Wendy reviews Toyota's latest hybrid

Do you know how many hybrid vehicles there are on sale in SA? Fifteen, if I’ve got my sums right, including three Hondas, a couple of Lexus’s, three BMWs, a couple of Porches and a trio of Toyotas.

The Auris is the latest hybrid Toyota to join the line-up. Previous models were what one could safely call bland; this latest one is a lot more dynamic, but still fairly conservative.

How do you tell the hybrid from the normal Auris models? It’s got graphic metallic paint on the lower grille and lower bumper diffuser at the back, a colour only used on Toyota’s Hybrid models; the Toyota badges on the bonnet and tailgate are in Hybrid blue, not silver; there are couple of Hybrid badges and the rear lights have LED lights - again, exclusive to the Hybrid models.

And the graphite alloys are unique to the Auris hybrid.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

First of all it’s not a plug in. You don’t have to worry about charging the battery. The car does that for you while you’re driving. Unlike the Honda hybrids, where the electric motor and the petrol one always work simultaneously, the Toyota hybrids are capable of running on electric power only at low speeds, which means you can be stealthy like a panther - freaks bystanders out!

 

PERFORMANCE

The HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) system’s 1.8 litre VVT-i petrol engine and electric motor generate a maximum power output of 100kW, equipping the Auris Hybrid with a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 10.9 seconds - okay so you don’t buy a car like this for racy performance, you buy it because you’re a greenie. You buy it because it has class leading carbon emissions of just 87g per km, and a claimed combined fuel consumption of just 3.8 litres per 100 kays. And because electric is absolutely immediately, it has lovely get up and go. The CVT - continuously variable transmission - sadly, is not so lovely, being annoyingly whiney when working hard.

The short, electrically operated gearshift lever is unique, as are the drive mode buttons and the LCD instrument cluster, complete with multi-information display.


THREE DRIVE MODES

You have a choice of normal, eco, power, and full EV (electric) modes.  And of course you blow your fuel consumption figures if you whack it into power mode.

The electric motor is powered by a battery, and that battery has to be stored somewhere. In many hybrids they are under the boot area, making hybrid boots small, but in this Auris it’s under the back seat, so the boot is the same size as the other Auris models.

KIT

The hybrid gets high-end spec to go with it’s high-end price tag:  automatic air conditioning, display touch-screen audio with Bluetooth, multi-information display with unique hybrid instrumentation featuring blue backlighting, reverse camera, steering switches, leather steering wheel; smart entry and rain-sensing wipers; front seat heaters with electric lumbar support for the driver, cruise control and bespoke Ice Grey leather upholstery.

PRICE


Hybrids don’t come cheap. This Auris costs R300 800, almost R70 000 more than its comparible non-hybrid Auris sibling.

So a commitment to going green comes with quite a price tag, and the fuel savings, given that petrol engines are becoming astroundngly more fuel efficient, are not all that significant. 

You’d have to drive very far to make up that extra R70 000 spend.

But experts predict that as better, cheaper batteries are developed, that price gap will start to close, and, perhaps as soon as 2020, hybrids will be the better option, financially, than conventional vehicles.

THE NUMBERS

Engine: 4 cylinder, 1.8l petrol

Max power: 73kW (petrol) plus 60kW (electric)

Max torque: 142Nm (petrol) plus 207Nm (electric)

Fuel consumption: claimed combined average of 3.8l per 100km

Acceleration: 0-100km in 10,9 seconds

Price: R300 800

Service Plan: five years or 90 000 km

Warranty: three years or 100 000 km.

- Wendy Knowler