New Toyota Avensis 1.6D Active 5Dr Diesel Estate for Sale

Background

Toyota's Avensis has established a reputation as a beautifully built and, in recent years, rather good-looking family car but it faces two big issues. The first is that the market for mainstream family cars is shrinking. The second is that as the Avensis gets ever better, it treads increasingly uncomfortably onto the toes of its cousin, the Lexus IS. Therefore it's perhaps understandable that Toyota hasn't given the latest Avensis a massive build up. It deserves it though, not least because the range now offers a far more credible portfolio of diesel options. Gone is the old inefficient 2.2-litre unit, replaced with a 2.0-litre powerplant with power upped to 141PS. Slotting in beneath that is the unit we're going to look at here, the 1.6-litre D-4D diesel with 110PS. This is the engine the Avensis range has always needed to make meaningful headway in this segment.
Driving Experience

Although much of the emphasis on this latest car is on the styling, quality and equipment, the real story here is the installation of the BMW-derived 1.6-litre 110PS D-4D diesel engine beneath the bonnet of entry-level variants. It's an efficient and quite acceptably rapid thing, making 62mph from rest in 11.4s en route to 112mph. And on the road? Well this still isn't the sharpest handler in the Mondeo class but it's a lot more responsive through the bends than it used to be. The suspension basics remain much the same, with a MacPherson strut up front and slick double wishbones at the back, but both elements have been tweaked to improve ride and handling. Steering feel and responsiveness have been improved by the use of a new intermediate shaft, a revised anti-roll bar and an increase in body shell rigidity through the use of a powerful urethane to bond the windscreen. Toyota has also put more sound insulation into the Avensis, as well as fitting thicker rubber seals. The air conditioning has even been made quieter.
Design and Build

The first thing you'll probably notice is that the Avensis has a fresh face. It's not the most sweeping of restyles, that's for sure, but there are neater headlight and tail light pods. Overall vehicle length has been increased by 40mm and the Toyota emblem is set more prominently with a smaller but sharper-styled upper grille. The grille itself has a chrome trim bar, while the lower grille has been made significantly larger and the fog lamp housings have been pushed out to the extremities of the bumper, making the vehicle appear broader. Revised designs for the alloy wheels and added brightwork on the sill help this model stand out a bit more too. The cabin has been treated to some brightening up, with uprated trim finishes and colour schemes. Toyota hasn't done things by halves here, with a redesigned instrument binnacle, the tacho and speedo being separated by a 4.2-inch colour TFT screen on some models. The steering wheel, gear lever and switchgear have also been updated. Better consistency of typefaces and lighting are complemented by satin chrome highlights. Higher-grade seating fabrics also feature, with a revised front seat design that offers improved comfort. Build quality is a testament to the workers at the Burnaston plant near Derby, this facility routinely achieving some of the best ratings of any Toyota assembly facility. Remember, there's also a Touring Sports estate version on offer if you need a bit more hauling space.

Market and Model

There's a premium of around £1,000 to own this 1.6-litre D-4D diesel Avensis rather than its directly-comparable 1.8-litre VVT-i petrol-powered stablemate. That means pricing that starts from around the £19,000 mark, with a model-for-model premium f around £1,200 if you want the Touring Sports estate model rather than the standard saloon. There's a choice of three trim levels - 'Active', 'Business Edition' and 'Business Edition Plus'. Entry-level models feature a black and grey interior colour scheme and are equipped as standard with manual air conditioning, cruise control with speed limiter, LED daytime running lights, a stereo with Bluetooth and USB and there's also the peace of mind afforded by Toyota Safety Sense system. Step up a grade and there's some rather pleasant Alcantara upholstery and a Dual Ambient colour scheme giving a choice of Terracotta or Light Grey interior finishes. Equipment includes automatic air conditioning, a 4.2-inch colour TFT multi-information screen, Automatic High Beam and dusk-sensing headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, 17-inch alloy wheels, fog lamps, combination fabric and Alcantara seat upholstery, an enhanced version of the Toyota Safety Sense system and the Toyota Touch 2 multimedia system, incorporating a rear-view camera. At the top of the range, the Avensis gets features such as smart entry, full-leather upholstery and Toyota Touch 2 with Go Plus, incorporating satellite navigation. Customers will be able to extend this specification with a premium pack, adding 18-inch wheels, LED headlamps with an Adaptive Front Lighting system, power-adjustable front seats with a memory function and a Skyview panoramic roof.

Cost of Ownership

It almost goes without saying that the running cost figures for this 1.6-litre D-4D Avensis are very class-competitive. They couldn't afford not to be. Expect 68.9mpg on the combined cycle and 108g/km of CO2, the kinds of figures you'd have expected from a little supermini until quite recently. An increase in service intervals to 12,500 miles and a reduction of about 20% in the 56,000 mile/three-year servicing costs have helped make all Avensis diesel models cheaper to run.

Miles Per Gallon

Insurance Group

Performance (BHP)

Number Of Seats

CO2 (g/km)

Road Tax

Specification
Body Glass
Front intermittent wipers
Electric front windows
Rear wiper
Brakes
Brake assist
Hill start assist
Active Traction Control (TRC)
VSC with ABS and EBD
Emergency brake assist
Electronic parking brake
Communication
Bluetooth system
Driver Aids
Cruise control
PAS
Forward collision warning
Adjustable speed limiter
Driver Information
Trip computer
Driving Mirrors
Body colour door mirrors
Electrochrome rear view mirror
Electric door mirrors
Heated door mirrors
Auto dimming rear view mirror
Embellishment Trims
Air vents in Silver-chrome
Engine
Diesel particulate filter
Entertainment
Steering wheel audio controls
CD player
6 speakers
Radio
Aux-in socket
Exterior Body Features
Body colour door handles
Body colour bumpers
Chrome window surround
Single exhaust tailpipe
Piano black grille with chrome inserts
Exterior Lights
LED daytime running lights
LED rear lights
Follow me home headlights
Headlamp levelling
Heating/Cooling/Ventilation
Manual air conditioning
Interior Features
Front armrest
Leather gear knob
Cloth upholstery
Rake/reach adjustable steering wheel
Pelham cloth upholstery
Front and rear door pockets
Rear coat hooks
3 spoke leather steering wheel
Fabric door trim
Front centre console storage box
Front and rear cup holders
Satin Chrome door handles
Chrome gear shift lever
12v power outlet - front
Interior Lights
Illuminated entry system
Front/rear passenger personal lamp
Safety
Drivers knee airbag
Tyre pressure warning
5 three point seatbelts
Driver and passenger side airbags
Passenger airbag deactivate switch
Active front headrests
Rear curtain airbags
Front curtain airbags
Front and rear seatbelt reminder
Autonomous emergency braking
Driver and passenger airbags
Toyota safety sense
Pre crash system
Seats
5 height adjustable headrests
Isofix child seat preparation
60/40 split rear seats
Driver seat height adjust
Seatbelt pretensioners and force limiters
Security
Remote control central locking
Folding key
Alarm
Immobiliser
Speed sensitive auto door locking
Vanity Mirrors
Sun visors with mirrors
Wheels
16" steel wheels
Wheels - Spare
Space saver spare wheel

Options
Packs
Entertainment pack - Avensis - iPad/DVD	£900.00
Entertainment pack - Avensis - master/master DVD	£1,250.00
Entertainment pack - Avensis - master/slave DVD	£1,000.00
Entertainment pack - Avensis - single DVD	£750.00
Entertainment pack - Avensis - single iPad holder	£400.00
Entertainment pack - Avensis - twin iPad holders	£500.00
Chrome pack - Avensis	£350.00
Parking pack - Avensis	£550.00
Protection pack - Avensis	£350.00
Paint - Metallic
Metallic - Platinum bronze	£545.00
Metallic - Eclipse Black	£545.00
Metallic - Tyrol silver	£545.00
Metallic - Decuma Grey	£545.00
Metallic - Aspen grey	£545.00
Metallic - Orion blue	£545.00
Metallic - Manhattan grey	£545.00
Paint - Solid
Solid - Pure white	Standard
Exterior Body Features
Solid paint	Standard
Metallic paint	£545.00
Pearlescent paint	£795.00
Paint - Pearlescent
Pearl - Tokyo Red	£795.00
Pearl - White pearl	£795.00
Towing
Fixed towbar with 7 pin wiring	£450.00
Fixed towbar with 13 pin wiring	£500.00
Detachable towbar with 7 pin wiring	£550.00
Detachable towbar with 13 pin wiring	£600.00
Trim - Cloth
Pelham cloth - Black/ grey	Standard

Performance
0 to 60 mph (secs)
0 to 62 mph (secs)	11.7
Engine Power - BHP	112
Engine Power - KW	82
Engine Power - PS
Engine Power - RPM	4000
Engine Torque - LBS.FT	199
Engine Torque - NM	270
Engine Torque - RPM	1750
Top Speed	115

Toyota Avensis 1.6D Active 5Dr Diesel Estate

PCP (Personal Contract Purchase)

Hire Purchase

Lease

Key Standard Features*

Ten Second Review

Background

Driving Experience

Design and Build

Market and Model

Cost of Ownership