Toyota Avensis Opinions?

Looks like a lot of car for the money.

Very boring cars (but that's probably not a priority if you're looking at these) - very very comfortable and they don't really go wrong - a good choice if you're after something comfy and dependable
 
Dull dull dull, but comfy, well equipped and reliable. A guy on here recently got a stupidly good deal on a fairly recent model from a family member IIRC :)
 
To be honest the main reason for buying it would be reliability and comfort. I only really use the car to get from A to B. As long as it runs and is comfortable I'm happy!
 
Sounds like you've chosen the perfect car for you then - just use the usual due diligence when you buy it to make sure its not a lemon and you'll be fine :)
 
Coolio! Just what I wanted to hear.. :D

Cheers guys! If there's anything useful to know about when looking at these if you could post I'd be most grateful!



M.
 
D4-D is very weak in Avensis. It was upgraded in 2006, but it's still silly slow. To help it pull the weight corners were cut to slim it down. Avensis is Vectra of Europe - it was designed to be salesman car, but because they removed a lot of the soundproofing it's loud as motorway cruiser - road noise from surface and tyres on M25 makes it almost as loud inside as old Primeras were in ninenties. Low rent plastics can creak and rattle for no apparent reason. In my limited experience t also has one of those climate controls that never has sweet spot - no matter what you set it to it's never spot on, never in the background and never comfortable, it's almost like you had someone screwing around with air con all the time. Otherwise they generally refuse to break or give you grief, but everyone I know that had one as a fleet car couldn't wait to hand the keys back.

On a side note - what a shocking design from autotrader. It's like the moment we get bigger screens there is always some trigger happy flash designer to make everything look like cut out bubble gum advert from eighties and fill up the screen with massive fonts.
 
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Would you notice the noise with the radio on v0n? I'm one of those weird people who has to have crap playing no matter what it is so rarely just have me and the car quietly going..
 
I guess so. I can't think of anything else I'd use the car for other than travelling around.. ideally would like to go over to Europe with it next year so reliability would be a must...
 
m4cc45 said:
Would you notice the noise with the radio on v0n? I'm one of those weird people who has to have crap playing no matter what it is so rarely just have me and the car quietly going..
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Well for me it's usually trade off - if it had fast engine and was noisy (Subaru Forester style) - or was slowish but quiet cruiser (like typical bottom range Passat/Audi diesel), but to be slow, noisy and that trim.. man that trim.. mate got one of the top of the range 2006 models in fleet and they all had monochrome sat navs that only showed arrows and distances. It was like they were made for Albanian market or something.
 
v0n said:
D4-D is very weak in Avensis. It was upgraded in 2006, but it's still silly slow....they removed a lot of the soundproofing it's loud as motorway cruiser - road noise from surface and tyres on M25
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I don't remember the Avensis being loud on the motorway. Admitedly, I was in the back of one going to the airport, but I don't remember it being any louder than similar cars. And why would they strip out most of the sound proofing? It was supposed to be an improved, more upmarket version of the previous generation. I know HJ is an old fella, but he says, "The first thing that struck me about the D-4D 180 is its ridiculous level of refinement for a diesel. The engine is all but inaudible." As for 'silly slow', the previous engine was dog slow, but there are 130bhp and 180bhp versions from 2006. That's no slower that a diesel Passat or Mondeo.
 
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MarkDavis said:
I know HJ is an old fella, but he says, "The first thing that struck me about the D-4D 180 is its ridiculous level of refinement for a diesel. The engine is all but inaudible." As for 'silly slow', the previous engine was dog slow, but there are 130bhp and 180bhp versions from 2006. That's no slower that a diesel Passat or Mondeo.
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I know there is 180bhp version of the 2.2 unit and I'm sure it knocked Honest John's sleepers off, but we are discussing 2.0 D4-D. It was 114 bhp and in 2006 was upgraded to whole 124 bhp. It can't be riced with any quotes. :D

And why would they strip out most of the sound proofing?
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I have no idea. It seems the first thing many manufactures do to help weight and emissions. When Primera P12 (whale shaped) and Almera N16 (last and final Almera) was being facelifted, they added "i-drivish" onboard computer with navigation, new seats and new engines and immediately stripped all sound proofing coating and inserts in panels to make them lighter. Both were the best equipped cars money could buy under 10k new, but I can still remember that tyre roar on my trips around M25 from Almera 136 dCI, it was at some points like being dragged behind a car inside steel box resonating every line on tarmac. And its similar in second generation Avensis, engines are well insulated, but road noise is very intrusive. I don't think they were made with British roads in mind.
 
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