Toyota Auris HSD as a commuter car

mtl

A2OC Donor
After I gave up the idea of finding a diesel A2 for a commuter car I bought this Auris hybrid. I have always wanted the tech of Toyota hybrid.
The car is an appliance, so absolutelly no thrills there, but I am really satisfied with the hybrid drive system. Except the CVT whining in high revs is really annoying, loool. I hope it will do its intended job, although not a small number of them had problems with EGR (I need to find time for a full cleaning) and head gasket.
2011, one owner, 140.000km, full Toyota service history and hybrid battery replaced 2 years ago at Toyota dealer under warranty.
PS: It took half a day to almost clean the interior. Looks like it has never been cleaned in 11 years. :(

Auris.jpg


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My father had a Toyota Hiace milk van. It did many many miles and I've always had a respect for the no frills practicality of Toyota vehicles. We're going back a few years though, no idea about Toyota's newer stuff.
Looks like your car will give good service especially with your mechanical know how.
 
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Really interesting to hear your thoughts about the car. It has been on my shortlist as well to complement the A2 and to replace an aging Volvo XC70 (roomy but no longer needed).
 
When you get the judder/rattle at start up the EGR cleaning. But you’ll have no troubles with this car really.
 
When you get the judder/rattle at start up the EGR cleaning. But you’ll have no troubles with this car really.
Preventative EGR system (together with intake manifold) cleaning is already on the to do list for this month. I just need to find time. Though it is not really a trivial job.
These engines are quite prone to headgasket failure...
Really interesting to hear your thoughts about the car. It has been on my shortlist as well to complement the A2 and to replace an aging Volvo XC70 (roomy but no longer needed).
After owning it for a month my thoughts are the same as before. You buy Toyota only hybrid. Because Toyotas are souless appliances. Except GR.
The only thing I really like is the hybrid drivetrain, all the rest is baaah.
Chassis tunning is none existent, steering wheel feel is bad. Seat is to high and really crappy. Plastic is cheap plastic, it is beeping all over the place. The worst is reverse gear beep. It beeps once when you put it in reverse gear (which is ok, I guess), but after that it beeps constantly. And the car does NOT have rear parking sensors, only camera. Luckly I was able to code this off. The bt was a pain in the ass to connect to be able to play also music. Owners manual is not very good/clear. And when you talk via BT you hear the other person only from the front drivers speaker. Lool.
And for example of not though through solutions: they have installed USB port in the glove box, but you cannot close it if you put in USB. This was solved with 90 degree USB cable. But really... Front headlights on these cars have a plastic deteoration problem (they get yellow colour), but mine does not have it, because it was always stored in a garage. I will keep them this way by using plastic protection kit.
The trunk on hybrid version is very small.
But everything works (for now :)). And I am satisfied with it. It does excatly what it was purchased for, but nothing more.
The drive is great if not fast driving or driving uphill. In these cases the CVT drone kicks in.
I still need to do some more driving, but I am getting cca. the same consumption as with my 2.0TDI. Though I need to ''work'' for it and average speed is a little lower.
The hybrid drivetrain (I do not have experience with the latest Gen 4, only this Gen3) is great for a calm driver. For spiritued driver it is a no go, because of the CVT effect and it really drones, when driven that way.
Would I buy it again? Yes.
PS: After a thorough cleaning, ''repairing'' a few bits and pieces and quick detailing and using a touchup paint to hide the paint scratches, it looks quite nice .
 
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Really interesting to hear your thoughts about the car. It has been on my shortlist as well to complement the A2 and to replace an aging Volvo XC70 (roomy but no longer needed).
I have a Lexus CT / same engine etc and it’s excellent for reliability, I’m on over 150k miles now - I’ve only had yearly services and tyres and rear dampers replaced. It has never broken down in over 7 years. Customer service from Lexus is a big 10/10.

Also check out the Lexus 250H if you want a larger new car this is the cheapest newest small car they have and it’s a nice drive, it feels much bigger inside than it is.
 
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