Aurion Queries

[Squire]

Hi All,

So after being a multiple Ford owner for some years now it is drawing closer to the day I return to my roots and have a shiny Toyota in my garage. I have had a look at the (slightly secondhand) toyota range and it seems the Aurion fits the bill, and the mrs likes them too. So i have a few questions about the Aurion.

1. How are they on the fuel? I know ADR/81 says 9.9L/100klms, but what is it like in the real world, mixed driving?

2. Are there any 'problems' to look out for? I see something about a vvti line leaking, is that the vast bulk of the issues?

3. What's the tyre life like? Do they scrub out the fronts if you just drive normally?

4. Transmission - the 6 speed auto, does it prove problematic at all or is it a usual faultless toyota automatic?

I'm sure i'll have heaps more questions as I go.

Thanks In Advance!

-Squire.

Edited December 3, 2009 by Squire

[ZRSHIFT]

Hey mate its good that ur asking all these questions before u buy the car.

Me and my brother both have a Aurion ZR6 and we find nothing wrong with it for the mean time. Its one beautiful car, i will tell u that.

Ill answer the fuel consumption question tho.

U will probably fill up about 50-55 Litres per full tank. And its very possible to get 9.9L/100km

My best so far would be 500km 9.8L/100

It all depends on what driving conditions u drive in, i always drive short distances so it requires alot of start stop at red lights, so that wastes petrol.

But if u hav long drives here and there ur petrol consumption will be very good.

And it also depends on wat driver u are too, if u drive and accelerate slow then u will get good results, if u floor it and use ur semi-auto then obviously u will use more petrol and get a bad result.

Hope this helps mate, and good luck on any other questions and the car too!

[boxerboy]

Welcome Squire.

You will find reports in here of fuel consumption as low as 7-8 l/100ks. That is conservative highway driving at or slightly above the speed limit.

Others get higher, depending on the nature of the drive and the lead quotient of the right foot.

The usual problems with the Aurion relate to

1. Rattly dash. It's not a uniform problem. It's an annoyance which would be a warranty fix.

2. The fuel line. It can happen. We haven't had many reported here, and the recent thread on the topic suggests they fix it if you tell them to. Warranty.

3. The intermediate shaft. A few have reported a slight clunk at initial movement of the front end. Warranty replacement. You have 3 years to wear it out. I expect the later models, post 2008, to have the better shaft already in.

4. Transmission. Not sure if it's a problem or not? http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/inde...showtopic=17119

Be safe in the knowledge, it's the best. :D

Edited December 3, 2009 by boxerboy

[DJKOR]

1. How are they on the fuel? I know ADR/81 says 9.9L/100klms, but what is it like in the real world, mixed driving?

Probably the best gathering of data can be found in the following answer from the FAQ's. The links lead to thread where people have posted their real world experience with fuel consumption on the Aurion:

Q) What grade of fuel should I use in my Aurion?

A)

The Aurion will run fine on all grades of fuel from E10 Unleaded up to 98 Premium Unleaded. The Aurion is said to have 204kW when running premium unleaded, so for most people after good performance out of their Aurion. 95 Premium Unleaded will be the fuel of choice. There is a lot of debate about any extra benefits from moving to 98 Premium Unleaded, but everyone's perspective varies.

The best solution to this is to choose what you feel comfortable with and if you think that it works good and has the best balance between performance and fuel economy and cost; then stick with it.

Threads of interest:

Best fuel for Aurion?

Different fuels for Aurion...

Best Fuel for Aurion's

Aurion average fuel consumption

Fuel Use????? Let us know

2. Are there any 'problems' to look out for? I see something about a vvti line leaking, is that the vast bulk of the issues?

As mentioned by boxerboy, the common problems you would come across are the dash rattles, the intermediate shaft or steering rack, the possible gearbox issues (flaring mainly), the VVT-i oil line issue on older models, and the steering to the left issue.

3. What's the tyre life like? Do they scrub out the fronts if you just drive normally?

It depends on how you drive. If you are constantly trying to accelerate hard or take corners quicker than normal, you will wear your tires out much faster than normal, especially the fronts. If you drive the car sedately like most city and highway driving with the occasional hard acceleration or corner, you can expect much better life out of your tires. The stock tires can last 45,000km+ if you drive conservatively, or they can last less than half of that if you want to push it. It all depends on your own driving. Being a front wheel drive though, you can expect tire wear to be more than that of a rear wheel drive when driven the same. This is typical of a front wheel drive.

4. Transmission - the 6 speed auto, does it prove problematic at all or is it a usual faultless toyota automatic?

For normal driving, the 6 speed automatic transmission is smooth and does the job effectively. It's only when you try and push it will you notice that it has some lag to it's shifts and it does have limitations on how you can manually select gears. The gearbox was built for comfort in mind though so you need to realise that. With experience, you can lean your way around it and predict it's behaviour so you can drive accordingly if you so wish.

There are the occasional gearbox issues however, and these can be read about in the link I provided above.

[Squire]

Ah, thankyou ever so much gents. It sounds like a definite now.

The reason my mind turned to Aurion in the first place was three reasons. First off I rode in an Aurion taxi and it was just a whole jump up from the normal falcon taxis. Whilst I've always been happy with the falcons this was just something else. And he had it on the new injected LPG and he reported that with never turning the car off and the aircon blasting all day with awful city driving he was getting an excellent 14L/100klms, a good 30% better than the falcons.

Second I was driving one day with my wife and she pointed at a metallic green Aurion Sportivo and said 'oooh, what's that, it looks awesome' and i said 'one of those new toyota aurions' and she said 'are they good?' and i said 'it's a toyota, of course its good!' and she said 'can we get one of those' and i thought to myself, why not hey?

And then i got to drive one of my workmate's ex Police sportivo and DAMN do they go! Doing 10kmh and give it a bootful and you're at 60 before you even know what happened! Makes a falcon look like a 4-cyl.

Well i'll make sure i buy one just inside warranty so I can hammer toyota if there is any issues, other than that it sounds like the usual toyota recipe: Years of trouble-free motoring.

Once again, many thanks.

[ZRSHIFT]

Which aurion are u going to look for mate?? You gonna go for the normal ATX or go for the leather ZR6?? or be one of those rich people and get the presara full of comfort and many cool gadgets?? Haha

Ah, thankyou ever so much gents. It sounds like a definite now.

The reason my mind turned to Aurion in the first place was three reasons. First off I rode in an Aurion taxi and it was just a whole jump up from the normal falcon taxis. Whilst I've always been happy with the falcons this was just something else. And he had it on the new injected LPG and he reported that with never turning the car off and the aircon blasting all day with awful city driving he was getting an excellent 14L/100klms, a good 30% better than the falcons.

Second I was driving one day with my wife and she pointed at a metallic green Aurion Sportivo and said 'oooh, what's that, it looks awesome' and i said 'one of those new toyota aurions' and she said 'are they good?' and i said 'it's a toyota, of course its good!' and she said 'can we get one of those' and i thought to myself, why not hey?

And then i got to drive one of my workmate's ex Police sportivo and DAMN do they go! Doing 10kmh and give it a bootful and you're at 60 before you even know what happened! Makes a falcon look like a 4-cyl.

Well i'll make sure i buy one just inside warranty so I can hammer toyota if there is any issues, other than that it sounds like the usual toyota recipe: Years of trouble-free motoring.

Once again, many thanks.