Rented an Aurion SX6

[zetec]

Hey all,

Recently rented an Aurion SX6 on a trip to Nth Queensland and wanted to see what others thought while sharing my points.

As a current XR driver its clearly based on the Falcon XR6 (which in many ways is I guess flattering to Ford) even down to the similar name clearly intended to be instantly recognisable.

Upon first impressions, it's not a bad looker. Be that thanks to the adaption of a very BA-esqe look and proportions. Funnily enough it's designed by Nick Hogios, the very man who penned the BA XR. Twin pipes look great and overall it's a smart looking car. Just unfortunately 99% of the ones you see in Nth Qld are renters, meaning the resale value can't hold on too long once they start flooding the used market.

Rims at 17" look tiny, despite being the same size as a BF XR6's standard rims. The Aurion's bigger body really doesn't flatter the rims at all, nor the the bulging round Michelin eco tyres that offer little to no grip and aren't particularly quiet on coarse surfaces. The tyres look and feel just a little too narrow for the rims, such that the edge of the rims are exposed and I can see gutter rash becoming an accepted part of Aurion drivers for not so careful parkers. 18"s would be ideal and probably really set it off.

Interior is terrible in a word. Identical to Camry save for the Optitron dash which is a bit of a gimmick. Whilst it offers a new exciting spacey-name, it does little to nothing to change anything from the established way that dash displays work - other than making exact speed very difficult to read. The markings for speed are 20km/h apart and speeds such as 50km/h and 110km/h aren't marked beyond a line on the inner edge of the dial... which means you look at the needle then re-docus on the inside of the speedo to determine the speed. Not a fan at all. Stereo and Aircon are Camry. Air-con feels and looks cheap, with controls moving easily within their housings, doesn't feel solid at all.

Cruise control interface on a stalk is in-intuitive and wasted space on the steering wheel would be ideal for the cruise instead of the trip computer display taking up a whole single button. Cruise Control actuation and operation is not very nice - it holds speed up hills rather well - refusing to drop below the speed selected, but will more than happily pick up 10km/h down the hill, still firing over the crest. I ended up disarming it for the safety of my licence. Doesn't seem to be any grade control logic as in the Falcon - no gear drop-downs meaning jerky brake prods needed at times, upsetting the balance and flow of the drive.

Door trims are plainer than plain and don't offer anything in the way of trimmings beyond a minor metallic strip on the leading edge of the door. Window switch on the driver's door works both auto up and down which is good, unlike my Falcon. Windows tend to get a little stuck/sealed in their closed position in the heat/salty air and can crack open with a nice thud when opened after a long time.

Interior space and visibility is excellent with rear seats not bad, although not as comofortable for rear passengers in terms of actual seat support. Front seats are supportive and offer power adjustment, power backrest and power lumbar which is a nice feature but not really a life-changer if you never change it beyond the first time.

Air-con feels a little weak compared to the cyclonic fan speeds in Falcon. Rear vents could be a little more powerful.

Overall, it doesn't do anything really new and seems to copy and fall a little short of the XR6. Interior plastics aren't anyhting special and the constant buzz/rattle from the driver's side of the dash put paid to any bank-vault build quality impressions...

Boot space is great, but hockey-strap hinges are a BIG BIG NO NO now having grown used to Falcon's boot hinges. We packed it with suitcases and I nearly crushed the laptop under one side - a spot it so conveniently and almost tragically fitted at the last stage of boot packing. Realised at the last second before ramming home the boot.

Performance is nothing earth shattering. It certainly moves when provoked and feels about line-ball with the XR6, but surely the XR6's overtaking prowess must smoke this. Punch Aurion's throttle, pour a cup of tea and write a letter to Toyota to ask for some engine reponse before two gears are thrown away for some sudden turbo like acceleration. It's an engine that loves to rev smoothly and rewards with big power, but lacks any semblance of being a V6 below about 4,000rpm. It overtakes well enough, but just feels a little lacking after the initial hesitance to kickdown. Probably down to this example only having 6,000km. Fuel Economy however is excellent at about 8.4L/100km over a mixed highway trip from North of Bundaberg to the Sunshine Coast.

Suspension crashes over bumps when empty and when fully-laded feels much happier. It's hard to tell what's out of synch, but it feels uneasy when unladen.

Good
Interior Space
Exterior Proportions
Engine sound at high revs
Fuel Economy

Bad
Throttle response at kickdown
Low Rev performance
Infuriating Sports Shift around the wrong way
Tyre Grip
Suspension tune
Too-small rims that still provide a crashy ride?!
Boot hinges

Irritating
Microwave "Donuts Are Ready" beep from the remote. Sounds like it was lifted from a Philips microwave and doesn't sound classy at all.


Overall it just doesn't seem to add up to any more than what the XR6 offers, or at least has offered for quite some time. Standouts such as standard 6 airbags really don't seem to change the rest of the package that in many ways is behind a now 5 year old base XR6 and just doesn't seem to do anything to push any boundaries at all. It just feels like a Toyota XR6. Value appears to be theo nly thing holding it up above the XR6 - on paper at least.