Toyota continues on its drive to update all its C-segment models and the latest to get a replacement is the Toyota Auris, a nameplate that made its debut just last generation. Before that Toyota called this car the Corolla Hatchback or the Corolla RunX.
The Toyota Auris is the C-segment hatchback companion to the Toyota Corolla, and boy does it look sweet. The new Auris is much sharper looking than the model it replaces, and I do hope the next generation Corolla Altis has more in common with the Auris than the JDM Corolla Axio.
There are some elements of the Toyota Prius on the front and sides of the car, and the rear takes on some Lexus-like design cues especially at the tail lamp area. This is Toyota’s new design language for models that it considers ‘first world’ cars. There is an interplay of convex and concave surfaces which are too expensive to produce for cars that it sells in developing countries.
The regular Auris gets a single tailpipe on the right side of the rear bumper while the Auris Hybrid lacks any tail pipes. If Toyota revives the Toyota Blade which is kind of like a hot version of the Auris in Japan with a giant 3.5 litre V6 engine, then I suppose we’ll see another tail pipe added on the left side.
The new Auris is 4,275mm long, 1,760mm wide and 1,460mm tall, which represents an increase in length of about 30mm and a reduction in height of 55mm. Width is exactly the same as the outgoing model, as is the 2,600mm wheelbase. Loadspace has improved by 6 litres for the regular Auris, and by a whopping 127 litres for the Auris Hybrid, which means the hybrid system has been packaged into the car better. Both the Auris and Auris Hybrid now share the same 360 litre load space.
The interior is pretty sporty, and I can see inspiration from the Toyota 86 interior especially with the general layout of the dashboard, the air conditioning vents, and etc. You can also somehow relate it as being the same family as the Corolla Axio, but here we see one of the best examples of how a few small touches can make the world of a difference in the ambiance of an interior.
The Auris can also be equipped with ‘Skyview’, which is Toyota’s brandname for a large panoramic glass roof. Interior surfaces have also been improved – the air vent and meter surrounds, centre console and transmission tunnel trim share a high quality satin silver finish, and on higher grades the dashboard itself is leather trimmed.
There is baseball-stitched nappa leather used to trim the steering wheel, and soft touch materials featured on the instrument panel’s upper surface. The assist grips and door grips have a soft texture finish, the door armrests are padded and the pillars are fabric-trimmed.
Toyota has taken the trouble to design two completely different meter clusters for different spec levels of the car. The triple gauge design you see on the left of the image above is the low spec model, with a generic multi-info display integrated into the bottom of the speedo dial.
The one on the right is the high spec model, which is a double gauge design sandwiching a colour multi-info display in the middle. The fuel and temp readings which occupied the right gauge of the low-spec meter panel are relocated to the bottom of the speedometer and tachometer.
A few different engines are available. in Japan, there’s a RS model which uses a 1.8 litre 2ZR-FAE with 144 PS at 6,200rpm and 180Nm at 3,800rpm, mated to a 6-speed manual. You can also have it with a CVT gearbox with 7 virtual gears and paddle shifters, which tunes the engine down to 143 PS and 173Nm. There’s also a 4WD model powered by a 1.5 litre 1NZ-FE engine making 105 PS and 135Nm. According to Toyota Japan’s website, some models even have a double wishbone rear suspension.
In Europe, the Auris will be sold with a 1.33 litre or a 1.6 litre petrol engine, or a 1.4 litre diesel. As mentioned earlier, an Auris Hybrid will also be available, and although Toyota has not specified the exact specs of the new Auris Hybrid, based on the size of the car we expect the Auris Hybrid to continue with the same 1.8 litre Hybrid Synergy Drive system from the Prius, and not the smaller 1.5 litre or bigger 2.4 litre versions of the Hybrid Synergy Drive system.
The Auris will make its public debut at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, so we’ll come back with more details then. Look after the jump for a full gallery of the new Auris.
it looks nicer than the Lexus hybrid. I like this design and not so old man styling like the rest of the toyota models.
TOYOTA good job ! very nice looking car …
i thought it comes with turbocharged hybrid or GDI hybid engines, this is quite far behind from korean cars
Sushi is still leading kimchi in hybrid technology.
Ugly!!!
Will go for Hyundai Elantra
OMG … now the Japs are copying the Koreans ………..
http://paultan.org/2011/09/07/hyundai-i30-first-images-of-frankfurt-debutant-revealed/i30_007/
close enough..but toyota looks better..haha..
now this is design…..at least better considering how toyota designs are showing up lately
UMW will still charge a premium anyways.
not after custom duties reduced, hopefully by the new G. he he he
already the corolla altis is selling at 102K for the base 1.6 model which is cheaper & bigger with better technologies (dual VVTI, all disc brakes, GOA body). 12 years ago, a corolla 1.6 sells at 110K.
Justttttt in time for the Turunkan Harga Kereta then :D
hey toyota malaysia, bring this in and take my money
When this car comes in, Elantra and Forte will register single digit monthly sales and a 1 year old unit will devalue by 50%
Price is still the deciding factor.
single digit daily sales??
When this car comes in, the value of your brain will drop by 90%, namely due to your immature stupidity.
Any takers for this blind basher’s brain? Calm down, Sam, it’s not about whether sales will drop, it’s about how Toyota is trying to regain it’s mojo once again, so it’ll be interesting to see how it fares against upcoming rivals as well!!
Just look at the Hyundai Avante 2.0. Have seen in a used car yard, 6 month old unit trying to sell desperately for RM60k, but no takers, still has 4.5 years warranty. Such a pity that no one wants 2nd hand Korean Cars
If looks is the only selling point, than I am still not seeing killer sales figures for the current Hyundai/Inokom Elantra. Seems that Malaysians are smarter afterall, still go for reliable, durable and dependable cars with great resale value
now this is what we call a CAR
This is how you can sell your Toyota car better in this fierce competition now and the future!
Hope to see a hybrid diesel… :)
This is the right way how you should design a car!
Bring it here!
Finally some effort in their designs, perhaps they finally allowed the designers of the GT-86 to design a hatchback for them? haha
But it still take some getting used to, especially the rear with so much empty space. They should maybe put the Toyota badge a bit lower along with the boot open ledge. Either way, they are stepping in the right direction.
Not bad the new design language. Japanese is picking up in design language after received a numerous negative comments on their design compare to Korean Hyundai & Kia. Seem like Mazda & Toyota are doing well compare to Honda these days.
toyota actually has been quite aggresive in design since 12 years ago. remember toyota altezza @ lexus is200? toyota celica? toyota mrs? toyota caldina? then toyota passo, which was designed by daihatsu but owned by toyota? please look at how ugly the first model was (daihatsu sirion / boon)
then there was toyota wish, alphard and the latest estima which were all hot selling in malaysia due to their good looks.
yappp… just that malaysians dont see it cos we get the developing countries stuff… but thanks to paultan now our eyes are open to the kind of toyotas that everyone else gets….
it’s long time ago..now they give us bloody ugly designs, boxy juara wannabe alphard, funny looking altis, vios dugong, ah beng bodykitted camry and of course turtle myvi, enough with those super hodoh cars
wow, good nick name as u can remember
If you’re here at paultan long enough, you might remember peyno (gimme a shoutout here if you’re reading this!). He seems unpopular at first, but he has a point: we’ve been taken for a ride by the Japanese for far too long. We should use our consumer power to boycott third world toyota (vios, avanza, innova etc), and demand the REAL DEAL, the JDMs.
He is not the only one who says that though.
JDM is not bad, US spec is also good, but I prefer the EU spec models. IMHO those have to compete on the toughest market, and even though they aren’t doing terribly well they do have competitive cars.
Btw. to be fair, the Vios used to be sold in Europe/Japan for quite a while, at least in hatchback form. So it is not really a third world car. Same with the Camry that gets sold in the US. However the US and EU spec cars are much better equipped when it comes to safety equipment (they may only have steel rims and no bodykit though depending on the version, but I think that is acceptable).
vios actually inherited their genes from Toyota Tercel in the 80s, which was sold in Japan and even UK. only the late Tercel known as Soluna was sold only in 3rd world countries but the current Vios is actually also sold in japan as Belta (go google) – it is not a downgrade toyota model. the avanza and innova were specifically designed with Asia’s in mind (rear wheel drive for good traction in rural areas) and also high ground clearance to beat challenges like poor terrain or small flood normally not exisiting in japan or europe.
Remove the tax first, then you’ll get real deal from Toyota. If still free money business aka AP, then no way to get full spec car from Toyota. If M’sian G don’t treat the rakyat good, why should the Japan? Vote for price drop first!
failed product from toyota:
avanza – bumpy back, crampy cabin
vios – cheap interior, so so handling, downgraded specs
innova – lorry suspension, need i say more?
@kadajawi: I’m aware of Vios sold elsewhere, but as you said, the specs here is so kosong like a third world. 2 airbags, ABS, that’s it.
4-speeder is also so archaic, it’s a sin to sell with it today.
Wow finally toyota woke up..
Hey Honda , are you seeing this?
Well, Finally a good TOYOTA designed car compared to all the others. Nice one toyota. Keep it up
agree. The back especially the tail lamp is really nice. I think if the next generation altis salon has the same back design, it ll look good as well. Passing the ball to u, Toyota..
Not going to happen. This design is too expensive to produce for non first world countries.
I dont like the interior, looks ugly.. The rest is fine.. = )
agree not digging the interior,exterior is great
green LED’s , very 90′s …
steering wheel looks like it was stolen from a taxi…
Yeah, I dunno what’s Toyota fascination with the green back lighting. Even the Lexus CT200h has it. So last century.
CALDINA!! :D
cripple caldina
-fixed-
Used to be junk from Japan, sampah to be sold as 2nd hand only for us? Let’s vote for price drop in cars. 26 millions untung vs 1 million cronies rugi.
as long as old coots still ‘controlling’ UMW toyota, charging their users premiums while offering mediocre / outdated features and not to mention most of their targeted customers are uncles and aunties (mind you not those rugged uncles and hot aunties) , you can kiss this car goodbye from your wishlist.
Oh UMW Toyota _could_ easily offer this, and other better spec’ed, more exciting cars. The price tag is high enough (despite taxes). However why would they do that? The current, underspec’ed, outdated 3rd world models sell like hot cakes, and they are much more profitable.
If Toyota sales would die down completely we would get the good new cars within a year.
in thailand and indonesia, the vios is so cheap that they are made as taxis. among other criteria that make a good taxi include big boot, spacious cabin, strong economical engine and high reliabilities and the vios tick all the boxes.
why go for vios taxi if there are camry and altis?
This car go with your tagline TOYOTA moving forward!
Well, Finally a good TOYOTA designed car compared to all the others Toyota cars that came up lately. Nice one toyota. Keep it up
regardless how good toyota makes their cars
we’d get the overpriced bare minimum d/t distributor here..
Dont get too excited, guys. Wait and see….anything can happen in bolehland, as you all know
please toyota bring it here
I’m in love. ETA?
How about never? Unless you go overseas or import one…
Unfortunately, the ugly interior is going to put people off. Owners are going to spend 90% of their time in the car, not outside of it.
do you think you can design better than toyota? since you can’t, don’t complain so much.
Unfortunately? and wow, u r the first human I have encountered who only really cares about the interior of a car u r buying..fans of the auto world such many who follow paultan’s blog here have been aware of the changes that occurs at Toyota all these years. They can tell when Toyota have designed good (or bad) car. For me, your comment is too shallow and a bit brainless, and also being made for the sake of wanting to be different from others.
And for your info, whether people spend their time 90% or even 200% inside the car, the still cares about the exterior (are u aware that many people including yourself giving priority to exterior cleanness of your car when u have limited time ?)
And for your info, based on the number of comments here, the interior is not going to put a HUGE majority of people off..
What a great looking car. Toyota have a big winner on their hands here. It’ll sell like hot cakes in Europe. The cloud over this silver lining is that Malaysia is probably more likely to get the Axio.
the axio will never sell in malaysia or any other asian countries because if its small size. for these markets, there will always be Corolla Altis – now in its 2nd generation.
Do you think so? The previous Auris was a flop in Germany, and out of over 3.1 million cars sold in 2011 80k were Toyotas. Same level as Citroen, Peugeot and Hyundai. Not a total flop, but not exactly doing well either. Renault outsold Toyota 2 to 1 in that year, while all the German premium brands sold around 250-300k (except for Porsche obviously, around 16k there), and VW sold 745k.
Toyota also doesn’t enjoy that high status there it does here, while the Japanese were known for very high reliability that status is slowly vanishing. However this is certainly also due to a lack of excitement of their models (the Corolla plate was retired because even having that name would ruin the sales of the car… unfortunately the new Auris name was then given to a car that was just as boring as the Corolla, so all the effort was in vain). The new Auris is anything but boring (in terms of looks), although the same can be said about almost all C segment cars in Europe (except for the Golf). Also of course Germany isn’t all of Europe, and I don’t know about other markets that may be very different.
you are actually right, europe prefer local brands like Peugoet/Renault/Citroen/Opel/Vauxhall/Ford and VW.
toyota is not alone in having low sales in europe, the same goes to Honda, Nissan & Mitsubishi and it has been the same thing since 25 years ago. what is more important to those manufacturers are presence since they enjoy good sales back home in japan and asia. toyota was holding no.1 sales in USA for medium segment sedan with the camry since year 2000 for 10 years.
hmm… true europeans indeed prefer europeans brand, but unfortunately the only car makers that are making money in europe currently are those that fall under the volkswagen group, bmw and mercedes-benz. the rest are all in the red, opel/vauxhall, fiat group, psa peugeot citroen are all losing money badly. surprisingly, ford europe that are supposedly doing well for the past years is also losing money now.
A good looking and stylish sub compact car. It wears the signature Toyota face also found on new Camry really well and blends nicely. Although his might effect the Prius C sales if it’s sold in Malaysia for less then 100k for the hybrid model…….
Similar to Lexus.. cool and sporty look
Reminds me of Peugeot 308, but of course I would choose this Toyota if both are around the same price.
It seems like they are gaining back their creativity. Maybe they are afraid of the Koreans I guess.
For the Malaysian market, I believe that Toyota and Honda loves more cold door cars like Hyundai/Kia/Chevy/Ssangyong/Cheery introduced just to proof their point : these cars have very low resale value, and people that have owned that will swear never to own 1 ever again
am i the only who thinks this or wat… the rear reminds me of the current Lancer butt aka Inspira ass…
wonderful, toyota up come something fabulous ,exterior and exterior is Nice,Just bring to bolehland with hybrid duty i get one for sure
Very important model in europe to go against the dominant vw golf, ford focus & Vauxhall/Opel Astra. Seems like in europe, the japs are struggling. Another point to mentioned, the europe Auris will soon be getting the Beemer’s diesel too. (their signed collaboration wt bmw)…and my guess is, that beemer’s oil burner auris will traunced its petrol hybrid sibbling in daily drive ; )
not bad, finally toyota is working on CAR DESIGN.
now this is something refreshing from toyota…finally….good…
Finally, a good looking toyota car!
One of the Toyota model that is better looking than one of the Honda model. How rare is that?? Certainly better than new Euro civic. Two thumbs up for Toyota on this model.
Please bring this in!
Hyundai and Kia bosses are wetting their pants now, since they will need to look for a new job after this model is launched
Looks good on the outside, I can see 6 front parking sensors and push start!
As for the interior…they would be better off without the green LEDs in the car. Maybe putting a GPS system would offset the old colour scheme.
Looks like a Peugeot 308 copycat with the moonroof. Powerwise, still lose to the Pug. Safety wise, unless its 5 star NCAP rating with 6 airbags, it will lose to the Pug. Price wise, if they sell more than RM 120K, it will lose to the Pug. But hey, its a TOYOTA…. Malaysians buy the badge….!!
so according to you peugeot invented the moonroof eh? so any other cars with 4 doors and 4 wheels are copying 308. no matter which country you go today, the 308 is a rare sight on the road, heck it’s not even the best selling car in france itself, where it ranks at number 9 of total cars sold in france for the month of july 2012. and do you know france is even thinking of pulling out from the EU to save its automobile industry? peugeot and citroen are doing so bad currently with the exception of renault.
Generalising confirms your narrow mindedness. Read carefully if you do not understand English. I said “Looks like” doesn’t mean it is the creator. E.g. You look like and idiot, but it does not mean you are an idiot… get it?
This is designed to go against the 308. Well, probably more the Focus and Golf, which are superior to the 308 (which really is a budget model, the cheap alternative if you don’t want a Korean car in Europe). You bet it will have 5 stars in EuroNCAP. And nope, I really do not think we will get this car in Malaysia. Toyota does not consider Malaysia First World.
no malaysia will not get this model, because malaysians like many asian countries prefer sedan models. UMW toyota already had some experience with this issue some 20 years ago when they introduced AE92 corolla sedan and hatchback which suffered terrible sales.
the auris is meant for markets like the hacth-crazy europeans and perhaps australia, which has a V6 engine and known as Blade.
180km/h speedometre sure can make malaysians go crazy for it lol
Please compare Pugs with other sui kwan cars like Renault and Citroen.
Alternatively, try Geely and Great Wall
Finally a Car produced by Toyota we are waitin for!!!
please change all toyota look into this…look
Caldina replacement? UMW please bring it to Msia. Im sure there are many potential buyers, including myself. Very nice car indeed. =)
another under powered model from toyota, 180Nm at 3,800rpm is nothing to shout about nowadays, far from ‘shitty’ cfe and conti that churn 2++ nm at low rpm
waiting for another MISLEADING ads like what honda did, a HOT HYBRID lol
crap, speedometre until 180km/h only and cheapo audio control on the steering
all japanese cars have the same 180kmh speedo, due to that gentlement understanding between manufacturers and the japanese govt – even Nisssan GTR has 180kph speedo and cut off limiter.
same goes to europe where luxury car makers agree to cap max top speed at 155mph or 250kmh including BMW 760Li, Merc S65 AMG, or Jaguar XJ 5.0 Supersport.
the pic of this car has japanese words in it, so not surprising at all.
have you ever driven in autobahn? they can speed up more than 250km/h, speedometre until 3++ is normal
German TUV has speed limited all domestic cars to 250km/h
yaa its a crap.
So please go for Elantra or Forte.
1760mm is smaller than most C segment cars nowadays, it’s absolete size, too bad. and no sport mode? double bad
1760mm is smaller than most C segment cars nowadays, it’s absolete size, too bad. and no sport mode? double bad
External Dimensions are not so important.
Its the ultimate interior space that matters
exterior – already narrow
interior – narrow so they make the door as thin like milo tin, and the result : still crampy, booooooooo
“very futuristic exterior yet classical interior” is this the trend for Toyota to design its cars in future?
Finally, a sharp looking Toyota.. here’s hoping that the Altis will have the same look.
It won’t, because Altis is for third world, and such a sharp design would be too expensive to produce for third world countries (despite us paying such a premium… Toyota is probably having huge profits with every single car sold here…).
No, the corolla altis by no means is a car meant for third world countries, unless you consider the US a third world country. vios, innova and avanza, yes, they are meant for third world countries.
the corolla, which is a sedan is mainly sold in countries where their people generally would prefer a sedan, like the US and any other asian countries.
the auris, which is essentially a corolla hatchback is sold in countries where their people prefer hatchbacks, like in europe. In countries like japan and australia, where their people would accept both body styles, then the corolla and auris are sold side by side.
What makes a car third world is its spec.
We’ll see if UMW got balls to bring in the Corolla with 8 airbags, ABS, EBD, VSC, CVT gearbox instead of 4 speed, direct injection engine, etc.
the nicest looking car from toyota for quite some time.
This would definitely going to slaughter Hyundai i30 & KIA Cee’d, Korean shoul pack up & start making kimchee which probably the only thing they do best.
This is most definitely more expensive than the i30 and cee’d. It probably has to go against Golf, Astra and Focus. And Toyota doesn’t have that god-like status in Western Europe, despite selling better products than they do here.
Doubt that. The Auris won’t slaugther neither, as it’s biggest threat now comes from the second-generation Nissan Qashqai, as well as the outstanding new Ford Focus. Not to forget the Gen 7 Golf which is set to make its debut soon.
Besides, the Koreans have already shown that they can be on par with the Japs, if slightly ahead, although still behind the Conti makes.
One thing though, the current Auris Hybrid is one of the best Toyota products. Good to drive, economical, yet stylish enough. If only it can be sold in Malaysia, sigh.
I noticed as I browsed the net the back look like the new Hyundai HB20.
http://neocarsuv.com/hb-20-hyundai-2013.html
Nice design….
Not surprising given that the European market segment for these are very competitive. A buyer for a car in this segment has a lot of choices, from The Golf, 308, Focus, DS4, Leon, Astra, Megane, Mazda 3, Euro Civic, Guilietta and if one gets a little more aspirational, there is the 1er, the new A class and the new V40. Not to mention the fresh Koreans with new versions of both the c’eed and the i30.
There is something like 20 cars (more if you include the crossovers) fighting for a spot in your wallet.. given its going to be difficult to out-conservative the Golf, as it is already pretty bland, its definitely good news that they decided to inject a little more design flair into it.
I wont put to much weight on this ever reaching us here, other than being a grey import. Hatches here don’t really do well due to our local affinity to sedans. Look at how UMW dealt with the Wish, being ever popular buy but overly dominated by grey imports.
The only thing going for it is the availability of the hybrid drivetrain, but then again, most of europe still prefer diesel (and likewise many of us as well).
The 1.8 looks interesting, especially the torque band, 180Nm@3800 rpm would probably be quite nice to drive but it still perplexes me why the Japanese still have not decide on the turbocharger route.
lembab la 3800rpm , kalau 1800 rpm takpe gak
This is nice, bring the hybrid version…probabbly retail rm120k….i would want one….
OMG… Eric. Tat’s why it looks similar. Actually it’s similar Hyundai i30 which already on the road in Europe and US!
http://www.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/hyundai-i30-premium-8.jpg
eventhough i do hate toyotas…I’m considering one if they put 1.5 hybrid with price bracket at RM 100-110k….
Looks like Toyota have been listening…
They listen more to the American Markets, not so much APAC or Europe
finally, toyota doing it right this time for the exterior & interior design… hope they will price it right too for Malaysia.
Why can’t the Prius (heck, especially Prius-C) look like this? This new Auris too have a hybrid option. At least, it looks properly aggressive. Not bonkers aggressive as a CR-Z. More like well-mannered aggressive.
But forget the looks. What’s more important is how it rides. For that look, I do hope it drives well, handles well, and rides well.
Nice front view.. but not the back.. still need to improve at the back. coz it looks lancer-ish..
Wow. I hope we get the RS.
even the RS has shitty performance
LOL… finally, the boss goes to the r&d room, says ‘ermm… I think ho this time this design go to toyota la… not everytime uncle design go to toyota and cool design go to lexus…toyota like shit now. KTHXBYE…”
From rear, looks similar to 2013 hyundai 130 and kia ceed. looks like nowdays japanese get inspired by the koreans cars. go Hyundai and Kia
What’s the point of getting a Korean make that loses 50% in less than 2 years?