Toyota Auris Hybrid 1.8 VVT-i Excel CVT
What is it?
THIS is the new shape, new generation Toyota Auris Hybrid.
The new Toyota Auris 1.8 hybrid caps a completely re-engineered Auris range for 2013, as Toyota sets out to grab a bigger slice of the key Focus-Astra-Golf C-sector of the market with this effectively all-new Mk 2 model.
As dependable and durable as the Auris has been to date, it hasn’t exactly set too many hearts a-flutter in the styling and driver appeal stakes. 
Toyota has now set out to rectify this, starting with a significantly lower and sleeker body which captures the eye in a way the original never did.
The new design also debuts the new Toyota’ family face’ while underneath, heavily revised suspension and electric power steering come on board, along with revised Hybrid Synergy Drive, to make the Auris more incisive to drive.
The new Toyota Auris also weighs less, around 50 kgs on average, across the range and boasts a more rigid structure. The new body is also more aerodynamic.
The new Auris is being built at Toyota’s Burnaston plant in the UK and comes to market with a choice of 1.33 litre and 1.6 litre petrol engines. There’s also a 1.4 litre diesel as well as this range-topping 1.8 litre hybrid. Toyota says that further engines will come to the range in time, just as the new wagon spin-off, the Auris Touring Sports, will debut in July 2013.
Company car tax is at the lowest rate, there’s no road tax, and the Auris Hybrid returns 75 mpg. Toyota says it has ‘the best running costs in the UK of its kind’
As well as making the new Auris cleaner and more efficient, Toyota has also put a lot of work into lowering running and ownership costs. Indeed, the claim is that the Auris will have ‘the best running costs in the UK of its kind,’ sweet words for all SME business car managers.
The new 1.8 hybrid debuts with ultra low C02 emissions of 87 g/km (so 2 g/km better than the old car) and emits virtually no NOX or particulate matter, Toyota says, thus making it one of the greenest cars on the road.
The new Toyota Auris also introduces a new grade structure: Active, Icon, Sport and Excel – which in turn will apply to all European models by the end of July 2013.
Prices span £14,495 -£21,745 OTR with this 1.8 Hybrid Excel sitting right at the top the range. There is one less expensive, the Toyota Auris 1.8 Hybrid Icon, at £19,995, which Toyota expects to be the target car for most company car drivers. 
What’s hot?
- Strong ‘green’ figures of 87 g/km and nearly 75 mpg; £0 VED; 10% benefit in kind company car tax and no London congestion charge.
- Plus for those small businesses that purchase, accelerated cash flow thanks to its 100% first year write down allowance.
- The new Auris design is sharper and more Eurocentric contemporary, so giving it more visual impact than the old model.
The new seats are more supportive, but the dashboard isn’t up to the quality of some of the Auris’ competitors - With its revised steering and suspension, new, lowered body and low centre of gravity, the new Auris handles very sweetly, with good body control and high level of refinement at speed.
- Good level of adhesion and supple, well controlled ride.
- Excellent aerodynamics (Cd of just 0.277) help contribute to car’s improved handling stability and improved fuel consumption.
- New front seats offer enhanced thigh/back support
- The seamless nature of the car’s Hybrid Synergy drive. The 1.8 engine cuts in and out unobstrusively and in EV Mode, the Auris Hybrid can run for up to 1.25 miles at speeds of up to 50 mph on silent battery power.
- Clever packaging of the hybrid system and battery means no loss of cabin space versus the ‘normal’ Auris. Boot space has even increased 30% to 360 litres.
- 8 year/100,000 mile hybrid battery warranty, to go with the standard 5 year/100,000 vehicle warranty.
What’s not?
- The new-look Auris dashboard lacks visual appeal and features too many lower grade plastic switches and fittings. Would seem to be way behind the Golf, for instance, for style, durability and quality
- The 1.8 hybrid system works well around town but lacks instant (diesel-like) torque for quick overtaking on the motorway
- Although the control logic of the Hybrid Synergy Drive’s planetary gear transmission has been improved, there is still an annoying mismatch between vehicle speed and engine revs when you need to accelerate quickly.
