The Auris’s economy is still sliding, from a high of 55.3mpg to 41.1mpg, a trend caused by several factors.
There’s been the switch, for comparative reasons, from the ‘eco’ setting (which, among other things, modifies throttle response) to standard mode, but another factor has been the poor weather, which has necessitated the use of more heating, impacting mpg . There is, too, a third factor. If I’m honest, the novelty of driving a hybrid efficiently has worn thin and a few poor habits have crept back into my style. The lesson here is that it’s not enough to provide fuel-efficient cars – continual training and/or incentives are required to ensure you have fuel-efficient staff to drive them.
On a separate issue, family Rock recently took a trip to the local swimming pool with me at the helm only to find the car park was full, so I took the kids in while my partner moved the Auris. Ten minutes later she too came in, asking for the key – which was in my pocket – because she couldn’t lock the car. Somehow we’d missed the warning message and sound alerting us to the absent key, and while it wasn’t a problem as the car was only minutes away, imagine if she’d made a longer journey – she could have been stranded somewhere unable to lock the car or worse still, unable to start it again.
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