Toyota Avensis 2.2 D4-D Tourer long-term test review

Sharp-eyed readers out there will have spotted that this new Avensis is not the only Toyota currently on our long-term test fleet. It’s like the slightly less interesting cousin to the cool and fascinating Toyota iQ that you’ll also find in these pages – the boring accountant at the iQ’s dinner party, that bloke called Howard in Take That; it’s the Ralf Schumacher of our Toyota long-term line-up.

But don’t worry, I’m here to defend the Toyota Avensis from the many insults thrown at it by people who haven’t actually driven it yet – bloody journalists and their prejudices. And if you haven’t driven this third generation Avensis, then you don’t know that it’s actually refined, well-built, with a high spec, good gearbox and an excellent D4-D turbodiesel engine. It’s also handsome (in estate form at least), it steers well, it has a great stereo, a brilliant touch-screen sat nav system… the list goes on.

So it may not be as interesting as the iQ – or for that matter a BMW or an Alfa – but compared to a Mondeo, the Avensis deserves a bit of recognition, and that’s what I’m here to do.

Our car arrived in March with 1900 miles on the clock. It’s a 2.2 D4-D Tourer in ‘T4’ spec, which means 17-inch alloys, leather trim, cruise control, heated front seats, rain-sensing wipers, dusk-sensing headlights and the same Smart Entry system as our iQ. We also have two options – a sat-nav upgrade including a rear-facing camera (£1470) and Aspen Grey metallic paint (£370). Altogether, CAR’s car stands at £24,400.

I wondered whether giving it an exciting name might help. I was thinking about the ‘Burnaston Rocket’, named after the town where the new Avensis is built, in Derby. Or perhaps ‘Oniwabanshu’ – named after the deadly Ninja sect. But then that’s a bit misleading – what the Avensis does well isn’t scary or thrilling. So I’ve decided to called it Alan instead.

Logbook

Total Mileage 2547 miles

Mileage this month 680 miles

Overall MPG 38.8mpg

Claimed MPG 50.4mpg

Fuel costs this month £74

Other costs None

Highs It’s a refined, well built, highly specced, good looking estate car

Lows Everyone thinks I’m turning beige

Source : Carmagazine

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Bugatti Veyron 16.4 in Abu Dhabi

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is the most powerful, most expensive, and fastest street-legal production car in the world, with a proven top speed of over 400 km/h (407 km/h or 253 mph). It reached full production in September 2005. The car is built by Volkswagen AG subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS and is sold under the legendary Bugatti marque. It is named after racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm. The Veyron features a W16 engine—16 cylinders in 4 banks of 4 cylinders.

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Aston Martin One-77 wins top design prize

It’s having a long drawn-out gestation, but Aston Martin’s One-77 supercar made its world show debut at this weekend’s Villa d’Este, where it scooped the top prize for concept cars and prototypes.

We’ll forgive you if you thought the One-77 had already been unveiled, but the car at Geneva was a technical cutaway rolling chassis – the first finished car is the one show in our photos above.

The One-77 won more than 30% of the votes among the eight cars entered in its category. Chief exec Ulrich Bez said: ‘We have achieved a new level of design and craftsmanship which has been clearly recognised by the public here in the homeland of design at Villa d’Este.’
Aston Martin One-77: the details

This is a supercar at the very top of Aston Martin’s family tree: think Ferrari Enzo or Bugatti Veyron, rather than more hoi-polloi supercars.

Your £1.2m cheque buys you a carbonfibre chassis clad in hand-rolled aluminium body panels and featuring race-spec suspension that owners can tune for their individual requirements. Total kerb weight is around 1500kg.

And the 7.3-litre V12 is a development of Aston’s existing 6.0-litre lump, expanded and tuned to produce ‘over 700bhp’ – enough to qualify the One-77 as a bona fide member of the 200mph club. The benchmark 60mph dash takes 3.5sec, official figures claim.

Source : Carmagazine

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Audi A4 Allroad 3.0 TDI (2009) CAR review

Audi has given the latest A4 Avant the Allroad treatment by raising the ride height and adding some butch cladding. But is it just a load of marketing rubbish? And why wouldn’t you have a Q5?

What’s involved in turning an Audi A4 Avant into an Allroad?

It’s essentially the same trick Audi began using on the A6 nearly a decade ago: chunky plastic cladding to protect the bodywork (or more likely let people know that it’s not a normal Avant) and cover a 19mm wider track, plus there’s a 37mm hike in ground clearance. But unlike the air-sprung A6 Allroad, the A4 has conventional steel springs so the ride height is fixed at that level. An Allroad costs around £1500 more than an A4 Avant Quattro SE with the same drivetrain but does come with 18in alloys and a boot organiser thing as standard.
What’s under the bonnet?

Powertrain options are more limited than in a regular A4. The only petrol engine is the latest Golf GTI’s 207bhp 2.0-litre turbo four, available with manual or S-tronic (DSG) gearboxes, both featuring six speeds. It’s actually quicker than the GTI, reaching 62mph in 6.9sec, 0.3sec sooner, and can return 35mpg. Diesel fans looking for similar performance can choose the beefy 3.0-litre TDI six but most will likely settle for the 2.0TDI.
Is it actually any good off road?

Surprisingly so. Audi laid on a mild off-road course that the Allroad cruised through with no problem – and which an A4 Avant with the same Quattro transmission probably could have tackled equally well. But a couple of quite serious ascents and descents proved not just the level of traction but also the surprisingly generous approach and departure angles. A proper SUV would certainly be able to do more, but the Allroad is capable of handling anything most of us would ever ask of it. Audi mentions research that suggests only 2% of SUV buyers actually ever venture off road.

Source : Carmagazine

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Audi Q3 SUV confirmed for production

Audi has confirmed that it will put the Q3 SUV into production in 2011. The new car will be built at a Seat site in Spain, and Audi expects to invest €300m in the car and produce 80,000 units annually.

Audi is producing the Q3? That’s a bold move in the midst of a recession

Yes, but Ingolstadt is hoping that the world will be a better and brighter place by the time the new 4x4 rolls out of Seat’s Martorell plant in 2011 - it’s also the same year we will see the A1.

‘Following in-depth consideration of all relevant factors and an extensive international comparison of various sites, we selected Martorell,’ explained Audi chairman Rupert Stadler. ‘We are counting on this Spanish site’s efficiency, the excellent quality of the production department, and its highly trained staff. We will use the Group’s synergies to sharpen our competitive edge and help protect around 1200 jobs. The decision furthermore safeguards workplaces at other Audi locations.’

But while Audi has confirmed European production, it has postponed a decision over whether to produce the Q3 in the USA.

Just what is the Q3?

Audi describes the car as ‘a coupe-like five-door SUV with seat positions, wheel size, and ground clearance characteristic of a typical SUV’. To you and me it’s a funky 4x4 to sit below the Q5 and take on BMW's X1.

The Q3 was first previewed to the world in 2007, by the Cross Coupe concept shown at the Shanghai motor show. The production car uses the basic floorpan architecture of the VW Tiguan, and Audi’s Quattro four-wheel drive system will (of course) be available, though an eco-friendly front-wheel drive version is also thought to be on the cars.

Under the bonnet there will be a pair 2.0-litre TFSI engines, producing 168 and 207bhp, but taking the majority of sales will be the 2.0-litre diesel, available in 138 and 168bhp guises.

Source : Audi

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2010 Toyota Tundra and Sequoia SUV Facelift with new 310HP 4.6L V8 and Higher Prices

Ah yes, yet another 2010MY vehicle is being launched in the U.S. This time it's Toyota and its full size 2010 Tundra pickup truck and Sequoia SUV models that will begin arriving at dealerships at the end of the month. Both models benefit from the introduction of a new 4.6-liter V8 engine with 310HP and 327 lb-ft of peak torque that's mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

Compared to the previous 4.7-liter V8, the new engine delivers 34 additional horsepower with a preliminary EPA fuel efficiency rating of 15 mpg city and 20 mpg highway on the Tundra 4x2 models and 14 mpg city and 19 mpg highway on the Sequoia.

Furthermore, all 2010MY Tundra pickups receive a redesigned front grille and tail lamps while there's also an all-new Platinum Package for the CrewMax Limited models equipped with the 5.7-liter V8 and Flex Fuel powertrains. This package adds an array of features such as heated and ventilated seats, sunroof, and wood grain trim, and carries an MSRP of $4,662.

Prices for the 2010 Tundra range from $22,960 for the Regular Cab 4x2 standard bed with a V6 engine to $42,155 for the range-topping CrewMax Limited 4x4 with a 5.7-liter V8 engine. The new MSRPs reflect an average overall increase of $557 over the previous model.

The 2010MY Sequoia SUV has been enhanced with a higher level of standard comfort and safety features such as driver and front passenger knee airbag and the new standard audio system that has been upgraded to include Bluetooth, satellite radio capability and MP3 interface with an auxiliary audio jack and USB port.

The base MSRP for the Sequoia ranges from $38,530 for the SR5 4x2 with a new 4.6-liter V8 engine to $58,905 for the Platinum 4x4 with a 5.7-liter V8. According to the Japanese automaker, the new MSRPs reflect a significant average overall increase of $3,361 for all Sequoia models.

Source : Allworldcars

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