Toyota Auris Touring Sports (2013 - 2019) 1.2T Business Edition TSS 5d Owner Review

1.2T Business Edition TSS 5d

Yesterday 15:38

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In their own words

All the car you actually need.

Is it exciting and desirable? No.
Do people chase you with camera phones trying to take a picture of it? Never...

Is it an absolute swiss army knife of a car? Absolutely, on all
-season tyres as mine is there are very few situations in which it will not put in a competent or better performance. A useful and comfortable place to flop into after a long day along with the family and their piles of stuff and drive home.

Possibly a car you respect rather than love and every other one you see will be a taxi but there's a reason. They are reliable, comfortable, cheap to run and stress free to live with.

I wanted a family car that, economical, was a petrol due to short trips, was well equipped, had good space, a spare wheel and wasn't dog slow without needing 300bhp. It does that brilliantly.

The fact it's not trendy in any way makes it unlikely to disappear overnight. Smaller wheels and tyres are cheaper and less likely to crack on potholes. My particular one is one of the last ones under the previous tax system so 35 quid a year tax, insurance is also low with the TSS system lowering it 2 groups. Also although hybrids are relatively expensive, none hybrid cars seem to be good value prices on a par with a smaller Yaris, however I'd probably avoid the none turbo petrols and the smaller diesel.

If you can find a one with Toyota history they also have 10 year or 100k warranty. So mine if I keep getting it serviced at Toyota will remain under warranty for another 1.5 years.

Not perfect, but perfectly adequate and feels very strong indeed.

How reliable do you find the car?

Car has been generally reliable.

Bought an older car at 75k miles so some general fixing up needed around suspension and tyres. Has a squeaky aux belt which I'll be getting sorted otherwise works like a new car.

Interior has barely aged at all with only a light shine on the steering wheel giving away the miles, seats and the rest of the interior could be from a 6 month old car.

Does the car do everything you expected it to do?

Given the expert reviews I was not expecting much beyond a basic car that did the job.

However I think my particular car is bit of a sweet spot in the range. The 1.2T engine is surprisingly good, powerful and torquey enough to make even the estate reasonably spritely while laden and economical. It also gets the "good" rear independent suspension as fitted to the hybrids without the bigger wheels associated with higher spec cars and all the equipment you can reasonably expect. The manual avoids the rubber band acceleration of and accompanying drone of the CVT models. All the toys work as expected even after 8 years.

Ride quality is very good, cruising noise is low, steering is accurate, brakes are strong. Physically quite small for a medium estate so easy to park and place.

Interior takes 4 including 2 isofix child seats including a rear facing one, although it's sat 5. Boot is large and useful with storage either side. Has a spare wheel and jack, a rarity in the modern era.

Everything you could want in a family car without any pretense does the job doesn't ask anything.