Toyota Avensis is marking yet another millstone in its five year life. It’s now more refined, more luxurious and for the first time ever it’s even more ‘intelligent’ thanks to addition of numerous driving aids.
Toyota Avesnis Saloon |
The new Avensis is now 15mm longer than its previous predecessor. It has also been restyled to give it an elegant and athletic look. At the front it has an all new trapezoidal lower grill opening to give the front an aggressive look.
Aggressive front look |
The aggressiveness is further boosted by the new upper grill that has protruding centre section. This houses large air intakes that not only provide smooth flow of air but also give the vehicle a wider stance. At each side of the lower grill are neatly integrated foglamps housed in a chrome outline. Its new headlights are narrower and sleek. They have daytime running LED lights integrated into them.
Rear of the Avensis Saloon |
The uses of LEDs, lamp clusters and foglamps help to give the whole front and amazing look. At the side wide doors provide easy entry and exits to the interior. A range of different wheel sizes are available. There are 16-inch wheels that have neatly designed wheel caps to another set of 16-inches that are made of alloys. There are 17 and 18-inch alloy wheels that feature a darker colour treatment.
Refined rear |
At the rear it has an all new bumper design that incorporates a centre guard for the rear. The boot lid is now finished in chrome to give the rear a sleek look. On the Avensis wagon an integrated rear spoiler pops out of the back. It also has a high mounted stop light for better visibility to other drivers. The rear lights have also been restyled to give them a glossy look similar to the front headlamps. They also have LED incorporated into the brake lights.
Refined door panels |
Under the bonnet is a choice of six engines. The diesel range is covers three amazing and fuel efficient engines. There is a 124hp 2.0litre D-D engine, a150hp 2.2litre D-4D engine and a powerful 177hp 2.2litre D-4D engine. The petrol range consists of a 132hp 1.6litre engine, a 147hp 1.8 litre engine and a powerful 152hp 2.0litre petrol engine.
Toyota Avesnis Wagon |
All engines are married to a 6-speed manual transmission system. However the 150hp 2.2litre D-4D diesel engine, the 147hp 1.8litre and 152hp 2.0litre petrol engines can be ordered with a 6-speed automatic transmission with Toyota’s Multidrive S. The Multidrive S system allows the driver to shift the car manually by paddle shifters located on the steering wheel.
Side bolstering on the seats |
All manual transmission versions come fitted with an Electric Parking Brake (EPB). This combines an existing auto release function with a new, auto apply function which engages the parking brake when the ignition is turned off. The Avensis rides on similar suspension found in the previous model that consists of front McPherson suspension and rear double wishbone suspension.
Rear of the Avensis Wagon |
The shock absorbers have now been re-tuned to offer improved ride comfort and handling performance. The Toyota Avensis’ Electric Power Steering has also been comprehensively revised to provide sharper vehicle response, improved steering feel and a more engaging driving experience.
Rear seats |
Inside the Avensis is room for five occupants. Thanks to it increased size there is more interior space for everyone to enjoy. The dashboard has been redesigned to offer give it a more luxury feel. The centre console layout has also been redesigned to ensure easy operation of various controls on the console.
Restyled center console |
The central air vents have been redesigned and now share the same metal paint finish of the centre console itself. The side air vents are now chrome trimmed as well. All components in the interior now have a tactile quality and feel. The driver’s instrument dial backlighting has been changed from amber to a higher quality white. The console box lid cover (located in between the front seat) trim has been changed from polyurethane to leather. The front seats have a sport like look thanks to their side supports that offer enhanced lateral support, greater comfort and reduced fatigue on long journeys. The rear seats also offer comfort to the rear passengers, who also benefit from the increased leg and headroom.
Toyota Touch and Go infotainment system |
The interior fabric consists of three trims. There is the entry level Sol grade fabric is available as standard in all models. An Executive grade fabric is also available. This contains a combination of fabric and Alcantara finish trims in the interior.
Restyled front cockpit |
The top of the range interior trim option is the Premium grade option that incorporates high quality perforated leather all-round the interior. The Avensis is also available with three infotainment systems. The first one is Toyota Touch. This combines a 6.1 inch full colour touch screen interface and an amplifier for the music. The system, allows for connectivity of external devices such as mobile phones and portable music players. Next on the list is Toyota Touch and Go. This will comes with the Toyota Touch interface together with navigation system.
New ambient white instrument cluster |
The system connects to a compatible mobile phone via Bluetooth, to allow display of maps and information from Google. It also allows the driver to send and receive SMS at a touch of a button. The top of the range infotainment system is the Toyota Touch and Go Plus system. This combines the functions of the previous two systems plus advance voice recognition system and has can display 3D maps. The voice recognition system allows the driver to input navigation address, search for music, receive and send both e-mail and SMS all by using voice commands.
Avensis key |
The new safety assist systems include Advanced Pre-Crash Safety System that is alerts the driver when there is a high possibility of a crash. If the driver does not respond it will automatically brake the car to reducing impact speed. Another new system is the Adaptive Cruise Control. This automatically maintains a selected speed and brakes to ensure a safe distance from with the vehicle ahead. If the road is clear the Avensis can accelerate to the set speed. Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keeping Assist are next on the list.
Enough space in the boot |
This uses a digital camera mounted on the rear view mirror to monitor road lanes. It warns the driver and corrects the steering to make sure the car remains on the intended lane. All models with HID (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps come with an intelligent system called Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFLS). This monitors the vehicle speed and steering response. It then rotates the low beam headlight to correspond to the steering input thus enabling clear illumination of bends. As standard all Avensis models come fitted with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA), Traction Control (TRC) and Vehicle Stability Control (VSC+).
Avensis Prices in Sterling Pounds |
Toyota has made the new Avensis even more stylish, practical and luxurious. Order yours from Toyota Kenya