MPG which soon went up to 70MPG on the flat. Down hill is something else, with the engine stopped and the motor just coaxing us along, the display flew up into 100+ MPG, I like
During the cruise the dash display shows the engine and motor both kicking in and out depending on the load. At no point can you tell there's anything so complex going on beneath the bonnet, it's all smooth as silk!...A 25 min test drive saw the Auris return 72MPG. Most satisfying considering I drove it as a normal car and didn't employ any hypermiling techniques, just imagine what this would do while drafting. Plus points for me are -
Consumption (obviously)
Interior and exterior styling
Super smooth Hybrid Synergy Drivetrain
High spec of extras - cruise control, climate control, electric everything etc etc.
Bad points -
Doesn't accelerate likme it has 130bhp
engine becomes VERY noisy at mid to high revs
In all though, a great car in my mind. I could easily live with my dislikes as driving efficiently means I wouldn't really be revving/accelerating hard anyway. This WILL be my next car but when I spec'd the model I wanted it came in at £24k so it may have to wait a while. I'd have to do a lot of miles to see a return on an outlay that big, for now the trusty Mondeo must suffice and I should be happy with 50+ MPG.
Jon
