Toyota Auris HSD review (08/02/2012)
Call me a behemoth if you wish; tell me I’m stuck is some primordial time warp and unwilling to move with the times; why, you could even call me thick, if you want. I don’t really care. I still don’t like these things.
The latest of them that we get to test is the Toyota Auris HSD (that’s Hybrid Synergy Drive to you and me) and it is basically a Toyota Prius dressed up in new clothes. Toyota is spending a fortune on a marketing campaign for the car and has even gone as far as to billboard it on the front of the Munster rugby team’s jerseys in certain of their games this season, rather than using the normal Toyota logo.
The best thing I can say about the Auris HSD is that it is a decent mode of transport. If you want something to actually drive, then look elsewhere.
Admittedly there are certain relatively fascinating things about the
Auris HSD, but only really if you’re a tecchie-head. Sure, Toyota has just announced it will be entering its new TS030 petrol/electric sports car prototype in Le Mans this year, but it has to be said that this machine, while intended to highlight Toyota’s pre-eminence in the hybrid field, bears little or no resemblance – mechanically or otherwise – to anything Toyota might sell for road use.
Of course, hybrids are becoming something of a ‘soupe du jour’ right across the car manufacturing sector with everyone from BMW to the VW Group jumping on the bandwagon, but this, in my view, has more to do with the seeming failure of the industry to adopt the cleanest form of motivation – hydrogen – as a fuel source.
Indeed, a BMW executive told me recently that his company would be able to produce a hydrogen-powered car within a matter of months if it decided to do so. However, the problem of setting up a viable network of fuelling points in Germany, not to mention the rest of Europe, had killed the hydrogen project stone dead.
That being so and needing to be seen to move with our ever green times, BMW has chosen to go down the hybrid road instead. And many other manufacturers are following suit. Toyota, of course, and Honda to a lesser degree have a serious edge here because they are already clearly established class-leaders in the field and recent worldwide figures for hybrid car sales would certainly seem to suggest that the global buying public is slowly but surely adopting hybrid power as an alternative to conventional diesel or petrol engined cars.
But, the bottom line as far as I am concerned is that these things, while being all very well and good in their own right, do not provide any real enjoyment in terms of the driving experience. Sure they will get you from A to B without difficulty, but I for one don’t extract any enjoyment from them whatsoever.
The Auris HSD is powered jointly by an Atkinson-cycle 1.8 litre 132 bhp petrol engine and a 79 bhp electric motor. These can be used individually, but in my experience it is best to leave the car’s own ‘brain’ to do the thinking and chose the appropriate power source for the appropriate circumstance.
In fact, it is probably best to leave the car do most of the thinking in this case. All you really have to concentrate on is accelerating, steering and braking – the car pretty much does everything else itself. You know the bumper cars at the fairground – it’s a bit like that, without all the crashing.
This Auris is actually quite capable of brisk performance, but I have to say that the trashy CVT belt drive system which is utilised instead of a conventional gearbox does not like high revs. So, if you want to go anywhere quickly, brace yourself for an unforgiving din.
That said, if you want thoroughly civilised motoring at terribly sensible speeds, then the Auris HSD could be for you. And, if you want thoroughly civilised motoring at terribly sensible speeds which will produce an economy figure approaching 73 mpg, then it is definitely for you. Indeed the big attraction here, apart from its green credentials (which prompts a decent VRT rebate) is the dramatically reduced running costs as a result of the car’s frugality. To my mind, that is the only plus point involved here.
OK, so the car is decently specified and offers reasonable practicality, but as a one-on-one cost option with some of its more conventional rivals it doesn’t look great. Any pay-off from the hybrid will take some time to accrue.
Like it or lump it, hybrid technology is going to be with us for some time, it would appear. That being the case, Toyota is in pole position to profit if shifting consumer demand sees a concerted move in this direction.
I might not like these things, but that doesn’t count for much in the greater scheme of things. The fact is that the Auris HSD is a living thing and Toyota will sell a fair share of them.
POPULAR Skibbereen motor dealer Jack Leonard has announced that he is to retire from service in the motor industry, having put in place an
understanding with the well-known Fermoy-based Blackwater Motors for the future running of the business under an agreement that will see the property remain in his ownership.
Thanking his customers and colleagues for the support which they have given to him throughout his career, Mr Leonard said that the arrangement will benefit Volkswagen owners in West Cork.
From their home in Fermoy, the operations of Blackwater Motors have expanded to the city of Cork, and now to West Cork where they will assume the effective running of the Leonard Motors business from early February.
Commenting on the arrangement, Jack Leonard welcomed Blackwater Motors and their decision to retain the staff in Skibbereen. Mr Leonard thanked the staff for their loyal and valued contribution to the success of the dealership since it was appointed to represent Volkswagen in 1991.
Looking ahead, Mr Leonard said the new status which the Skibbereen dealership will now have as part of a larger group will be one that will benefit all concerned, by giving the
outlet access to a wider market base.
It is expected that investment planned for Skibbereen will result in further improvements to the facilities — the first evidence of which will be change of name signs.
Honda has announced that its cumulative worldwide hybrid vehicle sales surpassed 800,000 units as of the end of December 2011. This milestone was reached 12 years and 2 months after the start of sales of the first generation Honda Insight in Japan November 1999.
Honda introduced the first generation Insight, Civic Hybrid
and Accord Hybrid equipped with Honda’s original lightweight and compact IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) hybrid system. More recently, Honda introduced a total of six new hybrid models in the last three years to expand the hybrid vehicle line-up. Honda’s annual worldwide hybrid sales for 2011 was approximately 200,000 units (up 30% compared to 2010), and Honda’s total hybrid sales during the last three years exceeded 500,000 units. In Japan, the ratio of hybrid vehicles exceeded 45% of all new Honda vehicle registrations for the month of December 2011.
As of today, Honda sells seven hybrid models in 50 countries around the world. In addition, the market introduction of the ILX, the first Acura brand model equipped with a hybrid system, is scheduled in spring 2012 in North America.
Under the global environmental slogan of ‘Blue Skies for Our
Children,’ Honda will continue its efforts to realise the further market penetration of hybrid vehicles to realise a low carbon society.
The Peugeot 5008, Continental Irish Family Car of the Year 2011,
is Ireland’s best-selling compact 7-Seater MPV. Figures released from the SIMI for 2011 show that 391 Peugeot 5008s were registered in 2011 to take 28% of its segment.
Des Cannon, Peugeot Sales and Marketing Director said, “The multi-award winning Peugeot 5008, the new benchmark for compact
seven-seater cars in Ireland, attracted many new customers to the Peugeot brand in 2011, looking for a stylish, economical and practical solution to family motoring. We’re delighted with this strong sales performance and look forward to further success in 2012.”
The 5008 is available in Ireland with a choice of two engines: a 1.6 HDi FAP 112bhp 6-speed manual and a 1.6 HDi FAP 112bhp 6-speed electronically controlled 6-speed Ecomatique, both qualifying for Band B 225 annual road tax. The Eco gearbox offers a real alternative to automatic drivers faced with high road tax costs in Ireland.
The Peugeot 5008 retails from 27,690, plus dealer delivery related charges.
Bosch, the leading global supplier of automotive and industrial
technology, consumer goods and building technology, has announced the launch of its premium mobile sat nav app for Apple users. Drawing
on extensive experience and infrastructure in the automotive
sector, Bosch Navigation 1.5 looks set to take on leading mobile sat nav brands in the Apple App store with a range of unique and innovative features that aim to make it the new mobile sat nav of choice for Apple iPhone and iPad users.
Key features in Bosch Navigation include ‘Intermediate Destinations’, which allows users to make a quick detour en-route, perhaps to stop at a service station or restaurant, without affecting the original destination when travel is resumed. It also highlights the innovative ‘Plus Routes’ tool, which offers real time suggestions of alternative routes during navigation that may offer time or distance savings — all of which are easily viewable and selectable from the main map.
