09-11 Avensis petrol

CiniO

I started thinking about changing my main car.
Currently have 09 civic i-CTDI. Car is brilliant but it already has 230k km, and it didn't cost me much so far, but I have a feeling that sooner than later a big cost of flywheel+clutch will land plus possibly some other costs. Suspension is not as effective as new as well after 4 years driving on mayo roads. It's still good for average Joe and NCT but I'm very fussy on suspension and probably I'd need 4 new shocks to make the car handle better. Also I used to do about 35k km a year and now its down to 20k a year.

So I though about selling and buying petrol 3rd gen avensis.
I would prefer 1,8 to 1.6, as even though they both provide reasonable performance on paper, I have a feeling 1.6 would be underpowered.
Ideally I'd get estate instead of saloon.
And ideally I'd like to not add much cash after selling civic to buy avensis.

And recommendations on what version, trim level to look for. Any common faults with those cars?
Any tips for buying?

And most important, will I not regret changing from civic in the means of comfort, performance and handling?

Thanks for all replies.

bazz26

The 1.6 litre dual vvti engine in the Mk3 Avensis has 130bhp so it's not underpowered. The 1.8 litre has 145bhp but these are rarer than the 1.6 litre and most here are automatics and probably were rental cars at one stage. Engines are not complicated so are very reliable.

Common problems with that model Avensis are with the door hinges and Toyota have had to replace many doors on these cars. Not sure if the problem has been solved. Electric parking brakes can trouble on the early ones too. Material quality in the cabin isn't the greatest either imo. Being from the class above the Civic the Avensis will be more comfortable alright and sound proofing a bit better.

Strata or Luna spec model are the ones to get but in estate form I'd say there are very few petrol models about.

colm_mcm

You're really looking in the uk for what you want. Nobody would have bought petrol estates here, and Toyota Ireland had the habit of only doing the base model in estate.


Look at a Lexus CT.


How much do you want for the Civic?

Cee-Jay-Cee

I considered the 1.8 Avensis also but went for a Mazda 6 2.0l instead.

I only looked in the UK where they are plentiful to the extent you can literally chose your own colour mileage and spec. Go for a TR spec if your buying from the uk, they're very well equipped and don't command a premium compared to lower spec models.

CiniO

bazz26 wrote: »

The 1.6 litre dual vvti engine in the Mk3 Avensis has 130bhp so it's not underpowered. The 1.8 litre has 145bhp but these are rarer than the 1.6 litre and most here are automatics and probably were rental cars at one stage. Engines are not complicated so are very reliable.

Common problems with that model Avensis are with the door hinges and Toyota have had to replace many doors on these cars. Not sure if the problem has been solved. Electric parking brakes can trouble on the early ones too. Material quality in the cabin isn't the greatest either imo. Being from the class above the Civic the Avensis will be more comfortable alright and sound proofing a bit better.

Strata or Luna spec model are the ones to get but in estate form I'd say there are very few petrol models about.

Thanks.

Maybe then 1.6 is not underpowered, but spec says it's 10.5s 0-100km/h so IMO it's fairly poor. I'm having 8.5s in a civic at 140BHP. That's why I'd prefer 1.8 or even 2.0 if available.

What kind of auto gearbox is available- is it classical torque-converter auto, or cvt or something else? Are they worth considering?

I'd prefer estate, but if very hard to get, saloon will do as well.

Electric handbrake is something I wasn't aware. It's a big discouraing for me then for that car, but might not be yet a deal breaker.

Which trim is higher - Strata or Luna? Do both of those versions include cruise control and ESP?

Cheers for all the info.

colm_mcm

It is underpowered compared to what you have. The figures don't tell the whole story.
It's good for a 1.6 but even the 2.0 D-4D has more usable power.

They all have ESP.

The Strata spec is virtually idenical to the older 06-09 Luna model.

Luna is higher than Strata.
Base model is Terra (replaced Aura) next up is Aura (replaced Strata) and then Strata (replaced Luna) then Luna (which kind of sits between the old Luna and sol specs)

The 1.8 comes with Multidtive-S which is a CVT.

The 2.2 D-CAT gets a 6 speed autobox

CiniO

colm_mcm wrote: »

You're really looking in the uk for what you want. Nobody would have bought petrol estates here, and Toyota Ireland had the habit of only doing the base model in estate.


Look at a Lexus CT.

I did look into them, but they seem more expensive than avensis, and I don't really have much cash to spare at the moment.

How much do you want for the Civic?

That's a very good question. I'm not sure.
How much do you think I could ask for it?
Mechanically it's kept very well, with all services done on time, always using 0w30 castrol edge oil, and mostly original honda servicing parts.
Bodywork - no as perfect, as my wife scraped a rear bumper, and I once hit a dog, where front bumper cracked so it's fixed with plastic welding so there are some marks. Also few marks around the body which I fixed with small honda paint brush in my car's colour.

JohnBoy26

The 1.6 valvematic is a lovely engine. The avensis will be more planted on the road and far more comfortable than the civic.

colm_mcm

The Avensis is a floaty boat in comparison to the Civic though. It will certainly be more comfortable.

JohnBoy26

colm_mcm wrote: »

The Avensis is a floaty boat in comparison to the Civic though. It will certainly be more comfortable.

Even the saloon civic is floaty compared to the hatch. Over a rough road it's a better car though and so is an avensis. It all depends on what matters to the driver though.

Bigus

I'd be keeping the civic and put the 4 shocks in and a few new bushes,superior car in a lot of respects.
Where else will you get 7.5s 0-60and good mpg.

colm_mcm

Bigus wrote: »

I'd be keeping the civic and put the 4 shocks in and a few new bushes,superior car in a lot of respects.
Where else will you get 7.5s 0-60and good mpg.

Diesel civic isn't quite that fast but I agree with what you're saying.

ZappaMan

..

Jack the Stripper

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

The 1.6 valvematic is a lovely engine. The avensis will be more planted on the road and far more comfortable than the civic.

colm_mcm wrote: »

The Avensis is a floaty boat in comparison to the Civic though. It will certainly be more comfortable.

Toyota and Honda owners?

CiniO

colm_mcm wrote: »

It is underpowered compared to what you have. The figures don't tell the whole story.
It's good for a 1.6 but even the 2.0 D-4D has more usable power.

They all have ESP.

The Strata spec is virtually idenical to the older 06-09 Luna model.

Luna is higher than Strata.
Base model is Terra (replaced Aura) next up is Aura (replaced Strata) and then Strata (replaced Luna) then Luna (which kind of sits between the old Luna and sol specs)

The 1.8 comes with Multidtive-S which is a CVT.

The 2.2 D-CAT gets a 6 speed autobox

Would that be an option worth considering, or could that box cause trouble and it's better to stick to manual?

selectamatic

CiniO wrote: »

Would that be an option worth considering, or could that box cause trouble and it's better to stick to manual?

Personally I wouldn't consider it. In my mind cvt only makes sense in a hybrid. A manual would allow you to get the best out of the 1.8 or 2.0.

If you wanted a proper auto a Lexus is250 would be one to consider but tax is steep.

colm_mcm

CiniO wrote: »

Would that be an option worth considering, or could that box cause trouble and it's better to stick to manual?

I wouldn't go out of my way to get one.

Leonard Hofstadter

CiniO wrote: »

Would that be an option worth considering, or could that box cause trouble and it's better to stick to manual?

It's an appalling box in the Auris, and I believe it's the same gearbox in the Avensis. I wouldn't have one with Multidrive if you paid me!

colm_mcm

Multimode is the one in the Auris, Multidrive is different.

Leonard Hofstadter

colm_mcm wrote: »

Multimode is the one in the Auris, Multidrive is different.

No I definitely mean multidrive Colm, I've driven the current generation Auris (pre-facelift admittedly) with the 1.6 Valvematic engine and the Multidrive box, and I stand by what I've previously said. I'm aware that older models had multi mode, which I'm given to understand is even worse than Multidrive and not especially reliable either.

colm_mcm

Ah, I thought you meant the older ones. The multi drive would at least be driveable.