Toyota on offensive

By Richard Yarrow

19th February 2010

Scrubbed up for Switzerland – that’s the RAV4. And Toyota will be hoping the facelifted compact SUV is the focus of attention at next week’s Geneva Motor Show, rather than the manufacturer’s now infamous recalls.

The car has a revised grille and a reworked cabin as the firm aims to give it a more sophisticated, premium feel.

For the first time, the RAV4 also gets Toyota Optimal Drive engines, which include stop-start technology and brake energy regeneration, to make it one of the most economical and lowest-emitting vehicles in its class.

Another production car being seen for the first time is the showroom-ready Auris hybrid. It features the 1.8-litre petrol-electric powertrain from the Prius. Toyota says the model marks a major milestone in its programme to introduce hybrids across its entire model range within the next decade.

The Auris HSD – which stands for Hybrid Synergy Drive – will be built at Toyota’s Burnaston factory in Derbyshire and go on sale this summer. It will be joined on the display by the FT-86 concept, which previews a replacement for the Celica coupé. A co-development with Subaru, it has a rear-wheel-drive chassis with a 2.0-litre flat four-cylinder engine. It should go on sale in the UK in 2011.

Also on show will be a production version of the Prius plug-in hybrid, the all-electric FT-EV II concept, as well as the FCHV-adv – Toyota’s next-generation fuel cell vehicle.

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