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Just be careful when doing that. The nose weight of a bike carrier, plus the weight of an electric bike usually means you can only legally carry one bike as the nose weight is exceeded with two bikes

Many thanks for all your help regarding this. I went to my local dealer who was very helpful. as it turns out when I was adjusting some settings I must have changed something, there is a setting on the tablet Menu- vehicle and scroll down it switches the smart entry and start feature off and on, this is to prevent someone cloning your key. it effectively disables the key remotely so the car will only open with one of the buttons pressed and only start when the fob is in very close proximity to the start button. A bit embarrassing really but new car it would be rude not to have a fiddle. anyway it’s all sorted and I can hopefully get on with enjoying it. Thanks again

The fact that Toyota still have a reputation for reliability when almost every other manufacturer has lost theirs, esp. other japanese manufacturers, and even the germans, does say something...! Because of that I can't really fault them for concentrating on the core important areas (i.e. the drivetrain, safety), at the expense of other things (e.g. interior and infotainment).

In my previous jobs I worked for a number of component suppliers to a number of car makers - including Toyota at Burnaston. When I decided to go self-employed the car I chose to buy was as a (used) Toyota. Why? - because Toyota was my most demanding customer. Components were tested to death - and no changes, no matter how small, were allowed without very thorough testing and approval. However, problems do sometimes occur, despite the best efforts of both Toyota and their suppliers. It’s not always due to cost cutting. Rest assured that the supplier of these bushes will have been put through the wringer to resolve the issue - most probably at a large cost to the supplier - both financially and in terms of reputation. But as we all know, s…. happens. And it’s how you resolve the issue that is important.

I also like the old Lexus Landcruiser models like the LX470 etc.

In fairness it is very much luxury at the back, especially with the captain seats, the DVD and tinted windows. Only thing the Estima lacks is the swivel seats.

Hah, this reminds me of when we went looking for one for my dad - For some reason there are loads of Estima dealers on the A13/A127. I think TM UK was one we visited, as well as Autobuddies, Goodmayes Motors and Toho (Which turned out was a bit weird as the address just took us to an industrial unit and the only person there was the mechanic (?) who was preparing the cars after import for sale!) They all seemed generally okay to talk to, but then they would as they're trying to sell you a car! Don't know what they'd be like post-sale as we didn't get one in the end; Dad didn't want to deal with the potential issues with parts and insurance. They'd usually have recommendations of insurers who will insure imports (Be sure to ask for the list!), and often offer options like the aforementioned headunit retrofit. Definitely think up and write down any questions you have beforehand and try not to get too distracted; I do remember the Toho mechanic kept trying to big up the larger vehicles like the Elgrand and Alphard but they were even more ridiculous (I've seen camper vans smaller than those behemoths! ) The Estima itself is an ostentatiously luxurious land barge - The MPG is gonna be garbage no matter which one you get - Even the hybrid is just a token effort, probably just to get the CO2 rating down, as it isn't much better than the petrol ones in terms of power or economy, but it's got Lexus-levels of refinement and luxury and sooo much space. Your passengers will have the time of their lives, esp. in the more ridiculous ones like the ones with reclining 'captains seats' and electric everything It's a lovely place to leisurely cruise around in. Try and look at as many as you can as there are a mindboggling number of variants, drivetrains (2.4, 2.4 hybrid, 3 v6, AWD, eAWD etc.) different trim levels between different models and even just the seating you have 7 seats, 8 seats, captains seats, swivel seats...! I think the biggest downside the Estima has (Aside from being quite thirsty) will be the insurance as we've had quite a few members struggle to find an insurer who wasn't quoting for not only both arms and legs but also a selection of internal organs too. I don't know why Toyota never homologated them for use here - If they made a modern one, esp. with the new more powerful hybrid drivetrains, I'm sure they'd sell pretty well and insuring them would be far easier!

Some are activated carbon filters and some are just ordinary paper filters. I can buy either for my Avensis and I suppose that will apply to every car. Usually, the carbon filter is the dark grey one and the ordinary filter whiteish. They are activated for a reason. And the activation doesn’t last forever.

True... but more tread/road/contact causes inefficiency too. I found it best on a previous Yaris Hybrid to have inflation at 2 psi more than recommended. Reason for this was the tyre wear was on both inner and outer on all tyres for the first year of driving - then after 2 psi more the 2nd and 3rd year was constant even wear. So on my Corolla i have the same.

On older models is much better positioned next to the even better joystick gear shifter. I use ev mode button every day as I drive constantly downhill and have my hybrid battery topped up so often 🔋👍

There are two main types of tyre noises from car tyres: 1. The faulty wheel bearing noise (whining) - this comes from under inflated tyres or some all season and winter tyres. Usually happens on very smooth asphalt and or at lower speeds . 2. The rumble noise - this is happening when tyres are over inflated or too hard as been aged, or has protector deformed, the noise can be more prominent at rough asphalt and at all speeds. Best to stick close to the recommended values. Correct tyres pressures are responsible not only for safety, better efficiency and handling but also for suspension, bearings and shocks longevity and perhaps your plastics inside the interior. Make the tyres rock hard and you will kill all of those above 😬

My guess you tried either a GR Sport or an Excel. Design and below have less hugging seats.

It does show a difference in culture between a japanese horn and, say, a german one. Definitely more of a polite "Pardon me sir" than a "GET THE F*** OUT THE WAY YOU **$&$%& *%$£& OR I'LL &$"$%$£ YOUR WHOLE FAMILY!" I sometimes feel I need a variety of horns for different situations, e.g. "Hello is anyone on the other side of this single-lane blind corner??" and "Excuse me fellow driver but the lights have changed!" and "Pardon me fellow driver but if you could pull forwards just a touch I'll be able to get past you into this left turn" and the always useful "I'M RIGHT HERE USE YOUR *$£#@#%£ EYES INSTEAD OF TURNING INTO THE SIDE OF ME WITHOUT LOOKING YOU BLIND **$%&$* IT'S MIRROR SIGNAL MANOEUVRE YOU IGNORANT #@+=$£&!!"

I've tried it a few times in the past 4 weeks that i've had my car and i love it. I have to force myself to go back to normal. My advice, don't try it.. 😂

What I find with my Yaris is it's lots of hard acceleration that hurts the mpg; Once I get it up to speed and let it settle down to cruise, it seems to run the engine around 2000rpm whether I'm doing 40mph or 70mph, so it can still remain pretty efficient at higher speeds - Much more so than the previous one. I was on an airport run on the weekend, set cruise control for 70mph with a Yaris full of people and luggage and the car was at 2100-2200rpm for almost the whole run except for the hilly bits. I think I actually gained some of the mpg back that I'd been burning off during my work commute previously in the week as I was up 4mpg at the end! One thing I have found in the car is I'm usually a lot less bothered about how fast I'm going, esp. on the motorway, as I usually just flick on the cruise control and let the car follow whoever's in front of me. It's partly because the car has so much instant burst acceleration I know if I get bored I can overtake whenever I like, but also with the CC on I don't have to concentrate on controlling the speed and sortof mentally off-load that onto the car while I concentrate on stopping the LTA/auto-steer from trying to kill me

No specific answer to this question, as we have no idea what your personal needs are. Go to a dealer, have a look at both versions and work out what you need from a car. Lowest price and no large items to carry and not many adults in the rear? - go for the HB. A bit more money to spend - or need to carry larger items - go for the TS. Personally I was moving from an Avensis estate - and have larger / longer items to carry for my business - so the TS was a no- brainer choice.

2.0 TS GR Sport in Manhattan Grey. Looks like the colour seems to be the common denominator.

We have a hatchback as our daughter is now at university and has her own car. If regularly carrying more than just the wife and myself, I would have considered the TS.

Ours was a stock Design, but if sensors were available without the 17” rims and sports suspension we may have factory ordered. I think it is listening to customers rather than replacement for Dynamic as the GR Sport replaced that.

If you have to fit a child's seat in the back, the TS is the one to go for. I reckon the TS looks better too, and you don't get your trousers dirty from the rear bumper when you load the boot!

In this particular car the estate wins by all means, although hatchback is still very good car with a limited rear leg room. I can do with hatchback for my needs as we have two cars but if we are done to one car then estate has to be for more comfort on the rear seats and extra boot space.

Sorry we couldn't help with a competitive quotation. Regards, Dan.

Yea, and e.g. for me it's not practical as I am usually parked on a slope, so I'd rather risk the rear brakes getting stuck than the parking pawl being torn off!

Update The washer fluid tank was indeed empty, I refilled it and all is working as should

Granted not as convenient as the Auris / Prius, but much better than the Yaris.

It’s not activated filter, simple white paper one. The black stuff is tail pipe emissions (carbon deposits and other particles). It does smell of petrol fumes too. Here from my car exactly the same filters old vs new blueprints. 👍

https://londoncarz.com/contact-us/

On the contrary, air con only needs topped up when it is low on gas. My Avensis went 13 years without a top up. I’m also using a 12 year old SEAT Leon that has never been topped up and works perfectly. The dark filter in the picture looks like it is an “activated” filter. The are not all activated as the blue one would appear not to be.

I have seen plenty of fuel filler pipes rotten these, you get fuel spills from the neck when going around corners, that certainly would not help the MPG, check that out The fuel tank thing was USA specific, it did not affect European cars

Thanks for the update John and I’m glad everything was sorted out. The reason for me asking for an update was because I’ve had the same problem. I’m happy to advise that Toyota have also agreed to resolve the issue which was coolant leaking into the exhaust system via a part which has since been upgraded.

Normal

NASY, Hayzee and AnApeNamedJoe, many thanks for the replies, all very encouraging!

Do you mean they still look corroded at this present time or just following delivery? Light corrosion should clear up pretty quickly with a few moderate but sustained stops from high speed.

In case this info helps: I have a 2007 Yaris 1.3 (2SZ-FE engine) with 80k miles. I average around 45mpg doing mostly 4-5 mile trips on open road, typically 30-50mph depending on traffic. Your 38-40mpg may be normal if this includes a lot of stop-start driving in traffic, or higher speeds.

Thanks thats encouraging to know. The weight might be an issue though exceeding 30Kg!

I had a problem getting the correct parts for one of my cars due to this very problem. I cannot remember the car in question and I did not buy it new but I do remember having to be careful buying parts as it was actually made the year before it was register and the later car had a number of changes.

I have Auris with same seat materials and vacuum every week plus wipe clean every second day, the car been used a bit more than average. I clean the seats with wet wipes or dettol antibacterial spray applied on microfibre cloth. Sometimes I use two stage leather care wipes for sofas bought from dfs. I may try this autoglym stuff that Hybrid 21 recommended. 👍

I was sure on the GR Sport specs the rev counter was in fact the power gauge... but it is a rev counter. Shame they did not allow for an adaptable choice (rev counter or gauge). But on the main display you can have the power gauge if you wish... and I always have it on the HUD.

RAF, only disconnect in the app each time you're in the car but that will be a pain to do and then reconnect the services. I take it you have a mobile phone because the tracks you whether you want it to or not even with location services off the phone company know which tower your phone is using. If you use a credit or debit card, shop anywhere you're tracked. Whilst I understand to some extent I think that horse has well and truly bolted. You don't say which country you're from so maybe it's different for you???

I think for this car 40mpg is perhaps on the normal side for town driving and some A roads. If doesn’t start first time you may need to look at fuel air mixture, something about spark plugs again even if they look good if they have 50+ k miles better put a new oem ones, then throttle body, maf sensor check and clean. , replace air filter if it’s dirty. Also if the car burns oil it may clogging the lambda sensors and cat converter. You can try wynns catalytic converter and lambda sensor cleaner. The type of oil you have in the car, I believe the correct one is 0w20. Also you may want to try 99 E5 fuel, this later 95 E10 especially from some supermarkets is not a good fuel, my car just does not like it at all.

Some of those cases are the car itself. With tight emission controls, start-stop systems, ABS and traction control it's very easy to find the car not actually going as hoped. Our non-Yaris has start-stop and we always turn it off after starting (it's not 'sticky') as it's a nightmare.

Hi. If you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line. Regards, Dan.

Yep, have a look at as many as you can. I think overall condition and mileage is probably more important than year. I recently got a 3.5 V6, which is very smooth and refined. MOG is about 25/26 on a whole tank (mostly town driving) but on a run it will do mid to high 30s. There is a noticeable difference difference to ride quality depending what size wheels is has, so bear this in mind. Try admiral insurance….they came back a lot cheaper than anyone else when I insured mine.

Hi @LondonCarl22. I think your looking at about the right plate with that budget. I bought a 2.4 hybrid G edition 3 months ago (I'm by no means an expert) and mine came with 19" alloys plus other added extras, like electric seats, DVD front and back, body kit etc. Personally I think I should have bought the 3.0lt edition petrol, as I've read the fuel efficiency doesn't differ much. The hybrid isn't that refined. One thing that was a total pain was getting cheap insurance. So definitely factor this in to your purchase. This may or may not be an issue, I just found that the cheapo insurers I was use to using like direct line couldn't insure the vehicle. Oh actually another total pain on the imports is the Jap stereo, to get a decent Android double din fitted (with wheel controls plus DVD adaptor) will set you back £400+. Though that will vary depending on the stereo.

Welcome...good choice. Just go see as many examples as you can. They are a great vehicle, reliable and well built. I know nothing of the hybrids (I've had my V6 for 6 years and been totally satisfied on every level.).but I'm not sure that there is much difference between them in terms of mpg...but other's may have found differently. I know nothing of TM I'm afraid. Good luck with your search.

Correct, when going on holidays and the car is full make sure there is nothing to obscure the vent as if the vent gets blocked and restrict air flow you may get yourself into a trouble like the car may even stop and show you hybrid system malfunction messages on the dash. Battery gets warm when travelling on motorway at high speeds , when going downhill and been constantly topped up or when coasting in ev more than usual. Another tip here: because the battery is conditioned by the cabin air nest to use ac when temperatures are 20C° or more and heating set at least 20-22C° when cold in the winter. 👍 Batteries in general likes room temperature of around 20C° all the time 👌🔋

@Obsidian Estate is correct. In the manual I have, the location and cleaning instructions start on page 427.

A couple of photos as it's parked right at the end of the drive - to protect from delivery guy ! ! Got 3 cars now so not much room until the Yeti finds a new home !

Smart move by Toyota, distance themselves away from Arnold Clark.

I have a 2019 touring sport Design. Normal driving it averages high 30s for MPG. On longer motorway runs you can easily get high 40s - particularly with all the 50mph average speed roadworks as they turn the motorways into ‘smart’ roads. The engine is excellent for such a small unit but I do wish the petrol tank was bigger to give better range.