Category: Toyota

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TOYOTA’S COROLLA CROSS IS HERE

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The highly-anticipated Toyota Corolla Cross has arrived in Australian showrooms priced from $33,000. It sits between the smaller Yaris Cross and larger RAV4, alongside the funky C-HR — all of them SUVs. Built on the same platform as Corolla hatch and sedan, all-new Corolla Cross offers a significantly higher ride height, with interior flexibility and class-leading boot space of up to 436 litres with the rear seats in place. Inside high-quality materials give the car a premium ambience, matched by a dynamic and comfortable drive experience. Three grades will be… Read more

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TOYOTA HILUX ROGUE

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Cars, computers and lawnmowers – when they go, they are great, when they don’t, they’re about as useful as a hip pocket in a singlet. That brings me to the HiLux Rogue. Among the varied dictionary definitions of ‘rogue’ comes ‘an individual deviating from the normal, usually inferior’. My time with Toyota’s MY21 top-dog ute had a niggle or two. For a start the Aussie- designed and developed motorised roll-top tub cover pulled up short, literally, on my first attempt to store it, jamming inches away from being fully retracted…. Read more

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TOYOTA GR86 JOINS THE WILD BUNCH

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Toyota’s iconic 86 sports car has joined the growing GR stable of cars with the launch of the new GR86 coupe. The GR86 becomes the third model from Toyota Gazoo Racing and sits alongside GR Supra and GR Yaris (not counting the C-HR GR Sport or the GR Corolla coming next year). New GR86 builds on this heritage with improvements that take its motorsport roots to new levels, making it worthy of a Gazoo Racing badge. Power comes from a new 2.4-litre four-cylinder boxer engine that produces 174kW of power… Read more

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TOYOTA TUNDRA MEGA PICKUP

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‘Never’ is a long time in the automotive world and for Toyota’s mega ute the Tundra ‘never’ looks just about a sure thing, with news the ‘full-size’ pickup is being evaluated for conversion to right hand drive. In 2020 Toyota told us the chances of its larger utes making an appearance here were slim given they were manufactured only in left-hand drive. By larger utes we mean the Tacoma and even larger Tundra which are offered in overseas markets. To give them some context, a dual cab Hilux is 5345mm… Read more

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SMALL MOVES TOWARDS HAPPY FAMILIES

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It may be short on words but ‘family car’ is long on the desirable characteristics of a passenger vehicle: affordability, space, versatility, comfort and convenience, power reliability, fuel economy, safety and last, but not least, looks, all jostle to be taken into consideration. This goes a long way to explaining the success of the five and seven-seat sports utility vehicle, or Mum’s minibus, the eight-seater people mover, which can take the kids and all their kit. However, there is another side to family life. Sons and daughters leave home and… Read more

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TOYOTA FJ CRUISER 2011 – 2016

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The FJ Cruiser is a tribute to the Toyota FJ 40 LandCruiser. That original Cruiser was rugged old-style 4WD, whereas the new one that was introduced in March 2011 is much easier to live with. So, it’s the one we are covering in the Used Car Checkout. Unlike the old FJ 40 LandCruisers, the Toyota FJ Cruiser has four doors. But the rear doors are tiny and have their handles on the inside. To get to the rear seats you have to open the front door, then squeeze though a… Read more

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NEW VEHICLE SALES: MAY 2022

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The FCAI, the peak body for Australia’s automotive industry, has released new vehicle sales figures for May 2022. A total of 94,383 vehicles were sold in May bringing the year-to-date total to 437,884. This result represents a decrease of 6.4 per cent on the same month in 2021. FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said global supply chains struggling to recover from pandemic impacts meant demand for new vehicles in Australia continues to outstrip supply. “The global automotive industry continues to be plagued by a shortage of microprocessor units and shipping… Read more

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CRUISER WITH LOCAL HISTORY IN THE LAND OF OZ

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The Land Cruiser (aka LandCruiser) wagon first chiseled its way into the Australian psyche during the development of the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Scheme in the 1950s. Now, 60 years later, the latest version of the iconic Toyota 4×4, the 300 Series, hangs on firmly to its exalted position in the pantheon of the large off-roader, paralleling a Henry Moore statue in the art world. There’s still a local link, with the owners of the upper-end variants able to take advantage of Toyota’s Multi-Terrain Select system, which was developed Down… Read more

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MANUAL LABOUR DOWN MEMORY LANE

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Remember when car ignition keys alone turned the engine on and off, gearboxes were manually operated, clutch pedals were prodded and windows wound up and down by hand? I recently did a spot of travel back in time in the Yaris Ascent Sport, the compact hatchback from Toyota. With its eschewing of such modern automated aids, the Yaris Ascent Sport manual, I presume for economic advantages, really is a hands-on vehicle. At $22,130, plus on-road costs, the car is the entry level to the Yaris line and the only variant… Read more

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TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 2007 – 2021

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The Toyota LandCruiser is rugged full-size off-roader 4WD. It is capable of tackling deserts, the great Aussie outback and rugged hills with ease. There are many in the suburbs as well where they make excellent work of carting multiple kids. The LC 200 is of the old school, dating back all the way to November 2007 when it replaced the LC 100 Series. It is a major evolution of the 100 Series rather than a completely new model. That’s because Toyota treats the LandCruisers as commercial vehicles rather than passenger… Read more