Toyota Avensis 2011 model

What is putting you off OP?
Also what is making you tempted?

In the family we have a Mk2 Avensis and a Mk3. The Mk2 has well over 150 k miles on the clock, and although it needed a new gearbox, it has never gone wrong otherwise. The Mk3 model has had an airbag fault, the trim is falling apart in various places, and the entrie front of the car needed a respray and new doors, because of a design fault which meant there was a hole in the doors and if left unattended, the doors would have bent out of shape!

It looks and feels cheap and nasty inside. It doesn't ride as well as the older car and the seats aren't as comfortable. The electric handbrake is a pain.

I can't understand how so many people buy these pieces of crap, it is so far off the pace compared to a Passat or Mondeo. The older car is far better - a proper competitor to a Mondeo or Passat from that era - hold on to it.

Toyota quality and reliability is totally overrated in my opinion, especially on the newer models. Most cars are very reliable and trouble free if serviced on time and by a competant mechanic (something many Irish people are not too good at unfortunately).

or a mondeo

One thing I will say is driving a mark3 avensis 1.6, I thought the car was streets ahead of mine (mark 2 1.6) in terms of power and handling.

supervento wrote: »

is the mk2 avensis petrol? it is normally the gearbox bearings which go in these, they are not expensive to replace.


on the mk3 it is very common for the front doors to crack around the check strap which requires the doors to be replaced and repainted if the car is under warranty, airbag faults are also fairy common on this model, which means you have to replace the airbag itself in the front seats, i would agree wit u that the mk3 avensis are not what toyota build used to be.... alot of them faults are sorted in the facelift model...

all cars have there own faults, while the passat and mondeo may feel like a much more quality car from the inside, they too have there problems.....flywheels which can be expensive to fix ..... also on the 1.6 tdi passat egr coolers are quiet common to give trouble...


and insignia's also know for flywheels needing to be replaced one thing u wont get in an avensis.....


did u consider a honda accord?

Yeah the Mk2 Avensis was petrol. It was the bearings alright, unfortunately we left it too late and the gearbox was fubared!

The Mk3 is a very cheaply made car, even my parents, who will only drive Toyotas and think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread agree that the Mk2 is much more solid. Fortunately the problem with the doors occurred before the car went out of warranty.

I agree that there are problems with any car, but some people mistakenly believe that by buying a Toyota you won't have any faults with them, which is not the case. And having driven the Toyota, Mondeo and Passat, there is no comparison between the Toyota and the other two - it's so far off the pace. The Mondeo is my favourite because the handling is superb for front wheel drive saloon, it's so light on its feel on back roads yet it feels like a big solid car on motorways and main roads and the steering feel is far superior to the VW's, but the Passat is quieter and has a nicer interior.

The current model Mondeo is a very reliable car (apart from DMF failure with the 1.8 TDCi), and in fairness I haven't heard of any problems with the Passat ever since they switched to the CR diesels. The early B6s were terrible, all kinds of problems, especially the electronic parking brake.

In terms of family cars, a 2.0 TDCi current model Mondeo is about as reliable as they get (unless you buy a Honda Accord but they cost a lot more money) once it's serviced on time, though a 2.0 TDI CR Passat B7 will last the distance as well.

tcow wrote: »

Well. Just wondering what you ended up buying and how is it? I'm looking at 2011 Avensis now too, but like you are also looking at mondeo and insignia?? Hard to decide!!

The OP created this thread over 2 years ago. Probably better off PMing them.