Toyota Aurion - My Thoughts

[Iggypoppin']

You really don't like the aurion do you kezzer? As a basic run about with half decent looks, bit of oomph and pretty good value, it's not a bad car. No one buys an aurion to win races against fords and holdens.

[T3ts50]

My dads a Toyota convert. After owning Falcons and Commodores his whole life he now prefers the fit and finish of the Toyotas and the smootheness too. I personally think they are quite boring, but as a daily driver I cant fault them.

[SSD-85]

Originally Posted by Iggypoppin'

No one buys an aurion to win races against fords and holdens.

I sure agree there, theres not a single Aurion ive seen try to be a hero at the lights, or out on the hwy. Unless its a cop car.

[Mr Hardware]

Great writeup xr8ted - this mirrors my experience of the Aurions. You get quite a bit of kit for your money, and the motor is very sweet. And i believe it's not so much about the chassis' ability to result in a quick car but more it's feel and balance from the driver's perspective.

What i've heard the cops say about them is that they're a bloody quick and nice car, but in the wet they'd prefer a commodore or falcon.

I think the bottom line here is were they RWD they'd be a serious threat to commodore or falcon, but whilst they are FWD they're always going to be number 3.

[Swordsman88]

Originally Posted by SCUD

There there in part is the issue with automotive enthusiasts on a discussion forum.

Of the total combined sales of all Australian built vehicles, the percentage of those purchasing the car with the intention of getting it 'a bit ahem, excited' is a very small one at that.

Therefore, the majority buy the car for what it offers in terms of comfort and every day drivability, so in most of the statements here, the Aurion is a good car.

My opinion for it's sales downfall, is that too many Australian purchasers are forever connected to RWD and it has been suggested to Toyota many a time that the Aurion results could potentially be double what they are had they not have had the arrogant opinion of "If we say FWD is the future, the customers will buy them" when really, had they have offered engineered RWD Aurion, it would have appealed to the Toyota faithful and been able to draw in those people who would not normally buy Toyota which is a win/win.

Well the enthusiast is in danger of being shut out purely because the average punter doesn't know what understeer etc. is. In saying that, i would make two points:

1. Just because the falcon may be superior in driving feel etc, does not mean you need to be M shumacer to tell the difference. I think any driver once you explained the basics would be able to work out that a certain car is a better 'handler' then another. I'm not saying they would care all that much but given the choice between an aurion as it is now and one that handled properly (for example, was easier to drive) for no difference in price i reckon they'd pick the latter. Bear in mind that alot of 'average punters' push their car pretty hard (take a look next timeyou are out and about....i know soccer mums in territorys on the school run that look like they are shane van gizbergan in the top 10 shootout at bathurst.....

2. I reject the notion that that good handling cars aren't able to compete on their other atributes. Although slightly cheaper in most models, and having more kit in top spec models, the aurion is no better than the FG as a car. It has a lower ANCAP score, its interior is not any better, its fit and finish almost identical and its fuel economy much the same. As a car, it doesn't impress me all that much irrespective of how it drives. As for reliability, well the recent toyota recalls may not prove they are a 'dodgy' car company, but it goes a fair way to proving they aren't really any more 'durable' or 'dependable' than any other car make out there.....

[kezzer]

Originally Posted by Iggypoppin'

You really don't like the aurion do you kezzer? As a basic run about with half decent looks, bit of oomph and pretty good value, it's not a bad car. No one buys an aurion to win races against fords and holdens.

Haha, yeah caught me out, have to drive my mums occasionaly and I find it stale in comparison to my ford.

[Iggypoppin']

It's your mums for that reason, she's a mum who wants something reliable. It's stale to you because it's not your FG. I know which I'd be driving though

[UNR8D]

The FG and VE 6cylinders have better engines, the ford has a better auto, whilst to me the ve and aurion 6speeds are on par.

there is no way, while this earth is round that the commodore has a better V6 than the aurion.

The FG and VE will both easily beat the aurion down the 1/4 and to 100km/h, flacodore are rwd also.

do you want a cookie? yes they are both RWD but the Aurion will beat both down a qtr mile, if the falc is the std 5 speed, and on par with a 6 speed, VE will be somewhere trailing the pack.

There is a reason the aurion is not selling in droves.

last time I checked they aren't doing that bad, even less bad if you combine Camry and aurion sales.


* there is a video about, i will find it but being about a year or so old its well hidden, and shows a BF vs VE vs Aurion vs 380, and the aurion trups them all*

Personal experience with my own drive car, a certain troll stole my plates one night as I was at willowbank, and in pursuit I chased him down the 1/4 mile, proceeding to do a 14.6@98mph... bloody troll. - i did get my plates back after that, and then sold the car a week after, dealer demonstrator i believe they are called.

and yes in the ATX/SX6/personia you can disable the VSC, Presara/ZR6 requires the pulling of the ABS fuse.

[seedywagon]

I have to agree, the Aurion feels damn quick even in stock form
Easily would kill a commodore V6, maybe even a stock BF.
In a straight line anyway.

[cosmo20btt]

Originally Posted by xr8ted

I was referring to the overall feel of the car. It undertsteers way earlier than the BA, and due to the ESP, you cannot use the lift off oversteer that I have experienced in other front drivers to tuck the nose in. And because of that, you cannot carry the type of corner speed that you would expect. Its good up until about 7/10ths, then the ESP wrecks the party. Mind you, it may be a lot better if you could test the car without ESP.

Maybe the police versions have this ability?

So you agree with me then? An inbuilt problem with the design, any six cylinder FWD will be like going for boat ride on land unless you over spring it with stiffer shocks.

[DK30RB]

You can disable the Traction control in the Aurion when starting the car up. There is a certain procedure you need to follow in regards to pressing the brake etc. Not need to pull the fuses. Google it if you really need to know.

[UNR8D]

as i said DK30RB, only in the lower spec models does this work, upper spec you have to pull the fuses.

*unless this has changed with the updated shape* but I doubt it.

[DK30RB]

Originally Posted by UNR8D

as i said DK30RB, only in the lower spec models does this work, upper spec you have to pull the fuses.

*unless this has changed with the updated shape* but I doubt it.

I have a ZR6 as my second car. A mate has a presara. We can disable traction control without pulling fuses as per the startup sequence.

I have tested it on numerous occasions and it works everytime. Mines not the updated shape. All the Aurions have the same procedure to disable to system.

[UNR8D]

^^ interesting, didnt work on my company presara yet worked fine on the SX6... sorry ill stand corrected

[BOSHOG]

if i was after an NA 6 i would not even consider a falcon or commodore, toyota and mitsubishi leave them both for dead as far as im concerned

[geckoGT]

I have to say they probably presented the best value for money in their class and considering they are not a performance car, they are a family hack, who cares if they don't like being pushed beyond 7/10's. They do the family hack stuff very well as long as you do not have to tow anything larger than a small box trailer to the tip.

[dannyhilton]

Originally Posted by xr8ted

There is a fair bit of body roll, and the suspension feels soft when your having a go, but when your not, the ride finds bumps that I would not normally feel in the BA XR8. I dont know how they have achieved this, but somehow, Toyota has. How can a car be soft and ride badly?

One of the many benefits in using a Control Blade IRS. Nice and firm to resist body roll but they handle bumps very well and absorb most of this when stodgy setups will willow all over the road. It's a space efficient design too. Road roar and some issues with reliability of Fords particular setup seem to be the only downside. This is why the new Mustang should use a Flacon platform. The rear suspension in a Falcon truly is world class, if a little porky. Still, a wonderful IRS.

[kezzer]

Originally Posted by UNR8D

there is no way, while this earth is round that the commodore has a better V6 than the aurion.

How so?? It has more power, more torque, uses less fuel, reaches peak torque earlier in the rev range. In its downtuned state.

Originally Posted by UNR8D

do you want a cookie? yes they are both RWD but the Aurion will beat both down a qtr mile, if the falc is the std 5 speed, and on par with a 6 speed, VE will be somewhere trailing the pack .

Actually last time i checked the current SV6 was faster then both the FG and Aurion down the 1/4.

Originally Posted by UNR8D

* there is a video about, i will find it but being about a year or so old its well hidden, and shows a BF vs VE vs Aurion vs 380, and the aurion trups them all* .

BF?? Im talking FG, and im talking about the new 210kw VE's. Hardly relevant.

[kezzer]

Originally Posted by BOSHOG

if i was after an NA 6 i would not even consider a falcon or commodore, toyota and mitsubishi leave them both for dead as far as im concerned

Never thought I'd hear that on the ford forums. Considering the 6 cylinder ford motor is one of the best 6's around for the price currently.

[UNR8D]

How so?? It has more power, more torque, uses less fuel, reaches peak torque earlier in the rev range. In its downtuned state.

MY10 VE SV6
Power 210kW @ 6400RPM
Torque 350Nm @ 2900RPM
Fuel Consumption Combined (ADR 81/01) 10.1L/100km
Kerb Weight 1770kg

Aurion SV6 MY10
Power 200kW @ 6200RPM
Torque 336Nm @ 4700RPM
Fuel Consumption Combined (ADR 81/01) 9.9L/100km
Kerb Weight 1615kg

Last time I checked 9.9 is less than 10.1.

Power to weight and how it puts the power to the ground effects qtr times more than outright KW anyways.

As I said earlier 14.6@98mph it’s not exactly hanging about now is it? Considering a kluger does a 14.98@94mph stock, they aren’t a bad engine for lacking torque/power....

[05MkIIFutura]

My only view on the Aurion is that they are about as comfortable to travel in as a wooden bench at the gym.

They all pull along ok, sure I have a preference for the larger slow revving engines but as people have pointed out, 95% of people dont care.

Well done on the promotion! (Maybe next one will get you a little better choice in car!)

[BOSHOG]

Originally Posted by kezzer

Never thought I'd hear that on the ford forums. Considering the 6 cylinder ford motor is one of the best 6's around for the price currently.

i look for more than just an engine when buying a car, almost everything else on the ford lets it down

[Swordsman88]

Originally Posted by BOSHOG

i look for more than just an engine when buying a car, almost everything else on the ford lets it down

Fair enough. I'd love to see you explain that answer a bit better since to be honest i'm very confused. In base form the Aurion if anything has the more impressive drivetrain (on paper) given its peak kw, low weight and 6sp auto. Whereas the FG makes do with a 5sp. It also is rated as burning less ADR then the FG 5sp auto.

If anytying it is the rest of the car that lets the aurion down. As i said, i look forward to your explanation.....(and please don't waste my time with resale values....they are very close and either way if you want to go down that track your not discussin the car you are discussing acounting and budgeting....not motoring....)

[BOSHOG]

Originally Posted by Swordsman88

Fair enough. I'd love to see you explain that answer a bit better since to be honest i'm very confused. In base form the Aurion if anything has the more impressive drivetrain (on paper) given its peak kw, low weight and 6sp auto. Whereas the FG makes do with a 5sp. It also is rated as burning less ADR then the FG 5sp auto.

If anytying it is the rest of the car that lets the aurion down. As i said, i look forward to your explanation.....(and please don't waste my time with resale values....they are very close and either way if you want to go down that track your not discussin the car you are discussing acounting and budgeting....not motoring....)

personally i dont like the falcons interior including seats, dash and carpet. basically when i look at the base models i think the aurion and mitsubishi 380 are a much better car.

i have owned a camry and magna in the past and prefered the magna over my BA XR8 in every detail except power, i also had zero issues with the magna even though it was 10yrs old.

the 1991 camry i owned before was too old to compare to my 2003 ford, but compared to an early 90s falcon id also take the camry for reliability and comfort

but please remember im just giving my opinion, most people here disagree with me..... on most things lol

[kezzer]

Originally Posted by UNR8D

MY10 VE SV6
Power 210kW @ 6400RPM
Torque 350Nm @ 2900RPM
Fuel Consumption Combined (ADR 81/01) 10.1L/100km
Kerb Weight 1770kg

Aurion SV6 MY10
Power 200kW @ 6200RPM
Torque 336Nm @ 4700RPM
Fuel Consumption Combined (ADR 81/01) 9.9L/100km
Kerb Weight 1615kg

Last time I checked 9.9 is less than 10.1.

Power to weight and how it puts the power to the ground effects qtr times more than outright KW anyways.

As I said earlier 14.6@98mph it’s not exactly hanging about now is it? Considering a kluger does a 14.98@94mph stock, they aren’t a bad engine for lacking torque/power....

Ok, so 0.2 difference ain't that much. I stand corrected

Were did you get the figure for the 1/4 mile times?

Aurion (A6) 0 - 100 kph in 7.5 sec / 0 - 400 metres in 15.5 sec from an article not that long ago, the VE got 14.6 / 0 -400m, and the xr6 got 14.8 / 0-400m.

You were comparing engines... The alloytec SIDI is the better engine, we weren't talking about curb wieght! The fact that the commodore weighs more then the aurion, yet still beats it down the 1/4 really shows this. And the SV6 is downtuned!! Theres a graph floating around of a complete stock SV6 pulling 174rwkw.

So, either the earth isn't round, or you're wrong. The Alloytec at the moment is the better NA 6.

[cosmo20btt]

Originally Posted by Swordsman88

Fair enough. I'd love to see you explain that answer a bit better since to be honest i'm very confused. In base form the Aurion if anything has the more impressive drivetrain (on paper) given its peak kw, low weight and 6sp auto. Whereas the FG makes do with a 5sp. It also is rated as burning less ADR then the FG 5sp auto.

If anytying it is the rest of the car that lets the aurion down. As i said, i look forward to your explanation.....(and please don't waste my time with resale values....they are very close and either way if you want to go down that track your not discussin the car you are discussing acounting and budgeting....not motoring....)

It is only the Toyota name that would get good resale, and that would be for any Toyota model regardless of whether they are good or not, from personal experience of having hired a Sportivo, I thought it looked the goods on the outside, but when I drove it, it had the billy cart ride that lacked the handling to back it up, and a loud drumming noise coming from the tyres. The interior once behind the wheel was some what similar to the interior of the Pintara (circa 1987) that was in update spec, all round I am sure it was thoroughly reliable car if anything, it was what it was...middle of the range.

[Mongoose]

Originally Posted by kezzer

So, either the earth isn't round, or you're wrong. The Alloytec at the moment is the better NA 6.

quote of the decade! LOL

[UNR8D]

Were did you get the figure for the 1/4 mile times?

It’s called a time slip; I got mine from Willowbank 2 years ago when I decided to 'test' drive my then current company car.

So, either the earth isn't round, or you're wrong. The Alloytec at the moment is the better NA 6.

Better... in comparision to what? Horse drawn carriage?... still has worse fuel consumption than both aurion and falcon and is owned by the falcon by almost 50NM... so better is a matter of very SUBJECTIVE opinion ;).

so 0.2 difference ain't that much

but its more.....

[cosmo20btt]

Originally Posted by kezzer

Ok, so 0.2 difference ain't that much. I stand corrected

Were did you get the figure for the 1/4 mile times?

Aurion (A6) 0 - 100 kph in 7.5 sec / 0 - 400 metres in 15.5 sec from an article not that long ago, the VE got 14.6 / 0 -400m, and the xr6 got 14.8 / 0-400m.

You were comparing engines... The alloytec SIDI is the better engine, we weren't talking about curb wieght! The fact that the commodore weighs more then the aurion, yet still beats it down the 1/4 really shows this. And the SV6 is downtuned!! Theres a graph floating around of a complete stock SV6 pulling 174rwkw.

So, either the earth isn't round, or you're wrong. The Alloytec at the moment is the better NA 6.

Kezzer you know you can't beat cubes, when Holden do the tuning on a 3.6 they would have gotten a 4 litre six Falcon motor to set the benchmark, point being is Ford on the other hand already had the benchmark motor, so when next upgrade they would have the capacity to push it higher if need be.
PS It an excuse that Holden v8's been using for years :

[kezzer]

Originally Posted by cosmo20btt

Kezzer you know you can't beat cubes, when Holden do the tuning on a 3.6 they would have gotten a 4 litre six Falcon motor to set the benchmark, point being is Ford on the other hand already had the benchmark motor, so when next upgrade they would have the capacity to push it higher if need be.

I'm not arguing that, I own a 4.0l. I'm arguing the 4.0l and the 3.6l is better then the 3.5l.