Toyota Avensis reviews

This car was chosen as we had a new arrival in the house, our Mini clubman diesel was no longer able to do the job when we went on trips away for the weekend due to the lack of space. as we did not realise quite how significant this was so our purchase of the replacement was quite rushed. we were looking at this model, as well as the VW Passat estate and the Honda Accord estate amongst others. we went for this one in the end as we had lined up some of these and an Accord for viewing at car giant in London but the Accord sold out as we were travelling there. We were not too impressed by the interior of this car in comparison with that of the Passat, but stuck with the Toyota as we believed it stood a better chance of being reliable. the Sat Nav is about as annoying and clunky as any I have used, its route planning is only slightly better than guesswork, I find it really annoying that it will not allow any instructions to be entered once you are moving, I understand why this is but when I have an assistant in the passenger seat it seems a shame not to make full use of him/her. For some reason there is no provision to take you to a post code, but you can go to a phone number! very odd. the cars performance is ok once you get moving, but pulling of from a standstill there seems to be some kind of lag/hesitancy, this can be quite alarming when you try to pull out quickly from a junction. it seems the only way to reliably overcome this is to raise the revs and slip the clutch a little, not nice to do repeatedly. for summer we run the car on Toyo tyres, and I have Continental 830TS winter tyres (currently only on the front) for the winter season. The car handles well like this, in winter the continentals on the front gave me much confidence on the colder days. on the snowiest day we had whilst others seemed to be skating all over the place our car steered and braked straight and true. In summer the Toyo's give quiet running with confidence. Our biggest bugbear with the car is the economy, this falls well below what I would expect for a modern diesel. I am considering if re chipping the car would sort out the economy and the lack of go when pulling away from standstill. The interior is quite good, apart from the quite dated dash design, the radio is almost as clunky as the Sat nav to operate, the space in the back is good for most loads although the contraption that holds the luggage/dog net and the security/privacy cover for the rear load area seems to get in the way of most loads we attempt to carry Overall the car has been very reliable so far, we do intend to keep it for a while longer, the next evolution of this car would be a consideration, as it does address some of the interior and styling issues of this model, I would try to ascertain that the economy would not be as disappointing as this model, probably the 2.0 litre would be a better choice for us than the 2.2 D

I acquired this 18 months ago to replace an older 1600cc petrol version that was beginning to need a lot of work done. It took me a long time to get used to the 6 gears. The ratios, especially in the lower gears are so different I kept stalling the car as I was in the wrong gear for the speed I was doing. A trip across Europe proved the worth of the 6th gear. I was at first disappointed with the mpg as it was quite a lot less than the published figures until the garage explained how these are achieved - rolling road inside and no load at all. The mpg achieved was a good 20% better the previous petrol version. I did , however, find it difficult to keep a steady momentary mpg (no cruise control on my version). It seemed just a twitch of a toe made a big difference to the displayed figure and my ankle seized up trying to keep the accelerator pressure steady. The garage looked at this on my return and it's been better since. The new car is also in a lower insurance bracket than the old one yet is as comfortable for long journeys and seems to carry as much. I am very satisfied with my choice

I have had my Avensis since it was 18 mths old. A beautiful looking vehicle gorgeous colour and had to have her!!!! I have travelled 60,000 miles with her and she has NEVER let me down and we have had only maintenance costs. I am selling her now and sadly going down to a smaller car. (We have two). I have been so pleased with the comfort, space and affordability of the car. Road holding is solid but not heavy light on the steering wheel and ease of manouverability. Many of today's mod cons exist. Even if the SatNav is dated it works well. Huge roomy boot space. I cannot recommend the vehicle enough to those wanting a reliable trustworthy motor with comfort and style. petrol consumption has always been very good up to 40 locally and long journeys 45+ dependent on speed and type of journey. Want a lovely lady to nurture then its the Toyota Avensis. Suffice to say I take on my exchange vehicle next week a 61 plate Toyota Yaris. It had to be a TOYOTA. Not so pretty not such good visibility but I can adapt.

Would be better on fuel if I didn't keep so much in the boot, 'just in case', but like to be prepared! Only downside I can think of is the dashboard. When the engine is switched on, it lights up orange, giving the impression of already having put the headlights on, very dangerous in the dark! Took a while to get used to, but now automatically look for the (green) lights icon to be lit up-at which point the dashboard light dims. The air-con/climate control is very good, great for the summer. Boot very roomy. With seats dropped, loads of room. I just moved a 'Bistro' type breakfast table and two chairs, plus several assorted bags and shopping, and could have got more in, although I've only done this once and couldn't get the seats right down. However,I was alone, I am slightly disabled, and have joint pain so couldn't get any 'umph' behind it. An able-bodied person probably wouldn't have the same trouble. I would recommend this car to anyone who likes the feel of a solid car around them.

I traded in a Saab 9-5 Aero which we had 11 years and never failed an MOT, so sad to see it go. The Avensis we bought had done 16,450 miles, so very low miles for a 3 year old car. It's as spacious as my old Saab and build appears solid. The 1.8 litre petrol engine is smooth and almost silent on tick over and the auto box is very responsive and effortless. The balance of the 5 year warranty (18 months) remains so peace of mind is reassuring. The Toyota dealer in Milton Keynes were excellent and easy to deal with, so Hopefully my local dealer in Bournemouth will equally be a positive experience when I visit for servicing. I've owned all the top German brands and both Saab/Volvo and so far the the Toyota impresses in so many ways. It does everything well and is a very underrated car indeed. Quietly brilliant and solid, and you just feel good, that ones driving a sensible machine that's built for longevity. By owning one for the first time, I can now fully understand why people buy them.

My Toyota Avensis Vermont D4D is nearly 14 years old, with 110,000 miles on the clock. In the last five years, at MoT test, the only comments have been "the number plates need to be replaced" and "the indicator lights are not orange enough". While hoping not to tempt fate, this car starts first time, goes like a train when required, is reliable beyond words and is as cheap as chips to run. But diesel engines are rapidly becoming frowned upon, because of the emissions (and I really do get that). Also, it's a fact that when lean-burn diesels became widely available in the mid 1990s, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Dear Gordon, bless him) decided to massively increase fuel duty on DERV which made diesel more expensive than petrol. So my next purchase will probably be a petrol-engine, mid-size saloon. I'm not really looking forward to that day. Has anybody got any (helpful) suggestions?

Broadly a comfortable and reliable car, but let down by a number of shortcomings. Poor lighting - dipped beam doesn't actually put that much light onto the road, even having replaced original plastic units with metal-based revisions; only one rear fog, only one reversing, which is next to useless. Load space limited; restricted by suspension intrusions; I could get lots more bulky equipment into my previous Mk4 Astra estate. Turning circle not impressive - but then it is a FWD vehicle. Frightfully heavy clutch - a candidate for power-assist if ever there was one. Large gaps around sun visors - just like all the rest of them. And fuel economy - clearly offset against performance of course; yes, it returns about 55mpg used principally on my out-of-town main road commuting run, but I still have to drive like an old granny to achieve that figure.

As I approached 60 years of age and having driven for forty years I bought my first foreign car. Always a Ford man until they brought the Modeo out and then switched to Vauxhall (GM). Had two Vectras - the first was written off by an uninsured criminal - and I have got to say I wish I had bought an Avensis years ago. The small and niggling problems that seemed to occur with the Vectra are now a thing of the past (the ECU of my 2nd Vectra packed up after 70k miles and Vauxhall quoted £964 for a replacement - the car was not worth that much!!). Switched to an Avensis and simply had no problems - very comfortable, reliable and for a car 10 years old looking good. Only downside is that it is more or less impossible to replace a headlight bulb unless you are skilled - took it to Halfords and it took him 25 mins to do it. All round a class car

I had this car from when it was 3 years old. It is an excellent all rounder, very spacious for carrying large loads, very comfortable quiet ride for passengers and driver. It is quiet with regard to road noise and when the engine is on you cannot really hear it. I have roof bars for it and I have used it for all kinds of removals. It has low profile tyres which are a pain as they seem to puncture very easily, especially if you go down a pot hole and the tyres are very expensive, but given that not much else ever goes wrong its not too bad in the grand scheme of things. I have had to have a new alternator and battery and the airconditioning motor stoppped working. I didnt replace the AC motor as it was £700 so I just open the windows now!This car always passes its MOT and apart from wiper blades it doesnt really need much up keep.

The car is very comfortable with plenty of extras, some of which are buyer added. The car is reliable and relatively economical (but not to the extent advertised). As a top of the range model it should, in my view, come with DAB radio included. This dealer fitted extra has been a disappointment and problems with the interface between Bluetooth and the DAB radio have seen the car spend more time in the garage than should have been the case. It performs well, with good acceleration and good braking, handles well on all types of road and road surfaces. The headlights are excellent, all-round visibility reasonable good (but parking would be much more difficult without the rear parking sensors and reversing camera. Al-in-all I would recommend it to drivers who spend a lot of time on motorways (as I do).

I bought a pre registered Avensis in 2009 not long after the new style came out. At £15000 it seemed a good buy for a car of that size with just delivery miles. It has been completely reliable, which was what I hoped for in choosing that model. It is more economical than previous cars getting 48mpg in the city with lots of stop and start and 55mpg on long continental motorway runs cruising at 130kph. Servicing has been economical too on a 3 year deal and it has not required any expensive bits. I find it comfortable and easy to drive. Its only demerit is the automatic handbrake which I find slow to operate (noticeable in a queue on an incline, where a conventional handbrake is quicker and gives more control). Only the handbrake would deter me from buying another when the time comes.

The Avensis Estate (tourer, according to Toyota) is an old fashioned throwback to the traditional UK estate car. No problem there if you want or need the huge space that such a car provides but it is neither cool nor exciting to drive - it simply does what it says on the tin! The roof mounting holes for Thule accessories and the like are of course essential and work fine. The rear window wipers only do a fair job of keeping the rear windscreen clean and the front lighting could be brighter (but also has no option to turn off daylight running lights, which I hate...). The interior luggage space cannot be faulted and the reliability of the car is excellent, although the fixed servicing costs are rather high to my mind - although the 12,500 service interval is better than most Toyotas.

Considering that this is a larger car, its load-carrying ability is severely limited by a rather high rear platform and by major intrusions inboard of the wheel arches - I could get far more into my previous car, Astra mk4 estate. Numerous other weak points: poor lighting - dipped headlights are far inferior to many others, often leaving me dazzled and guessing where the road has gone. Only one each of rear fog and reversing light - the latter particularly useless. The clock - the gadget that displays the time - should have been integrated with the radio using RDS - Vauxhall managed to do this ten years earlier. Fuel economy is reasonable - I can manage 54-55 mpg (diesel) on predominantly rural main roads - but have to drive extremely conservatively to achieve it.

The Avensis 'tourer' - AKA estate car - will never turn heads or be first away from the traffic lights but it is reliable, very spacious and holds the road well. Roofbars would be a nice addition from new but the in roof fittings are perfectly adequate to add aftermarket bars and few owners will be bothered about the minor loss of mpg. The permanent daytime running lights at the front are a personal bugbear and are, I think, too bright in any case and the car is quite heavy on tyres but any niggles are forgotten whenever you wish to fill the cavernous interior with 'stuff'. It is not a car to quicken the pulse and it is not a cheap choice but is well specified and cruises motorways and byroads equally well.

I was surprised at how good the car was when I first test drove it. Much better than the motor magazine reviews. The build quality is excellent, driving position is very comfortable and the ergonomics are as good as a Mercedes. The use of space, including back seat legroom and boot is remarkable for such a relatively small car. It's also quiet to drive and eats up bumps in the road. Having said all that, it's probably an 'old man's car' and that's why I like it. It's my first Japanese car, although I have driven plenty in the USA. Would I buy another Toyota - sure I would. Ideally one with a higher seating position, like a Rav4. I don't need a 4 wheel drive, but something with a better all round vision.

Having owned the car for over three years now, I am still quite happy with it. Being retired I now drive only 7000 miles annually in this car. Things I like about the car;- 1) large reliable diesel engine 2) Comfort - plenty of room for 4 or 5 adults and luggage 3) Reliability 4) Fuel economy 5) Well built by Toyota (I have also an 11 year old petrol Avensis which is still running well) 6) Cruise control - one of the main reasons I bought the vehicle. When I replace the vehicle, I will have an open mind as to what to purchase, however another Toyota will be considered.

I got car from new. Apart from a few silly warranty niggles, eg, the hatch lid rattled, the coin box got stuck etc, it has been very reliable. It drives well and is comfortable over long journeys. Servicing costs have been minimal. The biggest problem has been that the rear DISCS go rusty, and wont pass the Mot! now on 3rd pair. Car has only done 63000. I've never had a vehicle before where the discs need changing before the pads!!. Overall, I'm fairly happy with the car, and would have changed to a newer one by now, but Toyota have dropped the hatchback model.

A good sized family car with good handling and performance. A little disappointing on fuel consumption which is nothing like that claimed but overall better than my previous car a Renault Scenic 2 litre petrol car. The dealership that sold me the vehicle is very good and has serviced the car twice since purchase and quickly dealt with a couple of minor niggles. The car is very comfortable and has ample space for my family needs and has not had any reliability issues so far.

Although this is the new model, and i previously owned the old model, the build quality, reliability and fuel consumption are all worse. The build quality of the interior is not as good as other cars of the same level. The extras are good espeshially the sound system and parking camera, although the electronic handbrake is a step backwards and the manual handbrake should have been fitted. Overall i would have to give some serious thought to having another avensis.

The Avensis estate is never going to have queues outside the dealerships, but it is a decent, reliable, hardworking car that can happily fit a family and dog with excellent luggage space and relatively low running costs. I average over 47 mpg in real conditions (though it is noticeably thirstier in the first 15 minutes before it warms up, so perhaps not best for the school run. Only downside is the large turning circle due to the long wheelbase.