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Toyota Avensis UK drive

New-look Toyota gets a dash of style, but the healthy kit count can’t compensate for a lack of fun

Toyota Avensis front tracking

Text: Luke Madden / Photos: Pete Gibson

January 2012

Toyota knows what’s important to Avensis buyers  – lower emissions, greater value for money and making those long motorway journeys pass by comfortably. That’s why the latest Avensis has been improved in all those areas, and has been given an extra dose of style, too.

The new look is designed to incorporate Toyota’s new family face, which features a redesigned front bumper, bolder grille and more angular headlights. Perhaps the most important changes, though, are the improvements to the best-selling 2.0 D-4D engine tested here.

CO2 emissions have been cut from 139g/km to 119g/km, which not only reduces the road tax bill by £85 a year but also has big implications for company car drivers. Fuel economy is boosted from 53.3mpg to 62.8mpg.

Toyota has also improved the way the Avensis drives. It’s now smoother and more refined than before, and while the 124bhp power figure is unchanged, there is plenty of performance for most people, with the sprint from 0-62mph taking 9.7 seconds.

If you push the engine to the upper limits of the rev range it can become rough, but when the new car is cruising at 70mph, it can barely be heard at all.

Changes to the cabin, including more sound-deadening, have also made it a quieter and more luxurious place in which to spend time. The centre console has been subtly redesigned, a leather-trimmed steering wheel now comes as standard and the dashboard is finished in higher-quality soft-touch plastics.

If there’s one thing the Avensis has always been lacking, it’s a healthy dose of dynamic ability, but a stiffer anti-roll bar has been fitted at the rear and the steering has been made quicker and more responsive in a bid to resolve this.

The changes don’t add up to much, and while there is slightly less body roll through corners, the Toyota still lacks the kind of involving drive available from rivals like the Ford Mondeo. That’s not the only bad news, as smaller lumps and bumps in the road are felt more than in the old car.

It’s better value for money, though, as our top-selling TR model now comes with sat-nav, a reversing camera and automatic lights and wipers as standard. Compare that to the likes of the Mondeo, Mazda 6 and Vauxhall Insignia and the equipment tally looks very generous indeed – especially considering the Toyota’s £21,525 price tag.

In updating the Avensis, the company has managed to make it more sensible than ever. The new car is comfortable, efficient and good value. The trouble is, it will still never draw you to just pick up the keys and simply go for a drive.

For an alternative review of the latest Toyota Avensis visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

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8 Comments

Yawn..

I wonder if Toyota Dealers will throw in a free bottle of Old Spice, and some slippers too.

By balcstar on 15 January, 2012, 12:16pm

Made in "Great Britain" gets you from A to B just like the others in Yawn Mondeo class

All the cars in Mondeo snore class type of car have that yawn factor. Whats changed?

Big difference is that the Toyota Avensis & Nissan Primera both UK made will get you from A to B reliably faultlessly for 200,000 miles whereas cars like the Mondeo suspension falls to bits before 70,000 which will not show up in Auto Express that tests only brand new cars.

Auto Express power drive reliability surveys always put Toyota up at the tops, with Skoda & Lexus.

By IvorBiggen on 16 January, 2012, 9:03am

Neat Facelift..

by Toyota makes the underated Avensis look as smart as a Passat, Mondeo and so on, and it looks like a high quality product.

By cousins11 on 16 January, 2012, 3:38pm

Slug or Sprinter?

"There is plenty of performance for most people, with the sprint from 0-62mph taking 9.7 seconds". The Lexus CT200h was widely berated for acceleration times similar to this. Should not acceleration times just be quoted without any subjective qualifications? At the moment the same time can be described as anything from "sluggish" to "supersonic". Give us the times and let us decide.

By prosperity on 17 January, 2012, 7:12am

Seriuosly???

Really, is this what they came up with? what a complete BORE...... boring boring boring! it can be easily mistaken for a Korean make! zzzzzzzzzz

By taaudi on 17 January, 2012, 10:55am

Yet another biased review

Only 3/5?

Another biased review by AE and some of the commenters here have taken the bait hook line and sinker.

If it was the new Audi A4, Passat or the new 316i, the headline would exclaim "BEST EVER !", but it instead peddles out the tired "LOLZ! JAPANESE CAR == BORINGS!" line.

An attractive car, not as attractive as say an Alfa 159, but neither are a 316i or A4 either.

Toyota also constantly scores well in JD Power surveys for reliability and customer satisfaction.

Not a Toyota fanboy myself, but to write off a half decent car based on tired old perceptions of a 20 year old corolla while regurgitating press releases from Bavaria or Wolfsberg as if they are the 2nd coming of Christ himself seems to be a little bit biased.

By SirWiggum2 on 17 January, 2012, 5:57pm

I've had loads of Fords and the suspension hasn't gone at 70,000 miles. Some people write generalities - what a pity people can't be objective.

By domek on 18 January, 2012, 11:59am

3Star rating based on?....

You said "equipment tally looks very generous indeed"

"more sensible than ever. The new car is comfortable, efficient and good value."... well thats brilliant surely?

"The trouble is, it will still never draw you to just pick up the keys and simply go for a drive."

But a Passat / A4 / Mondeo will have you staring longingly out the window at it each morning?.... don't make me laugh!

By Wheelerdealer on 1 May, 2012, 5:13pm

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Pictures

Toyota Avensis front tracking
Toyota Avensis rear tracking
Toyota Avensis dash
Toyota Avensis badge
Toyota Avensis front cornering
Toyota Avensis gear lever
Toyota Avensis rear seats
Toyota Avensis boot

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FIRST OPINION

    The Avensis has long been the perfect choice for drivers who value reliability, running costs and practicality above driving thrills. The latest changes to this 2.0 D-4D engine and the improvements to the cabin and standard equipment list mean this is now even more the case. But if you’re after an involving driver’s car, it’s better to look elsewhere.

 

AT A GLANCE

    Price: £21,525
    Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbodiesel
    Power: 124bhp
    Transmission: Six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
    0-62/top spd: 9.7 secs/124mph
    Economy/CO2: 62.8mpg/119g/km
    Equipment: Sat-nav, reversing camera, Bluetooth, automatic lights and wipers, climate control 
    On sale: Now
     
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