Toyota believes in the success of hybrid drives in automobiles. The sale of more than 5.5 million hybrid vehicles seems to prove the Japanese giant's belief. Only here in Germany, then - especially when it comes to practical station wagons - you prefer to drive a powerful diesel. This should now finally be over. After the staid Auris Hybrid, the cute Yaris Hybrid and the successful Prius model, Toyota is now also bringing the hybrid drive to the compact station wagon class.

With Yaris Hybrid and the forefather of the hybrid movement, the Prius, Toyota is the most successful supplier of hybrid models on the German market. Now you want to conquer the important market of compact combination models with two clever steps at once. On the one hand, the Auris gets a large trunk as “Touring Sports” and on the other hand, the Auris TS is available as a hybrid and thus the first hybrid in its class. Is that enough for success?

Auris Touring Sports

"Konichiwa compact car class"

Invite and recharge, instead of ripping open.

It's been a good six months since I first saw the, then new, second generation of the Auris drive. Compact cars with a steep tail are the best in Germany, especially if the VW sticks to the tailgate. In the case of the second Auris generation was not expected that Toyota Camouflage operates and so the compact Japanese has to fight bravely in his segment.

Half a year later, Toyota now offers a practical station wagon alongside the well-known Auris. And as expected, there is also a hybrid version from the beginning. In this point, the Japanese are simply on * zack * and the lead by technology should be noticeable to experience. In order to get to know the new station wagon, I concentrated on the hybrid at first.

The test car:

Model Name: Toyota Auris Touring Sports
Vehicle class: Compact combination
For sale: From 15. July in trade
Base Price: 24.400 €

Competitor, for example: Golf Estate, Opel Astra Estate, Hyundai i30 Estate, Ford Focus Tournament
Offered engines: 1.33 petrol, 1.6 petrol, 1.4 diesel, 2.0 diesel, hybrid
Transmission: 6 manual gear, CVT, eCVT

Pragmatic under tension

Pragmatic and practical, stylish and fashionable. Whereby a sip of dynamics in the language of form can not be concealed. Above all, the front of the current Auris generation has gained in suspense through the clear design language with a trapezoidal grille, the sporty looking main headlights and the swept hood. The Japanese are much more proud of the electrical tension under the hood. A hybrid in this segment, that did not exist so far. All the more gratifying that the tension in the rear design was not completely lost.

The taillights are flat and wide, the station wagon looks unusually sexy for a pragmatist from behind. In order not to fall through as a fashion victim, Toyota has lowered the loading sill of the station wagon by 10 centimeters, thus making it easier to access the large cargo area. Nevertheless, this station wagon doesn’t look squeaky practical - no, it treats itself to a little styling. OK then!

The facts:

Dangerous engines:

Hybrid
Design: 4 cylinder combines gasoline engine and electric drive
Cubic capicity: 1.798 ccm³
Power: 136 HP: 5.200 rpm [combined!] Torque: 207 Nm electric motor and 142 Nm petrol engine
Drive: e-CVT - planetary gear / automatic
Top speed: 175 km / h
Acceleration: 0-100 km / h 11.2 Sec.
Toyota Auris website

2.0D-4D 
Type: 4 cylinder direct injection with turbocharging, DOHC
Cubic capicity: 1.998 ccm³
Power: 124 PS: 3.600 RPM
Torque: 310 Nm: 1.600 - 2.400 rpm
Drive: 6 gear manual transmission
Top speed: 195 km / h
Acceleration: 0-100 km / h 10.5 Sec.
Toyota Auris website

Silently through the city

You can feel the lead that Toyota has driven out in the area of ​​the hybrid drive. Contact fears with the station wagon in the hybrid version you do not have to. He drives as easy as any other automatic car. With the added effect that you drive up to two kilometers and with sensitive use of the right foot, even completely silent through the area. But you get used to it quickly.

The combined values ​​for the hybrid in its most fuel-efficient form are impressive:

emissions:

85 g / km CO²

Consumption:

3.7 l / 100km

Efficiency rating:

A+ 

Drive, roll, recuperate

A hybrid model educates, without raised index finger, to leisurely gait. Even though the petrol engine and electric motor are listed in duet with system power of 136 PS and the electric motor alone already delivers 207 Nm from the start, sporting desires do not appear in the Auris Touring Sports. Comfortable gliding. Relaxed traveling. This is the domain of the first hybrid station wagon in its segment!

Theoretically, a top speed of 176 km / h would be possible in the Auris TS Hybrid, says Toyota, but in practice you will give up on the way there, unnerved. If you want to extend the dynamic chase over the long haul, you should rather use the 124 hp diesel engine and the manual 6-speed gearbox. Then the one that takes a lot of getting used to remains (am I ever getting used to it?) Rubber band effect while accelerating (Cause is the way of working of the e-CVT, similar to a DAF Variomatic!) out. Even if Toyota is very certain that it will sell the Auris Hybrid to customers of fleet car operators and company car drivers, I am not sure whether the cargo space qualities of the new station wagon are better combined with one of the diesel engines.

The hybrid drive is efficient, comfortable, economical, modern and probably the right step into the future, but the lack of sportiness and the Rubber band as transmission replacement, that should be a lot of company car drivers in the daily hunt on the nerve.

The decision is not made easier by the fact that the hybrid at the first exit was even more economical to move than the 2.0 D4-D diesel engine. With 5.2 to 5.6 [litres per 100km] the efficiency crown is scarce, but deserves, at the hybrids.

Main thing place

More dynamic in the diesel, more harmonic in the hybrid. No matter which drive you choose at the Auris Touring Sports, the trunk is always the same size. The engineers thought and made space when accommodating the necessary batteries of the hybrid variant and as a result comes out a trunk that already belongs to the larger in its segment with 530 liters in the normal state (eg: Focus tournament 490 l ). In addition, the rear seat backrests can be conveniently folded from the trunk with just one hand. Then a complete level and over two meters (2,047) long truck bed with a possible volume of up to 1.658 liters, which then even the new Golf Estate  trumps.

Positive:

Very easy to drive hybrid drive. Perfect integration of the drive in the vehicle, no disadvantages in the space in the interior and trunk. Useful details such as the rear seats that can be folded down from the trunk. Very relaxed to drive, by very low noise level in the interior!

Negative:

The hybrid is efficient, but the continuously variable transmission annoys as soon as you want to be a little faster on the road.

What I have missed:

Modern assistance systems in the form of a lane keeping assistant, distance radar or blind spot monitoring.

And finally ...

Practically, more successful.

It seemed as if Toyota had lost sight of the practical and pleasurable aspects of driving for too long on the way to the efficiency and, above all, hybrid pioneer. The one in Toyota (Name and location of company headquarters!) has not lost the fun driving lustful car, shows a model like the Toyota GT 86, With the new Auris TS Toyota also proves that a practical and efficient vehicle can also be drawn elegantly to dynamically. The new Auris is probably in its estate version (especially in Germany) the more successful Auris. And he deserves it!

Colleague opinions and messages:

• http://www.greenmotorsblog.de/hybridautos/toyota-auris-ts-hybrid-%E2%80%93-erster-fahrbericht-aus-dem-suden/13657/
  
• http://autophorie.de/2013/07/08/ersteindruck-toyota-auris-touring-sports-hybrid-und-diesel/
• http://www.fahrrueckt.de/2013/07/08/fahrbericht-toyota-auris-touring-sports-kombi/