Toyota goes for gold with Auris makeover

Jan 25 2010 Maurice Glover

Toyota goes for gold with Auris makeover

SMOOTHER ride characteristics have been paired with the sharper styling to give Toyota's latest Auris range greater kerbside appeal.

The higher comfort it provides comes with a fresh focus on quality in the British-built family car range boasting a class-leading blend of power, fuel efficiency and low emissions.

The Japanese car maker listened to feedback from customers - then set its engineers to work on retuning the suspension to make the car perform better on European roads with improved handling and greater stability at higher speeds.

Its speed-sensitive electric power steering system has also been revised and refined to deliver more precise feel and improved agility.

Rather than relying on simple tweaks, the company also decided to go back to the sheet metal to give its compact model range more road presence.

'We've comprehensively reworked the front end with a new deep bumper and integrated fog lamps on TR and SR models, new swept-back headlamps, a revised bonnet profile with stronger crease lines and a grille that adopts the new family identity established by the latest generation Avensis and Verso,' said a spokesman.

Just on sale and priced from £14,463, the 2010 Auris also has new 16-inch and 17-inch alloy wheels and turn indicator lights integrated into the door mirrors. At the rear there is a strip of chrome across the top of the number plate, revised lamp clusters and a new rear bumper with extended corner sections.

Soft-touch material has been introduced across the top of the instrument binnacle and around the glovebox, and the centre console has been revised with changes to the instrument design for smarter appearance and improved clarity.

A new addition to the range is the SR. Powered exclusively by the 1.6-litre petrol engine with six-speed manual transmission, this version looks sporty with distinctive alloy wheels, dark-tinted rear privacy glass, roof spoiler with integrated stop lamp, darkened headlamp glasses, sport seat trim and amber-lit analogue dashboard instrumentation.