Electric Handbrake Reliability

[T Sport 1978]

Hi all,

I currently own a HSD Auris T Spirit but am possibly looking for a new car due to the need for much more boot space, and the Avensis tourer is on the shortlist but I have a gripe/concern regarding the electric handbrake.

Just wanted to gauge how reliable this system is and how has your Avensis tourer been in terms of reliability and load space?

Any buying tips perhaps? I will be going for something less than 5 years old, and only petrol.

Thank you in advance.

[valentino46]

Well i have a 2012 tourer and TBH,find the handbrake ok, but...there is a delay in the application of the brake,so for example, you are on an incline ,in traffic ,and you have to wait for the brake to apply ,before releasing the footbrake, and by then ,there is quite a gap where the cars in front have moved off. I think the car is exellent but the hanbrake ,for me is a disapointment.

[valentino46]

The load space is exellent, i had 2 ,three foot fence panels,in the back ,no problem ,and i have picked up 6ft 6 inch doors ,with the front seats still in the same position , shame about the handdbrake ,i really want to keep the car.....still not convinced,and its nearly 2 years now...

[Whitewagon]

Bought my Tourer at about 18 months old, just before two year service due noticed electronic hand brake was getting noisy when operated. Mentioned at service time and it was replaced under warranty even though it hadn't actually failed. No problems since and just had four year service. It is my only dislike with the car but wouldn't put me off buying another. The load space is excellent as is the comfort and economy for such a large car. There are lots of posts regarding handbrake etc on here try a search.

[Heidfirst]

I feel there is no doubt that the electronic handbrake is disliked by most. I am one who views most things like this as another thing to potentially go wrong as indeed they definitely have & they are not cheap to fix when they do. However, there are 100s of thousands of T27 Avensis out there with only a relative few complaints of failure..

Load space is very good. The Auris SW technically has a larger load capacity in terms of volume but imo the Avensis has the more practical & therefore larger space in real world use.

1 of the imo under-appreciated things about the Avensis (& indeed Auris) is the flat floor in the rear seats which is good for a middle passenger of if you have to carry something like a display system there. Other fwd cars that were designed to have a 4wd option (e.g. Insignia) have a whacking great transmission tunnel.

They aren't exciting cars to drive (at least as diesels) but they are excellent motorway cruisers.

5 year (100k mile) warranty came in June 2010. Facelift came in ~ Nov/December 2011.

The 1.8 seems to be a great engine & imo the TR/Icon spec is the best value (lots of the toys on my TSpirit I could live without).

[dave@york]

My Avensis is 6 months old and has auto trans.

I find the electric brake is a winner for me. With the auto trans, the electric brake has to be released by hand. I think that with the manual trans the electric brake is an auto release. Perhaps this difference in release systems has something to do with the different opinions about the brake.

Regarding luggage space on the tourer, the volume is very good. Having had merc estates, I can say that the luggage volume is much better than a c class and nearly as good as an e class.

My only grumble is about tyre noise. I think the Bridgestones are the noisiest tyres I've ever had. In due course they will be replaced by Continentals which I know are very quiet on nearly all cars.

The Avensis is a brilliant tourer. Thanks to the transverse engine and fwd, the Avensis engine compartment is much shorter than on my merc estates whist packing in as much hardware, and my 3 rear passengers are not playing footsie with a transmission tunnel. I still can't understand why the Avensis tourer does not get the rave reviews it deserves in What Car, Which mag, etc. I think the Avensis is a really good Anglo-Jap effort.

[FROSTYBALLS]

When Which? reviewed the Avensis in 2012, it scored 81% and acheived a Which? 'Best Buy'.

Of course time has moved on since 2012, especially as regards newer models coming out, and in the latest Which? annual car survey the Avensis scored 77%, but was still rated 'Worth a Look'. The current generation is nearing the end of it's production cycle.

Scores for other cars include:

Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - 46%

Citroen C5 Tourer - 65%

Peugeot 508 SW - 71%

Volvo V70 - 76%

Hyundai i40 Tourer - 76%

Mazda 6 Tourer (2013 onwards) - 78%

etc