Our long-term Toyota Auris comes with a 1.8-litre petrol engine under the bonnet.
Yet despite having both that and a hybrid battery that together theoretically provide, according to Toyota, “performance equal to any conventional 2.0-litre hatchback”, some drivers on the BusinessCar team have been complaining about a lack of acceleration when required. There are two situations this arises: travelling uphill and where needing a bit of extra go on the motorway. While I accept that there is a problem – the engine definitely displays signs of strain in either situation – neither scenario has been a massive issue for me because I recognise the Auris for what it is, and that’s a ‘green’ car.
What will have contributed to the problem for the drivers concerned is that, so far, the Auris has been used in only one of the three possible driving modes selectable on the dash, and that’s the environmentally friendly ‘eco’ setting (the other two are ‘normal’ and ‘power’), which, among other things, modifies throttle response. I’ve just switched to ‘normal’ so I can compare economy between the two settings, which will hopefully appease those who want a bit of extra acceleration on tap. I’ll let you know.
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