Summary:
I'll stick with Japanese brands forever
Faults:
Nothing mechanical.
Remote fuel release jammed, fixed myself.
Passenger visor ripped out holding clamp when pulled out. Fixed myself.
Paint on front bumper is vulnerable to stone chips. Needs to be resprayed, quoted $400.
General Comments:
I'm really impressed with this car.
So far everything I've heard about Toyota has proven to be true. The car runs faultlessly and everything on it works the way it should.
It is beautiful to drive, with a flexible, great sounding engine. The gear change could be a little less notchy, but it's easy enough to live with.
Mine is fitted with factory sports suspension, which makes the ride a little more abrupt than the base car, but it is never harsh and it's worth it to get more precise handling.
I like the styling, I think the elliptical theme is a lot more interesting than the styling on the current model.
Nothing I can do will make this car use more than 12 litres/100km, which is an improvement over my Volvo 960 that used 14 litres/100km no matter how carefully I drove it.
Servicing is well priced. At a major Toyota dealer the customer service is efficient and competent, but a little impersonal.
My only real criticism is the tyre noise at cruise. The tyres on my car are Dunlop SPs, not the standard Michelin Vivacy. In any case, the only reason I notice the tyre noise is because no other part of the car makes any noise at all.
Owning this car has spoiled me. I'll never put up with half arsed design ever again.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 27th April, 2009