Category: Toyota

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TOYOTA COROLLA – STILL KEEPING AHEAD OF THE GAME

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It’s amazing how the Toyota Corolla has evolved over the years. Back in the day it was basic, vanilla transport and that’s the way it stayed for years. Then someone, somewhere flipped a switch and things began to change dramatically, starting with the 11th gen Corolla in 2012. But it was just a warm up for the current model which arrived in early 2018, with its complex, unrepentant, multi-faceted design. Sitting lower than before with a steeply raked windscreen, it presents a predatory nose, with a design that is as… Read more

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BIG BROTHER GIVES PRADO A LIFT

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The pride of the Toyota SUV parade, the Prado, is showing off a new stiff upper lip thanks to TNGA-F architecture shared with its bigger LandCruiser 300 Series sibling. Also on board is the latest in the company’s on and off-road driver assistance technology, including a new 48-volt V-active powertrain mated to a new eight speed automatic shifter. The pedigree has its origins in the iconic LandCruiser with all its on- and off-road capability and functionality. The latest generation consists of five members – GX, GXL, VX, Altitude and Kakadu… Read more

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TOYOTA C-HR KOBA 2WD

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We’ve always liked the look of the Toyota C-HR. Can’t say the same for its most direct competitor the Nissan Juke, a truly ugly attempt to be different. Now in its second generation and built in Turkey, C-HR offers more style, more power and more equipment than before — but it comes at a cost because prices have jumped considerably since our last encounter with the little crossover. Sitting between Corolla and RAV4 and updated in late 2019, for some price is unimportant. The letters C-HR stands for Compact High… Read more

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PICK-UP FAR FROM A WORKSHY MATE

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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

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CAMRY ASCENT A LONG TREK TO HYBRID HEIGHTS

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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

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COUNTRY … MUSIC TO TOYOTA LAND CRUISER EARS

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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

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TOYOTA FORTUNER FILLS A GAP

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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

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HIGH HOPES FOR TURN TOWARDS THE YOUNG

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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

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bZ4X CHANCE TO MAKE A NAME FOR ITSELF

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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

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TOYOTA CROSSES OVER WITH ITS LATEST SUV

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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