Toyota Auris (2007 - 2013) 2.2 D-4D SR180 5d Owner Review

So far so good!… wanted something faster than the little fiesta I had before and I’m impressed with what I found.. couldn’t afford a proper hot hatch but when I came across this I wasn’t sure at first but all I can say is wow, it’s not as quick or as good looking as a hot hatch but I’d say despite appearances it’s more than just an old persons car with a big engine.. not the fastest car in the world but it pulls very nicely.. I can overtake on the winding moor roads on my way to work with ease (due to some drivers doing speeds way UNDER the limit not because I’m a yobbo), very smooth ride and with independent rear suspension it takes corners beautifully, fast or slow it doesn’t matter. Not the prettiest car in the world but from the back and sides at least it looks kinda cool (thanks to the little spoiler). Only complaints are that at 60+ mph you get quite a bit of road noise even with the nice big tyres you need to have your radio turned up a bit plus it’s easy to get a bunch of bugs on the front as it’s not the most aerodynamic front end but not really a problem as it’s definitely not a showroom car, engine is loud even for a diesel but oh well there’s no replacement for displacement, unless silence is something you desire but I’m only saying what I think 😁. I had my mechanic friend take a look at it and he was impressed. Not for my car in particular but as a whole, the Auris in general is very well built and providing it’s looked after it shouldn’t have any major problems (at the end of the day if you know cars and look after them you can make almost any make/model last a long time), he said the only thing you need to keep an eye on with these cars is rust as that’s a killer of many great cars (but that goes without saying really), many good cars get bad names by people some of which are so stubborn that they won’t admit they either overlooked an obvious detail, didn’t know what they were looking at in the first place, or are just bad drivers in general who think a car is just a thing that’s meant to work when in reality it is a complex machine that requires care. As a car guy myself I know it’s not a head turner but I didn’t buy it for its looks… it’s a perfectly good car for people with more sense than money (maybe not the 2.2 diesel but I’m not really bothered about fuel consumption), why they made their fastest model a diesel I will never know.. I’d always prefer a petrol but a 1.6 doesn’t really do it for me. Aaaaaanyway.. it looks decent, has decent power, decent fuel consumption (driving normally), equipment is great it’s got everything you need (you don’t need heated seats, 4wd, adaptive cruise control with lane assist and a bunch of electrical nonsense that will only go wrong and will cost a bomb to repair), can’t say much about reliability as I haven’t owned it long but hey.. its a Toyota that was made before cars were fitted with what I like to call “electrical everything”.. it’s strongly built and spare parts are everywhere, believe me I’ve looked. If like me you look after your cars and you know how they work, it shouldn’t let you down. If I had more money to spend I probably wouldn’t have bought it but until I can get a good looking speed machine I’m totally satisfied with it. Spacious, strong, reliable (lets hope)…if I had to sum it all up in one word… Decent.