Avensis T180 Impressions

[Groovy Mucker]

Bear in mind that I'm no expert, and not a particularly skilled driver, in what follows. It's not a review, as such, because I don't have the knowledge or experience to post one.

I've had the car 10 days. 8 months old, £16,000.

Positives:

It's the most comfortable I've driven (various Volvos, Honda Accord, 1980s Golf) by a considerable margin. Very supportive and comfortable seats, and the alcantara keeps your bum where it should be.

Loads of boot space.

And other storage.

Looaaads of whoompf. You just press the accelerator and it takes off. Anywhere between 2,000 and 4,000. Pretty much any gear. It doesn't feel like a fast car, until you come to brake and realise how fast you were going.

Very stable, secure handling. I thought the Accord was good (it was) but this thing beats it into a cocked hat. Not seen the VSC light on yet.

Nice clear satnav.

Good stereo.

Fairly anonymous-looking (well, a positive for me, anyway).

Negatives:

Not particularly good fuel consumption: I haven't bettered 40 mpg on any journey (admittedly, they've all involved m-ways and 80+ driving).

Very black inside (actually, I don't mind, but others might).

Irritating naggy seatbelt reminder. And satnav nanny ("Now, you will remember to follow the Highway Code, won't you?").

Not much room around the accelerator for my size 11s.

Best car I've ever driven. Most comfortable, too.

[cmia]

What I would like to hear about is the driving, and steering...

road noise :D

How does that all add up

I would be looking to buy one at the end of this year as a replacment to my taxi ;)

[Groovy Mucker]

What I would like to hear about is the driving, and steering...

road noise :D

How does that all add up

I would be looking to buy one at the end of this year as a replacment to my taxi ;)

Steering is a bit light at around the 80+ mark, but not so as to cause a problem. The turning circle is okay, perhaps a bit bigger than the Accord (or is it that I'm too careful with the alloy wheels?).

Very quiet for a diesel. The vicar told me it's much quieter than his X-Type diesel. There is some road noise at higher speeds, but nothing unusual (quieter than a friend's 3-year-old 320i, certainly).

I am very very happy with it.

[CarlP]

Don't seem to hear much from Avensis T180 owners. Any others out there who wish to review their cars?

I'm very interested in your feedback as I plan to replace my 1.8 T3X with possibly a diesel. How are you finding the build quality? Must say I'm a bit dissapointed with mine, had various creaks and rattles which spoil the overall quality feel. How is the gearbox and clutch, nice and smooth?

I wish Toyota had made a bit more effort in making it look sportier, perhaps with a discreet rear spoiler. For this reason I'm very tempted by the Mondeo ST155 TDCI. Might not be as quick but has more presence than the bog standard model in the range. The T180 is no more different than the T2 in appearance and the price hike is a bit of a p#ss take on Toyota's part.

[Groovy Mucker]

How are you finding the build quality? Must say I'm a bit dissapointed with mine, had various creaks and rattles which spoil the overall quality feel. How is the gearbox and clutch, nice and smooth?

Build quality is great (but I've had it only two weeks). Nothing loose, nothing rattly, even under fairly heavy braking (I find you don't necessarily realise how fast you're going until you come to the end of the off sliproad!). Gearbox is great, too: slick as anything.

I wish Toyota had made a bit more effort in making it look sportier, perhaps with a discreet rear spoiler. For this reason I'm very tempted by the Mondeo ST155 TDCI. Might not be as quick but has more presence than the bog standard model in the range. The T180 is no more different than the T2 in appearance and the price hike is a bit of a p#ss take on Toyota's part.

Hah! Each to his own, Carl: a spoiler would have put me off. I like the car's anonymity.

[enyajtrebor]

My T180 is now appraoching 12000 miles and apart from a o/s/r door seal replacement its been dare I say it - trouble free.

The peformance is excellent and comfort is good - I have driven the ST 2.2 Mondeo diesel over a fair few miles and the T180 beats it on performance and comfort.

We have had Toyota's for the last 17 years and the T180 has a better build than the 51 plate Avensis we had before. The best of the previous bunch was the Carina II Executive 2.0 on an F plate - never failed in 110,000.

If the T180 keeps up its present form could it be the car that restores that total Toyota confidence.

[matty2767]

in reponse to whether you should consider a replacement avensis to your old one i would definetly recommend it. although i 'only' have the 150bhp version the difference between that and my previous 04 plate 2.0d4d is massive. ride quality and quietness are what you first notice compared to the old one. then theres the extra gadgets.

matt

[cmia]

the bggest diffrence between the old versus the new avensis is HP.

that extra 20>30 .. makes a hell of a diffrence when your driving

[matty2767]

the bggest diffrence between the old versus the new avensis is HP.

that extra 20>30 .. makes a hell of a diffrence when your driving

true but i had my 2.0 chipped to around the same hp. additionally to say the T2 is the same in appearance to the T180 isnt really getting the point. most cars look the same within the same model range and it is the interior that gets enhanced the further up the range. if you want a spoiler get an escort cosworth :D

[CarlP]

I did say discreet spoiler! I think the front end of the T180 looks great but the back end could do with some subtle detailing. That's just my opinion but it won't stop me having it high up on my wanted list. The fact I know it will fit in my garage helps as well :D Ignoring the performance I think the interior is the best thing about this model.

I've never owned a diesel so have the following silly question.....Does the interior warm up as quickly as the petrol model? Believe I may have read on this forum that some owners have to wait a while before the cabin warms up.

[Groovy Mucker]

I can't compare it to a petrol model except my old Accord. It seems to me that the engine takes longer to warm up, but stays warm longer once warmed up and engine turned off.

[Groovy Mucker]

... i had my 2.0 chipped ...

Did that have the usual beneficial effects, matty, like improved economy, power and torque? Have you noticed any drawbacks? Did it cost much more to insure? (It's not that I need any more of anything except economy, you understand.)

[cmia]

Chipped =

more insurance

more hp

more fuel being used

faster car :D

the newer diesels are more efficient in buring oil.. thus taking longer to warm up

[matty2767]

insurance was £40 more. got approx 3mpg extra fuel economy and more power and more torque. i would recommend it given the small outlay in having it fitted.

i havent fitted the unit to the new one yet though.

[Groovy Mucker]

Matty, thanks.

[bigchristye]

Hi all,

just thought i would post my own impressions in here too.

Have had T180 tourer (yeh yeh, ESTATE!) for about 10Kmiles now. Due service in about a week or so..

and what do i think.

Mostly Fantastic.

Not a squeak in those miles. ( i have been teaching toyota stuff for years. Nice to be proven right!)

Brilliant engine. Great pull esp in 3/4/5th

Most fun for (being a bad boy) and suprising neds. I love the subtlety of it. It has no real evidence of what it is other than the little red Badge, so the faces of the odd character who looks round and sees a great big estate go past is very funny.

(not that I would recommend that as acceptable behaviour of course) ;)

and then when I want to be civil, its docile, innocuous and very easy to drive.

To me it doesnt give you that mad kick in the back acceleration but it gathers speed very quickly and smoothly. Deceptively so. Very easy to go past 80 without trying. and its very quiet even for a modern diesel (way better than below!) and even foot thru the floor.

I do a lot of travelling and if I can drive for 3 or 4 hours, and get out and feel ok enough to go straight into my job, then great. This car hits that right on the head. Its great for that.

For comparison, whilst waiting for delivery, I was "priviliged" enough to be rented a merc 220d, and also a passat 2.0d.

Merc was ok, but felt cumbersome, and slow. Passat just felt totally seperated from the road. Very numb and very stingy kit and a rattly engine for sure!

(this is without consideration of price and such too, so I think I came out on top with the T180 by some way!)

Any gripes..

Two of them

for a big foot like me, (size 12) the accelerator position is a pain. I keep catching my foot on the underside somewhere when I have my totectors on.

and the sat nav.

WHY CANT I PUT THE WHOLE POST CODE IN !!! ! ! ! ! Who thought that was a good idea! (ok, I work in some remote areas so telling me that there are no road numbers here is pointless - I know. its up a mountain, or in the middle of a field.... )

But once you do get there you can log the location so its annoying for the first time and ok mostly thereafter. (and you can shut her up too!)

Does anyone know if there is a way around this post code thing? (i like all blokes havent read the manual of course)

Should you get one. Yep! Esp if you like the stealth bomber approach.

Am I happy to drive around in this for the next few year. Yep. looking forward to it !

Finally,

Whats the score with the chipping stuff yet? I keep seeing posts (mostly on the auris I notice!) - so does anyone have one fitted yet? And whats the score?

and has anyone got a panel filter and that type of stuff on one yet? Just curious.

Both made some difference to my old focus diesel.

Cheers

Mr Happy !

[BWL]

Just wanted to add my own impression of my T180. It's an 06 plate, in black and bought from Beadles Toyota in Maidstone (I live in Durham).

I've had the car 3 weeks now and I'm very impressed with it so far. I agree that it could do with a subtle rear spoiler, the only giveaway the car is anything special is the Badge. I'm stepping up from a T-Sport Yaris so the sheer size is taking a lot of getting used to. I've had to move parking spots at home to accommodate it! When I go somewhere I'm much more cautious about where I try to park the car, no more chucking the car into any small spaces :)

The interior feels good, solid build, quality plastics and metal around the centre console. Only had one small problem which was easily rectified - the plastic trim around the interior door lights in the roof had dropped slightly on one side, giving the initial impression the light switch had been pressed in by someone heavy handed and bust it, but it popped straight back in (only took me a week to figure out it was the trim and not the button - doh)

The leather isn't over the top, could have maybe done with being black to match the outside, I think that would have just given it a more classy touch. I like the velour to stop my bum sliding around (hope it lasts though). No problem with footwell, I'm only a size 9 - it pays to be slightly shorter than average sometimes :-)

It's quiet on the road, more so than I was expecting from the diesel engine. Corners well for a big car, hasn't felt out of control so far - I've maybe pushed it a little ;-). There's very little wind noise and it's quiet in the cabin, which makes using the bluetoooth hands free a doddle. I could never get my (now defunct) bluetooth headset to recognise voice commands because of the noise in the Yaris. Having the built-in bluetooth has made life a bit easier. There's plenty of cubby space to stick things in, although I am trying my best to keep it litter free! It had been noted on occasion the Yaris was a mobile skip...

The acceleration is great through 3rd/4th for most driving you're going to do, even around town. The turbo can feel a little bit laggy, but could be just me getting used to a turbo-diesel. Having come from the Yaris, the smaller car felt a lot quicker through 1st and 2nd, but that's not really true - for a big car it can shift, just have to be a bit more firm on the accelerator before pulling away.

I have to say I was expecting better MPG, it returns around 37mpg and I do a lot of motorway/dual carriage driving every day. It's a 60 mile round trip to work and back with 80% of that on the motorway. It can certainly do better but you have to really ration the accelerator, taking some of the fun out of the T180 Badge. With the f***ing ridiculous price of diesel right now I was hoping to save a little bit of money but the chancellor's got other ideas. Loving the fact the tax band is D - felt quite smug going from a Yaris to something this big is exactly the same.

The cruise control is as expected, fairly simple to operate. Controls are well laid out, nothing seems out of place. The auto wiper did catch me out when I took it to the car wash but that's my own fault for not reading the manual...

The SatNav is naff unfortunately, it's the B/W version. It will get you from A to B, but it's limited and certainly no TomTom. Doesn't make much difference to me (as I already have a TomTom) and 99% of my driving is going to work and back. Newer versions of course get the upgraded model.

The Radio/CD with DAB sounds good, doesn't need a lot of volume due to the quietness of the interior. 6-CD changer is very handy and it'll read MP3s/WMA tracks from CD. It's easy to burn a large number of albums to 6 CDs this way and have a heck of a lot of choice without having to swap anything around. I'm very pleased with that functionality.

The engine has on limited occasions made what I can only describe as it blowing a raspberry when accelerating. It mainly seems restricted to higher gears and I'm not sure if that's normal on occasion or something I maybe need to get checked out. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. I've only filled it up with Shell's V-Power diesel so far - maybe it'll settle down after a little while.

[Bry]

I have had mine for 18 months from new and 37K

As I have already explained in another post the car is ruined by the DPF technology and as a result doesn't feel anywhere near 180 HP and drinks diesel to boot 36 to 42 mpg!

Of course it feels torquey, its supposed to produce 400nm and 177 HP!! Thing is, every other diesel i have driven with 130+ HP feel and are quicker on the road. It has about the same performance as a 130 Mondeo.

Engine apart, I really like the rest of the car, lovely build quality and refinement a match for anything, wish they would release a T150 non DPF, I would bu one, but certainly will never buy another T180 engined car or any other with a DPF!!!