Toyota Avensis Qs?

Guill

I am intent on buying an avensis as an upgrade from my 1.4L 1999 Almera the main reason being the space inside (for bambino, buggy, bags etc) and reliability. Looking through the net it seems my budget will get me an 04/05 depending on mileage, fuel etc.

I do 240 motorway miles a week. I am looking at the 1.6 petrol but was wondering if i would be better with a diesel? or even what is the difference between 1.6 and 1.8 petrols?

Any hints, tips and/or advice wud br great!

Henry Ford III

I'm not sure that kind of mileage would justify the extra cost of a diesel tbh.

If you drive quickly the 1.8 (more power) might be better as it'd be less stressed.

Leonard Hofstadter

They gobble up fuel at higher speeds - 120 kph has the engine spinning at 3,600 rpm in fifth gear:eek:!

The 1.8 runs at 3,200 rpm at the same speed so is more economical, and is quieter since it runs at lower revs.

Obviously it is a bit quicker as well, but even the 1.8 is not terribly fast so I would say a 1.6 would struggle in a car that big.

Have you looked at other cars? The Avensis is far from the best family saloon out there, and VVTi Avensis are known for giving trouble with the bearings in the gearbox, as well as I have found to my cost:(.

I don't know a lot about the diesels, but according to Honest John, they have swirl flaps, and if these break off, it's bye bye engine as any BMW diesel owner will tell you. As they are inexpensive to remove, I would not let that put me off buying one, plus they have hydraulic power steering (the petrols have feel free electric power steering), so should be nicer to drive than the petrol.

A Mazda 6 petrol (but not the diesel - they're a disaster) might be nice, and of course the Ford Mondeo would be a great choice - the older TDdi is a bit noisy but is more reliable than the newer TDCi and has exactly the same power - the Zetec has a decent spec and is more powerful than the poverty spec LX models. The B5.5 (01-early 05) Passat would be the comfiest of the lot, and would be reliable if it's a TDI - it's hard to find an engine that is more reliable than a VW 1.9 TDI, they might be noisy but it's worth it for the superior reliability it offers over most common rail diesels (Toyota and Honda included).

Charlie-Bravo

Defo go for a Deisel...motor tax will be higher but you'll claw the difference back within a month or two. The extra cost in buying a Diesel car you'll also claw back over two years - after that it'll be cheaper to run.

You'll get about 370 to 390 miles with a full tank on petrol in an Avensis 1.6 - thats driving at speed limits and not doing an eco-friendly fuel saving excercise. Now add about a third or a quarter and thats what you'll get out of the deisel. Up to about 500 miles.

As you know Deisel is about 6c cheaper than Petrol, and you'll get more miles.

If you sit down and work out the cost savings based on your usage, you will find the Diesel wins.

Henry Ford III

The diesel wins only if the cars cost the same.

colm_mcm

If I was going the Avensis diesel route I'd get the 6 speed post 06 spec. The 5 speed clutch gets heavy with average mileage and the dmf gives trouble. Aside from that its pretty gutless and the 5 speed doesn't have folding rear seats either.

zilog_jones

astrofluff wrote: »

Defo go for a Deisel...motor tax will be higher but you'll claw the difference back within a month or two. The extra cost in buying a Diesel car you'll also claw back over two years - after that it'll be cheaper to run.

You'll get about 370 to 390 miles with a full tank on petrol in an Avensis 1.6 - thats driving at speed limits and not doing an eco-friendly fuel saving excercise. Now add about a third or a quarter and thats what you'll get out of the deisel. Up to about 500 miles.

As you know Deisel is about 6c cheaper than Petrol, and you'll get more miles.

If you sit down and work out the cost savings based on your usage, you will find the Diesel wins.

With a modern diesel you should also take into account the cost of DMF replacement and DPF (particulate filter) servicing.

colm_mcm

Avensis 2.0 didn't get a dpf till 2009

Darksaga87

Guill wrote: »

I am intent on buying an avensis as an upgrade from my 1.4L 1999 Almera the main reason being the space inside (for bambino, buggy, bags etc) and reliability. Looking through the net it seems my budget will get me an 04/05 depending on mileage, fuel etc.

I do 240 motorway miles a week. I am looking at the 1.6 petrol but was wondering if i would be better with a diesel? or even what is the difference between 1.6 and 1.8 petrols?

Any hints, tips and/or advice wud br great!

This is an eery post . I drove a 1.4- 99 nissan almera, my little girl was born at the start of the month so i set my sights on an avensis.
The almera wont be any use for a car seat. Baby nearly got whiplash.

I found a 05 avensis but by the time the car lone came through it was gone.

In the end of my car hunt i got my 06 Mazda 6 - 1.8 petrol and i love it. The car seat fits better than it did in the avensis, and its a much cooler car.

Tax is a bit of a killer, €551 for the year, but the kids love it and its my new baby!.

Guill

Had a great experience yesterday with an Avensis:
I saw a great looking one on Done Deal for the right price. Was telling a friend about it and it actually turned out that his GF had went to see it last weekend, he thought it was a great car but his GF was turned off by the fact that there was a typo on the TAX BOOK (??????). At the top of the tax book it said Avensis strata 1.8L and down further the engine size was 1598cc, he was selling it as a 1.6.

So I decided to go and have a look to see what the deal was, when I got there the guy had the entire tax book filled (all I needed to do was sign if happy). He also explained to me about the tax book typo after I pretended to just kop it. I will admit I was kind of falling for it because the car was so nice and everything was perfect, new tyres full service history, low mileage, new NCT, spotless inside and out. Drove perfectly through all gears. Alarm bells started ringing again when I noticed the car had full climate control which as far as I know only came in the 1.8? His deal was that he was heading back to Lithuania and was selling the car, he had it for 6 months and had tried to get the tax office to fix the typo on the book but they said that it did not matter; he said that I would be the third owner. So after haggling on money I told they guy I would call him later and went off to decide what to do. It was such a good deal I decided to do the Cartell investigation on it and it threw up crazy results:

The car changed hands on April 1st, the engine number changed on April 11th, NCT a couple of days later. I would be the 5th owner if I was to buy it. Cartell called it a 1.8L Avensis but also had it down as 1598cc.

Certainly not buying that car!!!

So just out of interest with the engine change and the Tax Book info is it possible that the engine could have been changed down from 1.8L to 1.6L??? I would have thought that the gear box and more would have to change too? How is the mileage on the car measured? Engine hours or wheel rotation etc? If the engine was changed does the ODO in the car show what that engine has actually done? I just can’t figure out what the deal with the car was!

Gophur

Avoid the 1.8, at all costs. They have had serious issues (as have had most all, but the 1.6 litre VVTi engines) and have been the subject of a quiet recall by Toyota Ireland for either piston re-sleeving or engine replacement.

The 1.6 will bore you to tears, but, if you're used to an Almera, it won't matter.
The 1.6 will give you high 30's mpg and a 2005 should be buyable for €5k (ish)

MarkR

So many reasons to walk away on that one, it should be stickied! Fair enough if it was a type (I had a mitsubishi that the log book was down as a 1.5 steam engine) but the changes make me think engine change. Not a bad thing in itself, but only if done properly. 5 Owners is pretty high, were they changing often? If you've bought a lemon, you'll try to get rid of it quick.

People are always going back to their home country, giving you a brilliant deal. Ignore this and concentrate on the facts of the car.

Way too many issues with this car to tempt me. Maybe if I was a mechanic, and willing to take a chance.

Guill

What is the average MPG for a 1.8L petrol Mazda 6? I've seen some nice ones!

Darksaga87

Havent had a chance to look into it yet. Ill report back.

Leonard Hofstadter

Gophur wrote: »

Avoid the 1.8, at all costs. They have had serious issues (as have had most all, but the 1.6 litre VVTi engines) and have been the subject of a quiet recall by Toyota Ireland for either piston re-sleeving or engine replacement.

The 1.6 will bore you to tears, but, if you're used to an Almera, it won't matter.
The 1.6 will give you high 30's mpg and a 2005 should be buyable for €5k (ish)

I'm not really sure what the point of this post is?

Are you trying to say the 1.6s need piston re-sleeving/engine replacement as well?

Toyota replaced the blocks in any VVTis that suffered from burning oil years ago. Some of them were burning oil at very low mileage, and Toyota replaced the blocks in those engines for free.

Some did not have a problem at the time and Toyota didn't bother repairing them, so some VVTis are only getting the problem now. So it's something anyone buying a VVTi Toyota needs to watch out for. If the block has been replaced, that's a good thing - it means you don't have to worry about the car burning oil and those VVTi engines are great engines apart from this flaw. I was VB has a VVTi (a 1.8 funnily enough) with 314,000 miles (505k km) on the clock, and that was from taxi'ing and the car still works, so they are capable of doing big mileage once they're not burning oil.

Toyota were supposed to have sorted the problem in 2003, but only last week some one had a thread on their 04 Avensis VVTi burning oil.

The Mazda 6 is a nicer car than the Avensis and will if anything be more reliable once it's not a diesel.

A diesel Mazda 6 will break your heart though.

PADRAIC.M

My average consumption is 6.5L/100km on my 2006 1.8 avensis

Ardennes1944

PADRAIC.M wrote: »

My average consumption is 6.5L/100km on my 2006 1.8 avensis

on motorways at 110-130kph?

Leonard Hofstadter

How many mpg is that?

The average mpg on the trip computer is about 10-15% more than what the car is actually getting.

If the trip computer says 40 mpg then it's really doing about 36 mpg.

I know from owning one of these cars that they are crap for fuel consumption on the motorway - I once drove from Cork to Mondello and got 29 mpg, admittedly that was at a speedo indicated 130 kph (so just over 120 in reality before all the high horse brigade get excited) but that's still dreadful for a 1.8 petrol even at those speeds.

Gophur

PADRAIC.M wrote: »

My average consumption is 6.5L/100km on my 2006 1.8 avensis

That's 43 mpg and very dubious, for a 1.8l petrol car.

Ardennes1944

i was driving to carlow on saturday to see a car. the satnav said i was doing 109kph when the speedo said 120? do i take it that i was just doing a happy medium 115?

YouTookMyName

Satnav is Correct.

Tea 1000

Guill wrote: »

So I decided to go and have a look to see what the deal was, when I got there the guy had the entire tax book filled (all I needed to do was sign if happy). He also explained to me about the tax book typo after I pretended to just kop it. I will admit I was kind of falling for it because the car was so nice and everything was perfect, new tyres full service history, low mileage, new NCT, spotless inside and out. Drove perfectly through all gears. Alarm bells started ringing again when I noticed the car had full climate control which as far as I know only came in the 1.8? His deal was that he was heading back to Lithuania and was selling the car, he had it for 6 months and had tried to get the tax office to fix the typo on the book but they said that it did not matter; he said that I would be the third owner. So after haggling on money I told they guy I would call him later and went off to decide what to do. It was such a good deal I decided to do the Cartell investigation on it and it threw up crazy results:

Who was the FSH with? Did you give them a call? Obviously the car is not a genuine example, but I'm interested in this part.

Guill

According to Parker.co.uk the average MPG for a Mazda 6 1.8L petrol is 36MPG, the Almera i am driving now is down at 40MPG!
Therefore with the Mazda, my tax and consumption would go up.

tcawley29

get a toyota corolla instead. definately make sure you get a diesel. if you get a 1.6L toyota avensis older than 2008 you will be be paying €445 in tax annually. we sold the avensis and got another corolla seeing as we were so impressed with the one dad had. we got a 2010 1.4 diesel toyota corolla about 2 months ago. dad has a 2008 1.4 diesel corolla. they both look the exact same and are amazing cars. way faster than the toyota avensis we had also. we only pay €156 tax on each corolla per year. they also get around 60 miles per gallon. without a doubt i would get a corolla over an avensis any day as they are so much better.
update: the 2004 1.6L toyota avensis petrol we had only did 40 miles per gallon at best on a very good road.

Leonard Hofstadter

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=72135648&postcount=24

This wins the Boards.ie Motors post of the day !

Oh how I lol'd and then lol'd some more after reading that!

ofcork

I have seen over 50mpg on the trip on my 04 avensis and would recommend the car to anyone.

EPM

Gophur wrote: »

That's 43 mpg and very dubious, for a 1.8l petrol car.

+1

That's a good average over a tank for me in a diesel.

bazz26

There is some daft mpg figures for the Avensis being quoted in this thread. I had a 2003 new shape 1.8 litre Avensis from new for 4.5 years and covered over 160k miles in it. Mostly motorway driving but also some daily trips around town, on average I got around 35mpg mixed from it which I considered decent for a car of it's size and weight. Expecting anything better from any 1.8 litre large family car is unrealistic imo.

I passed the car onto my father who is semi-retired and still has it with over 200k miles on it mainly used for getting about. The car has started using more oil than before but his mechanic reckons that is to be expected on a car of that age and mileage. The clutch is now starting to slip a little but other than that, a new battery 3 years ago and rattles from the trim, the car has served us well and done exactly what it was bought for.

Guill

Right i agree some of the figures are OTT alrite.

If we are saying that the 1.8L petrol does 35-40 MPG, what would the 1.6 petrol do under the same driving conditions?

A guestimate will do!

Leonard Hofstadter

Guill wrote: »

Right i agree some of the figures are OTT alrite.

If we are saying that the 1.8L petrol does 35-40 MPG, what would the 1.6 petrol do under the same driving conditions?

A guestimate will do!

A 1.8 will do better than a 1.6 on a motorway, because it has more power, so it does not need to work as hard, and also because it has taller gearing, meaning it runs at lower revs, and lower revs = lower fuel consumption.

The official EU fuel consumption figures suggest that a 1.8 is actually a shade more economical than the 1.6 though, and cars are driven extremely gently in that, so I think it is safe to say that the 1.8 will be more frugal.

I repeat that fuel consumption in these is dreadful at motorway speeds though - on national roads with a speed limit of 100 kph fuel economy is much better - but don't expect to ever get more than about 35-36 mpg.

Guill

Understood.

I am trying to work out if the slight bit extra in tax and insurance would pay for itself in fuel consumption.

Leonard Hofstadter

The 1.8s are much higher spec than the 1.6s, and they have life saving safety features such as ESP, traction control and brake assist as standard.

They will be quieter at speed because of the fact that they run at lower revs and lower revs = less noise.

Have you considered the likes of the Mazda 6 or the Ford Mondeo OP?

The Mazda with a petrol engine (the diesels are disasters) in particular is more reliable than the Avensis, and it's a better car by a bit of a margin.

The VVTis can be quite fond of burning lots of oil as the miles pile on and the bearings in the gearbox give trouble as well.

The 6 with a petrol engine just does not ever go wrong. Apart from the 2.0 Honda Accord, I don't think there is a more reliable family car out there.

Gophur

Traction control in an Avensis?

I've heard it all now!

Guill

I have look into both the Mondeo and the Mazda 6, i dont really have any interest in the MOndeo, i just can't seem to bring myself to like them.

The Mazda 6 however is definatly a runner.

EPM

Gophur wrote: »

Traction control in an Avensis?

I've heard it all now!

Presumably in conjunction with ESP...you'll find a lot of even lower powered cars have this feature.

Gophur

EPM wrote: »

Presumably in conjunction with ESP...you'll find a lot of even lower powered cars have this feature.

My remark was very much tongue-in-cheek.

Avensis has to be one of the most numbing cars to drive, they are dreadful. I should know, I made the error of getting one, thinking they would be OK. I got rid of it as soon as I could.
They are typical Toyota, built for people who just want to get from A to B with zero interest in the time in between.

Guill

I am now just browsing through alot of D4D 2.0L diesel Avensis, i know the MPG for these is better, what about reliability?

bazz26

Pre 2006 facelifted models suffer from DMF issues which are costly to replace. Unless you are racking up alot of miles then I don't see the point in paying a premium for a diesel car and run the risk of having to replace expensive parts just to save a few cent at the pumps.

Leonard Hofstadter

The diesels also have swirl flaps, which will write off the engine if they get injested into the engine.

Incredibly rare for them to go though.

colm_mcm

I've never heard of a diesel Avensis with swirl flap problems.

Leonard Hofstadter

That's why I said "incredibly rare";)! Never heard of them going myself either, but according to Honest John (yes, I know) the D-4Ds do have swirl flaps, so I'd be getting rid of them if they were in my car, I know that much!

Guill

Any thoughts on the Corolla compared to Avensis?

illegalpower

I had a pre face lift 06 2.0 d4d as a company car for 18 months and stuck 60k miles on it on top of 50k which it had when i got it. nothing broke and it was a nice enough drive ( a little dull) but nice power with 125bhp. I found the clutch quite heavy but i think this may have been because it hadn't been adjusted correctly in a service. No dmf isuues for me or any of the other 4 avensis that the company had at the time. The only thing that went wrong was one needed a water pump at 80k. When we got rid all of the cars had over 100k miles on them

colm_mcm

Pre facelift would be the 5 speed 116hp model

illegalpower

colm_mcm wrote: »

Pre facelift would be the 5 speed 116hp model

Sorry you could be right there but it still had a nice bit of poke to it

Leonard Hofstadter

O/T, but brilliant sig Colm!

Guill

Bought a 1.8L Mazda 6 today - wish me luck! thanks for advice!

Darksaga87

Guill wrote: »

Bought a 1.8L Mazda 6 today - wish me luck! thanks for advice!

They are so savage. Well done. Good choice.

Post pics man!

Guill

Ha! Just figured out it had cruise control, sweeeeeettttttt......

Darksaga87

Guill wrote: »

Ha! Just figured out it had cruise control, sweeeeeettttttt......

As I said, this thread freaked me out, its like we are living the same life!

Crappy almera car
new baby
wanted an Avensis
bought a mazda 6
Creamed over cruise control.

My old nissan



The Avensis I wanted



My mazda 6.

Guill

That is crazy!

Same year a colour Almeras to Mazda 6's!

mines only 04 so your ahead!

























For now..........