Should we buy a new Toyota Auris Hybrid?

[Deleted User]

£317pm + £5k trade-in for an Auris and it's still not yours... sounds like a fast track to debt... And when you replace it, more of the same but at a higher cost unless you pay-in another ~£5k to keep the payments similar?

Personally, if its a commuter I'd get the cheapest/most economical/newest second hand citi-car for my money. Keeping my cash for other things. I did, it's bearable

Heck you can even get a new Skoda Citigo/Seat Mii/VW Up! for ~£70pm with a deposit a fraction of that with lower running costs...

utopia_11

Strider590 wrote: »

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?

Sure, I understand changing the oil every 3 months is overkill but what if a car is doing constant 2 miles journey trips everyday? Surely it would be more better for the engine if the oil is changed every 6 months rather than a year? Condensation, un-burnt fuel and oil acidity will go up if not changed regularly enough.


As for the oil run-in period, I'm sure it takes only around 1k-2k miles before the engine oil is fully run in.

Strider590

utopia_11 wrote: »

Sure, I understand changing the oil every 3 months is overkill but what if a car is doing constant 2 miles journey trips everyday? Surely it would be more better for the engine if the oil is changed every 6 months rather than a year? Condensation, un-burnt fuel and oil acidity will go up if not changed regularly enough.


As for the oil run-in period, I'm sure it takes only around 1k-2k miles before the engine oil is fully run in.

Those are abusive conditions, we're talking normal driving, if you go into all the "what if"s then you'd hit a point where there is no right or wrong answer.

jessegee

Thanks for great advice everyone, we bought the Toyota Auris hybrid, and have done 50k miles in it so far.
It's comfy, smart and reliable.
We've discovered how to drive it to increase fuel economy.
Husband regularly gets average 65mpg on the dial , by driving intelligently.

That doesn't mean slow, it's more about smoothness of drive, not braking or revving unnecessarily , which is easy on a regular long route.
If youre dashing about on unfamiliar roads ( and it can!) it won't give you any more fuel economy than any other modern car.
It is beautifully quiet in electric mode, on a long journey, those long creep crawl jams on the motorway, suddenly there's no engine noise , feels relaxing and my ears say phew, thank you!
Weirdly, the seats seem normal comfortable, it's when you get out after three hours we ache less than other cars we've owned or travelled in.
Husbands 5'10 medium build, I'm 5'5 and comfy😜

nickcc

Strangely enough I'm looking to change my 2005 RAV 4 for a Prius so your thread is extremely helpful. Most of my mileage is short trips so a Diesel is now out of the question, keeping the RAV is also out of the question due to the 20 mpg and £290 RFL.

Mercdriver

I had the Auris Hybrid as a hire car in Italy. Never again. I certainly wouldn't want to drive it on long commutes...

nickcc

Mercdriver wrote: »

I had the Auris Hybrid as a hire car in Italy. Never again. I certainly wouldn't want to drive it on long commutes...

Any thoughts on why you'd never buy one, personally I'd find it too small that's why I'm looking at the Prius, did a 40 taxi journey in a Prius a few weeks ago and very impressed.

Mercdriver

nickcc wrote: »

Any thoughts on why you'd never buy one, personally I'd find it too small that's why I'm looking at the Prius, did a 40 taxi journey in a Prius a few weeks ago and very impressed.

In economy mode, it has no guts for motorway driving. The engine sounded like a dying fly. It had to be pressed hard to get any real power - and I was staying within the Autostrada limits. I wouldn't find it all that comfortable for the long journeys I do - I average 23k a year. The car I hired was an estate.

nickcc

I'd heard the smaller engine model was underpowered but the 1.8 seemed to be pretty nippy.