After 15 years of being elsewhere, I returned to having a Toyota again. Truth to be told, without the hybrid option it wouldn't have been my choice. My former plans about the PD i30 eventually dried up when my mind went into hybrid, and thoughts about an Ioniq or a used Lexus CT were also short lived. I wasn't in a hurry to get rid of my i30, but then I found this almost new Auris, driven 5000 km, with a price of +4000 EUR less than a brand new one with all needed accessories. There must be a catch: it wasn't the newest MY version, but at least I knew it beforehand and it was still a bargain.
To our non-European readers: At here, since 2006 Corolla's hatchback version has been sold as Auris, and the wagon version was discontinued at then. In 2013, shortly after the new generation of Auris was introduced, the wagon made a comeback as Auris Touring Sports. While still being similar to Corolla, the front section of them is not identical and there are some other differences as well.
I have now driven 350 km with it and getting used to it quite nicely. At first the steering felt clearly worse than in the i30, but it's not so bad after all. If it only had that adjustable power steering like in GD, I would set it heavier than it is now. There are also many smaller details where Toyota isn't on par with competitors, for example that digital clock and seat heater switches are practically time traveling to the nineties! The tyre noise in our rough roads isn't so bad than in the i30, or at least the tone of it isn't as disturbing.
The hybrid powertrain (the same as in the 3rd gen. Prius) is really THE thing in this car. While I don't think myself as a Green hippie, low fuel consumption (and therefore low taxes) is always a good thing, and low emissions ain't a problem either. The stepless e-CVT transmission is technically an astonishingly simple and ingenious system once you get figured out of how it works, and on top of that it's also very pleasant to drive. Some car enthusiasts may bash it as being a gutless rubberband drive, but it's not meant to be a sports car anyway. The 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle petrol engine produces only about 100 hp, but with the assist of the electric motor it's not too slow. Actually in city driving it accelerates pretty fast with the electric motor's torque. Only when going over 120 km/h the electric motor goes out of its optimal RPM and acceleration is much slower then.
