New Toyota Auris spied

Text: Richard Ingram / Photos: Automedia

31st October 2011

These are the first pictures of the all-new Toyota Auris, scooped at Toyota’s test facility in Belgium.

Although details are scarce, it is likely that the engines will continue Toyota’s drive to improve economy and emissions. This means the line up is likely to include conventional four-cylinder petrol and diesels ranging from 100-180bhp as well as a 136bhp petrol-electric hybrid. An all-new plug-in electric model is also planned for launch. 

This system will allow for around 20-miles of electric-only range with a petrol engine kicking in for a further 400 miles once this is depleted. A Toyota Prius fitted with the same drivetrain claims economy of over 120mpg. 

Although heavily disguised in these pictures, it is clear that the new model will get a look inspired by the recently released Yaris and will be significantly bigger than its predecessor. This will benefit both front and rear passengers in terms of head and legroom, while also increasing luggage space. In addition to this, the enlarged boot is likely to house the bulky batteries for plug-in variants.

Toyota will also fit the new Touch & Go multimedia system to the Auris which allows the driver to control everything from the rear-facing camera to the integrated Bluetooth system. Buyers can also use it to send tweets and text messages. 

The outgoing model starts at just £12,995 with the hybrid a fraction over £20,000, and we can expect to see the newcomer sporting a similar price-tag.