Avensis

[Bumps]

Is there anyone else in Toyota Land who thinks the ride on the Avensis picks up far too much road shock and so-called surface awareness, or am I just getting old?? The state of our roads is appalling, with sunken manhole covers, a patchwork of poor resurfacing, not to mention sundry potholes and other ridges - at least that the situation where I live. I have a 1998 Avensis Estate 2.0 GLS and I've had my local Toyota dealership check the suspension (nothing wrong, apparently). I've also written to Toyota customer services who passed my complaint to their technical depatment - very sorry but tough luck, it's the way cars are today (come back my old Carina 2 - and it was better built). Does anyone, anywhere agree and if so, is there any answer at all to improve the ride. Incidentally, the tyres are standard 195/60 - would a "taller" tyre help?

[sjrainsford]

To be honest the standard fit michelin tyres don't do the car any justice. They have quite hard side walls so the road noise is quite strong, and small pot holes feel like large ones. I say this, but mine ran on michelin when i had it anyway i don't know about others. However, I changed mine for Firestone Firehawk tyres which made a BIG difference. I've only done the front so far but desperately need to do the back as the road noise rumbles around the hatch back model. (liftback)

But I agree, the ride is good on them but could have been better. Body roll is a little excessive and the ride a little crashy.

Still, I love the car though. Best I've had yet.

[The Real Tao]

The reason for the hard ride is down to the low profile tyres which were fitted to the Avensis to counter media complaints of "soggy handling" ........Oh to have soggy handling and a smoth ride. When my tyres are worn i'm going to change to a "budget" narower tread , larger profile tyre like the avensis was built for.

[sjrainsford]

I hardly think they are low profile with a 60% profile! That's 117mm on a 195 60 15 tyre!

[The Real Tao]

Now now, wide tyres with a 60 profile and high pressure on a family car spells "irritable ride" Give me airbags for tyres ,i aint gonna race anybody with a lean-burn engine anyway. -_- -_- -_-

[Unity Jon]

load some heavy weight in the back of your estate and it will transform the ride to a softer one, although the tyres will add to the harshness very slightly that doesn't really come into noticeable effect until you hit 50 profile or less.

i think you'll find that the springs (not dampers) on the estate are a fair few pounds stiffer than the saloon version so it can handle larger loads, you will benefit from swapping the springs with a set from the saloon model which are softer.

[sjrainsford]

Now now, wide tyres with a 60 profile and high pressure on a family car spells "irritable ride" Give me airbags for tyres ,i aint gonna race anybody with a lean-burn engine anyway. -_- -_- -_-

Was just being a little sarcastic! Maybe I shoulda used an emoticon really to show it. I will say though, 60 profile is not low - but I have to agree, still low enough on these to make an irratable ride. Damn anoying don't you think.

Saying that, the type of tyre makes a difference. As in if the side walls are harder or softer. You wouldn't believe two different brands of tyre with the same size could be so different!

Oh and I definately ain't gonna bother racing anyone with my lean burn! I would be wasting my time :D

[adi]

do you really think the Avensis has a hard ride? Youve been used to too many soft susp cars then. Try getting out of it and into something that actually does have a hard ride, youd be amazed how soft the avensis is.

I went from an avensis to a 2000 laguna recently, the laguuna was rock hard compared to it.. my supra is even harder, and that has active suspension.

Basically what im saying is stop whinging.. in the nicest possible way :P Its not that bad really. If you want softer suspension you'll lose some of the handling (which is crap to begin with). You cant have everything you want in a car.. if you could it'd cost you far more than your avensis did.

[Unity Jon]

You cant have everything you want in a car.. if you could it'd cost you far more than your avensis did.

but he can have everything he wants in ride quality.

If you really want a comfortable ride invest in some airbag suspension from www.rayvernhydraulics.com (a UK company) you'll get 4 replacement strutts with airbags fitted and lines and a compressor, then you can park and let your car down to the floor to upset all the boy racers, press a button and lift it to your desired ride height (pre determind by the bag size) and the amount of pressure you inflate to will depict your ride softness/firmness with no compromise.

tell him Jon From the Unity lowrider Car Club sent you along and he'll look after you

but it will cost a little over £1000. B)

[Bumps]

Well, it seems a couple of people more or less agree - perhaps the estate does ride harder so I might just investigate the possibility of swapping the rear springs. But I agree, 60 section tyres on a family car does spell irritable ride and the New Avensis runs on 55!!!

Whatever happened to smooth compliant suspension? Probably sacrificed to pander to the young so-called car testers from the media where hard edged driving dynamics are the be all and end all, that plus the company car brigade.

Anyone who is looking for a decent smooth ride will have to look elsewhere such as the Golf where the "cooking version runs on 175/80 and even the GTI has 195/65. The Passat is better and the Rover 75 even more so, even the Focus rides better. So why do I stick to Toyotas?? Usual reasons - reliability and dealer back-up both of which are far superior to the others. How "tall" a tyre can be fitted, anyone know?

[Unity Jon]

Whatever happened to smooth compliant suspension

it was sacrificed across the board for cheap mcpherson strutt setups with less moving parts.....

[noelbryson]

Hello,

I recently purchased an R Reg Avensis.

Lovely on perfect roads.

Very noisy and bumpy on less than perfect roads. Roads aren't bad , just your normal towns roads with patches etc.

Amplify small bumps/holes into major bumps/holes. Causes trim to rattle. Irritating.

The wheels are 15" momo alloys with 195/60 tyres.

I suspect that this is a mismatch for this car.

Anybody think that keeping the wheels and replacing tyres would help? What profile and manufacture would be best. I'm guessing taller and softer.

Checked existing tyres 10 minutes ago . Have Michelin Energy on the rear axle, Uniroyal - The Rain tyre on front n/s and Goodyear Eagle on front o/s.Looks that I need to do some replacement in any case. :(

On a related front does the recommended tyre pressure change as you change tyres or is it a constant for the car?

Regards Noel

[Unity Jon]

its constant for the car no matter what tyres you fit or what profile they are :)

[APS]

I test drove a brand new Avensis (old shape) last week. When compared to my new Corolla it seemed very soft, almost wobbly and slightly detached. But I did find it very quiet and relaxing.

Maybe it's better at absorbing longer bumps rather than pot holes.

[remasters10]

Hi all,

I have just been test driving a Avensis 2.0 sr with a view to buying, it has 205/55 fitted to 15inch? wheels, is this standard? The ride seemed a little firm but acceptable, performance is quite good. It is the vvti 2000 model, asking price is £8995, 10000mls on the clock. Is this a reasonble price also are ther any potential probs to look for? The car looks very clean and is at a dealers, though not a Toyota dealer. I have previously been driving a Honda Accord 2.0 93 model.

Any help appreciated, Thanks Pete.

[Prox]

Should be 205/55/R16 on as standard. (2001 Model VVT-i)