Category: Toyota

No comments

PICK-UP FAR FROM A WORKSHY MATE

  By ,

Retaining that thought throughout a week with the workhorse failed to take the edge off initial utilitarian impressions: horses for courses of course. Not that ‘old mate’ harked back to some long-past Luddite era. Depending on the grade, the new WorkMate boasts a line-up of automotive advances such as Bluetooth connectivity, Toyota Safety Sense suite of measures, Toyota Connected Services and power this and that. Performance also is taken to new heights with a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine with V-Active technology. There is still the tried-and-true 2.4 litre turbo-diesel available. All… Read more

No comments

CAMRY ASCENT A LONG TREK TO HYBRID HEIGHTS

  By ,

In Australia it was the halcyon days of the big ‘six’ family sedans from Ford and Holden when Toyota muscled in with Camry, a four-cylinder mid-size sedan, blowing the Falcon and Commodore off course. Fast forward to the late 1990s when the Japanese automobile giant pinned the future of the electrification of its vehicles on hybrid petrol/electric power with the Prius. Now a lost legend, the so-popular Prius was to become the staple of taxicab fleets around the world. Since, Toyota has stayed on script by backing hybrids across the… Read more

No comments

COUNTRY … MUSIC TO TOYOTA LAND CRUISER EARS

  By ,

If the new Land Cruiser were any more last century, it would be rolling on solid rubber tyres. After 40 years or so, the 70 Series is still holding its own among the gentrified HiLux, Navara, Ranger and Triton upstarts. Toyota’s 70 Series has survived beyond its original intended lifespan and 76, 78 and 79 Series Land Cruisers have received ad hoc upgrades from a far-from-enthusiastic maker. The latest ’79’ is no exception, adding a 2.8-litre turbodiesel engine option from top-selling sibling, the HiLux, mated with a six-speed automatic transmission,… Read more

No comments

COROLLA CROSS GOES HYBRID ONLY

  By ,

  Launched here in 2022 the Toyota Corolla Cross is – as the name suggests – an SUV crossover version of the everlasting Corolla sedan/hatchback.’ It’s the largest of Toyota’s three-model range of compact SUVs above the smaller Yaris Cross and the sportier C-HR. The original Corolla Cross was available with the choice of petrol or petrol/electric hybrid powertrains but, in line with Toyota’s recent decision to discontinue petrol-only variants where a hybrid alternative is available, the petrol versions are now being phased out. Although existing stocks of the petrol… Read more

No comments

KLUGER NOW COMES WITH A HYBRID DRIVETRAIN

  By ,

Toyota Kluger is a semi-luxury family SUV that will celebrate 21 years on the Australian market later this year. Like most other model updates Kluger has grown in size progressively through its life and the latest (fourth) generation, launched here in mid-2021, and is no exception coming in at just under five metres in length. Note that the Kluger name is only used in Japan and Australia. It’s the Highlander in all other markets but that name had already been taken by Hyundai for some of its top-spec variants. Kluger… Read more

No comments

TOYOTA FORTUNER FILLS A GAP

  By ,

You don’t hear much about the Toyota Fortuner. Launched in 2015, Fortuner is the SUV equivalent of the Hilux utility. Like the Kluger it comes with seven seats, but it’s aimed at a quite different buyer. Depending on your perspective, it’s either the quiet achiever or the under-achiever, with about half the sales of Prado. For Toyota, its raison d’etre is or perhaps was to provide a diesel option to Kluger as well as an affordable alternative for those who can’t afford a Land Cruiser. But now that the US-engineered… Read more

No comments

HIGH HOPES FOR TURN TOWARDS THE YOUNG

  By ,

Toyota has a storied modern history of innovation: remember the World Rally-based Celica GT-Four, the quirky Tarago ‘egg’ people mover and the revolutionary Prius petrol / electric hybrid? Now, the Japanese auto giant has continued carrying the stylish high-tech torch with the C-HR GR Sport. This edgy looking cross-over is the flagship of the all-new second generation premium compact, which brings stylish European design and economic performance together in the small SUV segment. The three-version Coupe-High Rider, says the maker, presents an elevation in luxury and performance compared with the… Read more

No comments

bZ4X CHANCE TO MAKE A NAME FOR ITSELF

  By ,

What’s in a name? Plenty if you happen to be one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers pumping out product by the boat load. Take Toyota, for example. Nothing goes better to describe the Land Cruiser as a prestigious go-anywhere off roader; then there’s the Prius, relating to its being the first mass produced petrol / hybrid car. Now comes Toyota’s first wholly electric SUV, the BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) bZ4X. The what? Surely that’s an internal maker’s code Where’s the snappy showroom moniker? Was the marketing department on leave?… Read more

No comments

TOYOTA CROSSES OVER WITH ITS LATEST SUV

  By ,

After a long period when Toyota’s smallest SUV, the RAV4, grew into a mid-sized model leaving the compact field open to numerous competitors from other brands, it now has three vehicles in contention, Yaris Cross, C-HR and now, the subject of this week’s review, the Corolla Cross. Although it sits on the same platform as the Corolla hatch, the Cross has a totally different body as befitting an SUV. The styling is quite conservative but that’s unlikely to deter the typical Toyota buyer who prefers function over fashion. There are… Read more

No comments

TOYOTA GRANVIA IS A PREMIUM PEOPLE MOVER

  By ,

Launched here in 2019 the Toyota Granvia effectively replaced the long-running Tarago people mover. At the same time, it moved its target audience beyond the family friendly transporter into the high-end hospitality and corporate market. To do so, Granvia had to increase in size and it measures 5300mm long and 1990 mm high. That’s 505mm longer and 240mm higher than the last Tarago and takes Granvia into modern minibus territory. Granvia is offered in two spec levels, Standard and Granvia VX, each with the choice of six or eight seats…. Read more