Toyota Avensis T4 Spirit Auto 1.8 saloon

Advantages: Great value for money, reliable, looks good, very safe car, loads of gizmos
Disadvantages: no rear wash/wipe, no MP3 dock, not brill on MPG, expensive parts

...I have the 4 door saloon from 2002, bought ex-dem at £16,000. List price at the time was £21,000 I think. Mine has done 45,000 miles and has cost little to service and look after, It is a beautiful shade of dark metallic blue. Lovely! I used to have an E class Mercedes and it hard to move away from a car like that but I couldn't afford another one and mine was getting old and unreliable. The Toyota was the only other car I found with a such a big boot. I can get a big pushchair, a pile of random junk, a week's shopping and baby paraphernalia in it with no problem. I think it looks great - though the boot does stick out. It is one of the safest cars on the market - it got top marks for in-car passenger and driver safety according to Which (5 stars), though only slightly below average marks for pedestrian safety if you hit one. I...

sadoldbag 23.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Toyota Avensis 1.8 VVT-i Saloon

One month review of Toyota Avensis.

Advantages: Looks good. Lots of gadgets. Responsive, quiet engine.
Disadvantages: Not very economical. Stiff ride.

...I have owned a 2.2 diesel Avensis hatchback for a month now, having bought it new. The buying process was very long-winded and the dealer seemed more interested in selling me all kinds of insurance and other products, rather than the car itself. And the number of forms I had to fill in and the personal details he wanted was amazing. I thought he was going to ask me the name of my cat the way he was prying! After haggling over price for 4 hours and reaching a staIemate, I went away to think about it over the weekend and then came back with a much reduced offer of £2,000 less than the previous stalemate price. The dealer quickly dropped £1,500 and we did a deal! Altogether, I got 13.5% off the advertised OTR price and free valets for as long as I own the car (not to mention a bunch of flowers). Delighted with my purchase, I got in...

barleydale 13.02.2007 (16.02.2007) · Read review
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Review of Toyota Avensis 2.2 D-4D Hatchback

Avensis ? the ultimate compromise.

Advantages: Well equipped; Fairly Quick ? and silver.
Disadvantages: Acceleration only ?good?; a few rattles.

...I?d owned a ?97 2L Carina for 4 years and I liked that ? but it was getting old. Despite having given solid service I wanted to replace it ? with a budget of £10K plus the Carina. Initially I wanted a low mileage 6th generation Toyota Celica or a recent Honda Prelude ? but those proved far too rare. I considered a 2.5L Galant (but they had shoddy interiors ? which put me off.) I considered an Accord which I liked from the outside but inside lacked equipment ? specifically a factory standard full alarm (and it seemed noisy on the test drive.) I stumbled across a 2 year old Avenis 2.0 CDX and ? despite painfully ugly headlights, horrible front grill and uninspiring rear styling otherwise impressed me. The standard dashboard looks well-made and I like the layout of controls (similar to the Carina.) I am especially a fan...

bristol_steve 02.08.2004 · Read review
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Review of Toyota Avensis 2.0

The car in front is erm.... NOT a Toyota

Advantages: nice styling, nice drive, lots of good gadgets
Disadvantages: reliability on early models

...I can still vividly remember starting a new job around two years ago and being presented with the list of company vehicles from which to choose my new transport for the coming three years. This list was different to all others I had seen - not the bog standard list of Ford and Vauxhall - it had Peaugot and Toyota on it, and also some quite high spec'd models from the ranges too. After extensive trudging around the possible manufacturers dealerships in the local area, and after much deliberation,I plumped for the Toyota Avensis 1.8GLS 5-door saloon in a beautiful head-turning 'Carribean blue metallic'. I would state at this point that this report/review is not centered around cost/value - as you will appreciate this would be a company vehicle and not my own hard earned cash being spent. Please note also that the main reason behind...

wacjac 21.02.2001 (25.02.2001) · Read review
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Review of Toyota Avensis 1.8

Today, Tomorrow Toyota

Advantages: Excellent Customer Services, Excellent aftersales
Disadvantages: Earlier dealerships didnt live up to expectations

...I visited various Toyota dealerships for a good 18 months before taking the plunge in 2005 and buying my Avensis. I found the various dealerships varied quite a lot in terms of customer services prior to a sale. Once the sale had been completed, the aftersalesare second to none. --Dealerships -- I visited dealerships throughout the Midlands in order to find my dream car, my findings are as follows :- Listers Toyota - Coventry This was the first dealer I visited. I was allowed to view the cars on the forecourt with no pressure from the salesman. The cars however were not presented in tip-top condition in my opinion. For example, car seats were left dirty, trim had not been tidied up, etc. When I got talking to the salesman he didnt appear that helpful, basically laughing me down when I told him what car I was looking...

craggybuk 07.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Toyota

50+ MPG for a People Carrier!!

Advantages: 7 Seats and 50 mpg
Disadvantages: A bit on the expensive side.

...position and especially excellent fuel consumption. Technical stuff. Toyota Avensis Verso 2.0 D-4D 5 door On The Road Car Price £18,500 Body Type People Carrier ( MPV ) Driven Wheels Front Wheel Drive ( FWD ) Engine Data Engine Capacity 1995 cc Cylinders 4 Power 115@4000 ( bhp / rpm ) Torque 184@1800-3000 ( lb / ft ) CO2 Emissions 173 ( g /km ) Performance 0 > 62 mph Acceleration12.5 seconds Maximum Speed 112 mph Safety Rating and Insurance Group NCAP Crash Test Rating No Data Insurance Group 8 Maintenance and Warranty Service Interval 10000 miles Warranty 3 years / 60000 miles Fuel Fuel Type Diesel Fuel Capacity 13.2 gallons / 60 litres When driven carefully I can achieve a combined fuel consumption of 50. mpg Dimensions and Capacities Length 4690 mm Width 1760 mm Height 1675 mm Wheel...

mark1961 20.08.2004 (27.09.2004) · Read review
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Review of Toyota Avensis Verso

A Good Japper Made Here In The U.K.

Advantages: Reasonably priced. Extremely reliable. Economical to run and maintain.
Disadvantages: A bit sluggish. Lot of road noise. VERY intrusive seat belt warning.

...~ ~ Toyota, and one of their main Japanese competitors Nissan, have been the most popular choice of vehicle for the Irish taxi-driving fraternity for about the past 15 years. The main reason for taxi driver’s fondness for vehicles from the land of the Rising Sun is fairly simple to understand. They are reasonably priced, economical to run and maintain, spacious, and last virtually forever without breaking down. For a taxi driver, their trouble free record is one of their most important attributes. Time spent off the road can be irritating and inconvenient for the average motorist; for a taxi driver it’s disastrous, as it means a total loss of income! ~ ~ The latest model of the Toyota Avensis follows admirably in the footsteps of its predecessor. In a previous incarnation, the Avensis was called the “Carina”...

the_mad_cabbie 25.04.2003 · Read review
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Review of Toyota Avensis 1.8

Toyota Starlet GT

Advantages: Fuel Economy, Fast, Comfortable, reliable, head turning looks.
Disadvantages: Need an aftermarket fog light as these cars are imports.

...First of all i will begin my review of the Toyota Starlet GT by giving you a brief history of the vehicle. The first model of the Starlet GT (chassis code EP82) was produced in 1990 and continued on through until 1995 when production was ceased.The code given to the engine used was 4-EFTE. During the 5 years of manufacture the GT went through a slight cosmetic change from having square lamps at the front (pre <94 models) to having rounded headlights. I have been a member of a few starlet enthusiast clubs for a while now and this newer model ( post 94>) tends to be called a "quadlight model". Also the post 94> models had a revised tailgate from the pre <94 models, the difference being a reflective strip being removed from between the rear tail lights. I personally own a Toyota Starlet GT so i will be talking from my own experiences...

MarcMontgomery 12.09.2007 (13.09.2007) · Read review
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Review of Toyota Starlet

  The dealer in front is a Toyota!

Advantages: Friendly, professional, helpful
Disadvantages: A long way from home.

...was minimal, but had I been in my husbands MR2, I don?t think the car would have stood much chance of survival. On this basis, we decided to step up our search for a safer car. We found what we thought was our ideal car at Inchcape Toyota in Nottingham. We had to be sure that it was exactly what we wanted before driving there as it is quite a trek. <<<The telephone call>>> I phoned the company, and spoke to a salesperson, who told me they still had the vehicle I wanted, and gave me some information about it. The telephone was answered promptly, and courteously, which is obviously a good start. <<<Finding the place>>> Now, although I can get to Nottingham, I do have problems navigating my way around. No problem. When I got lost, the member of staff on the other end of the phone was very helpful, and directed us in. I should...

Testarossa 02.10.2004 · Read review
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Review of Toyota

Highly recommended

Advantages: Reliable, great motorway cruiser, refined, great interior
Disadvantages: Dull styling, rear suspension not that great for towing

...I have had this car since 2006. This is a company car so I will not mention price. Good points: This car does everything well. The thing it does best though is eat up the motorway miles. It is such a relaxing car and the 2.2 litre diesel really does pull well. It is one of the first cars I have driven which you can drive 90mph+ and it still feels like you are doing 60 mph. Considering this size of car is probably going to spend a lot of time on the motorway this is a definite plus. Toyota reliability does also not disappoint. Had absolutely no problems yet after 2 years of use with 63k miles on the clock just the usual servicing. Usually what lets these cars down though is the interior which normally feels very shoddy. Not so with the Avensis. It feels like they have taken pointers from their parent company Lexus. The plastics feel...

kyussmondo 27.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of Toyota Avensis 2.0 D-4D Saloon