Should we buy a new Toyota Auris Hybrid?

jamesperrett

For that sort of mileage I would definitely go for an older Diesel. A high mileage one is fine provided it has a service history. That will be far more money saving than buying new or nearly new. I do Hampshire to Devon fairly regularly in my Mk1 Ford C-Max 2 litre diesel and find it very comfortable and economical.

IvorBiggun

nobbysn*ts wrote: »

You have to get past the spin Toyota put out. Their batteries have had horrific problems. Toyota's answer was to advise it should last the life of the car, but then warrant it for 5 years. So they expect a 5 year life from the car? The batteries lose capacity with time. This is a feature of rechargeable batteries, and not a manufacturing defect. So after few years, (information isn't published by Toyota, but it's accounted for in their warranty) the battery capacity will be down, typically to around 60% for that technology is considered still good. But they are getting better with time having said that, as the figure was a lot lower earlier.

Toyota offer an 11 year unlimited miles warranty on hybrid components. There have not been horrific problems with the batteries, in fact many Prius used as taxis are still going strong after 400000 miles. The Prius and Toyota hybrids in general are some of the most reliable cars you can buy if you look at the results of car surveys and offer low total cost of ownership. Look at the facts then go back under your bridge.

nobbysn*ts

IvorBiggun wrote: »

Toyota offer an 11 year unlimited miles warranty on hybrid components. There have not been horrific problems with the batteries, in fact many Prius used as taxis are still going strong after 400000 miles. The Prius and Toyota hybrids in general are some of the most reliable cars you can buy if you look at the results of car surveys and offer low total cost of ownership. Look at the facts then go back under your bridge.

Sorry, mindless fanboys screaming "troll" don't really carry much weight. Of course they still run as taxis. Knackered batteries doesn't mean the diesel doesn't work. Research your subject, don't just bleat "it's a Toyota, anyone with an opinion that isn't Toyota's must be a troll" Learn to think for yourself occasionally! You also seem to be very confused with your "11 year warranty" if you stop being fanboy, you'll realise it's actually 5 years, anything else on top is a paid for inspection, and subject to you paying for remedial work, and limited to 10,000 miles a year. Some deal! http://www.toyota.co.uk/service-and-maintenance/hybrid-health-check

nobbysn*ts

New ones are even worse than the old ones . http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/153086-gen3-hv-battery-failures-in-taxis/

jessegee

Thank you for all your replies, we thought about them all and after a lot of consideration, went with the new Toyota Auris. Second hand was out, couldn't face prospect/luck of breaking down, and was worried about diesel tax hits in future. We took ages to decide, and tried other cars, Toyota kept offering us a better price/deal, we finally went with it.


Gotta say, the service and fuel economy/comfort is brilliant, everything we could've hoped for. After 5 hours driving still feel comfortable in it. Husband has got the fuel economy up to 70mpg plus on his long journeys by driving intelligently, and it all fits in great with our monthly outgoings. Big peace of mind, our busy lives have no time for the stress of duff cars and hassle. Its worked out really well for us, and we really like it as a car.
Only slight draw back as far as I'm concerned is suitability if you have a large dog, no space for a crate etc due to roof slant, and no sunroof to let hot air out. But our dog is small, and not allowed in it, we use my old wreck for that!

Strider590

jessegee wrote: »

Thank you for all your replies, we thought about them all and after a lot of consideration, went with the new Toyota Auris. Second hand was out, couldn't face prospect/luck of breaking down, and was worried about diesel tax hits in future. We took ages to decide, and tried other cars, Toyota kept offering us a better price/deal, we finally went with it.


Gotta say, the service and fuel economy/comfort is brilliant, everything we could've hoped for. After 5 hours driving still feel comfortable in it. Husband has got the fuel economy up to 70mpg plus on his long journeys by driving intelligently, and it all fits in great with our monthly outgoings. Big peace of mind, our busy lives have no time for the stress of duff cars and hassle. Its worked out really well for us, and we really like it as a car.
Only slight draw back as far as I'm concerned is suitability if you have a large dog, no space for a crate etc due to roof slant, and no sunroof to let hot air out. But our dog is small, and not allowed in it, we use my old wreck for that!

If you take a minute to browse this and many motoring forums, more new cars have issues/failures/breakdowns than those 3-4 years old (which have gone through the "teething" phase).

In fact most cars are pretty solid if you actually look after them properly. I mean sure I check the level/tyres/etc every weekend (5 minute job), but it's never broken down (unless you count having the remove/clean the washer bottle filter), it's not needed any repairs in the last few years and it's never failed an MOT, 11 year old Vauxhall going strong. It's looks a bit battered, but then I like the fact I don't have to worry about it when I go shopping.

Best of all I have no debt, the key to a stress free life is not owing anyone anything.

Overall I think you could have bought more car for a lot less money, kept that money by for the extra fuel and spent the rest on a fancy holiday.

utopia_11

500 miles a week is a lot of time to spend in a car. Not sure if the Toyota hybrids are suited for motorway journeys, I remember reading an article that compared diesels and the hybrid and the diesel came out on top for fuel efficiency.

Personally if I were doing 500 miles a week I would buy a comfortable cruiser like the BMW 520d or at least a 2 litre diesel.

Strider590

utopia_11 wrote: »

500 miles a week is a lot of time to spend in a car. Not sure if the Toyota hybrids are suited for motorway journeys, I remember reading an article that compared diesels and the hybrid and the diesel came out on top for fuel efficiency.

Personally if I were doing 500 miles a week I would buy a comfortable cruiser like the BMW 520d or at least a 2 litre diesel.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advice/diesel-vs-hybrid/

However, on faster roads the petrol engine has to do all or most of the work, meaning a hybrid is likely to be no more efficient than a conventional petrol car on longer journeys.

But... in the real world, people who buy a hybrid would never realise it wasn't doing great mpg. Let's face it, would you want to find out and then have to admit it to youself?

utopia_11

Strider590 wrote: »

If you take a minute to browse this and many motoring forums, more new cars have issues/failures/breakdowns than those 3-4 years old (which have gone through the "teething" phase).

In fact most cars are pretty solid if you actually look after them properly. I mean sure I check the level/tyres/etc every weekend (5 minute job), but it's never broken down (unless you count having the remove/clean the washer bottle filter), it's not needed any repairs in the last few years and it's never failed an MOT, 11 year old Vauxhall going strong. It's looks a bit battered, but then I like the fact I don't have to worry about it when I go shopping.

Best of all I have no debt, the key to a stress free life is not owing anyone anything.

Overall I think you could have bought more car for a lot less money, kept that money by for the extra fuel and spent the rest on a fancy holiday.

the key to longevity for any car is proper servicing and maintenance. Never skimp out on this and don't always listen to manufacturers claims such as 'long life' oil or 'lifetime' gearbox oil.
My car is just over 200k and in spite of Audi saying the fluid transmission is life long I've changed it every 100k. The long life oil is rated for every 20k miles or 2 years but I wouldn't risk such a thing. Change at least once a year or 10k miles for normal driving or every 6 months for short journeys

Strider590

utopia_11 wrote: »

the key to longevity for any car is proper servicing and maintenance. Never skimp out on this and don't always listen to manufacturers claims such as 'long life' oil or 'lifetime' gearbox oil.
My car is just over 200k and in spite of Audi saying the fluid transmission is life long I've changed it every 100k. The long life oil is rated for every 20k miles or 2 years but I wouldn't risk such a thing. Change at least once a year or 10k miles for normal driving or every 6 months for short journeys

Then you'd be surprised to hear that changing oil too often can actually be harmful:

a) The process disturbs tiny metal particles in the sump, sending them around the engine after the oil change.
b) Oil has a run in period, where it requires heat and stress in order to change it's chemical composition to provide maximum protection, this can't be done in any factory, only inside the vehicles engine.

Then there's the environmental impact to consider. It's a big problem in the US where marketing has lead people to believe that oil changes should be every 3000miles.

Also synthetic oils have a greater film strength and extremely high resistance to sludge formation.
The reason you change your oil is primarily to stop sludge clogging up the oil galleries.



Off topic much?