2007 Toyota Avensis T3-S review from UK and Ireland

Needed a needed a new turbo at 10k miles!

Uses 2 litres of oil every 2000 miles.

Uneven tyre wear on the front.

Very rough tappet and knocking sounds when cold.

Struggles to start sometimes when cold.

I own the Avensis through a company car scheme, and was given the car when it was less than a year old with about 10k miles on it only, so the car was/is still very new. At this age and low mileage, you expect everything to be perfect and still running in.

When I was given the car from the previous user, the guy said he had a few problems with it, but it was all sorted now. Looking over the service manual, I discovered it had had a new turbo! Even now when I put my foot down I get a huge embarrassing cloud of smoke pouring out the back. Must be horrible for people behind me! This is just not acceptable for a car like this. It also uses an excessive amount of oil, maybe 2 litres per 2000-3000 miles! I have to watch the oil like a hawk.

The car also runs rough as hell when cold and knocks and taps, just sounds like a bag of spanners, this is very embarrassing when transporting customers and friends etc.

I went into Toyota and explained all of the above, and they gave me some oil and said if it uses this amount in less than a month, bring it back and we will put a new engine in it!! Ha ha.

Nothing has changed and it's still using the same amount of oil. I will be taking it back shortly for a new engine.

Despite above problems, once the engine is warm it runs very smooth, I still get good economy (average of 53MPG) and the engine pulls well.

Things I like:

Smooth 6-speed box

Handles well

Looks nice and executive

Sat nav

Good economy and low emissions from 2.0 diesel

Nice alloys.

Things I don’t like:

Rough engine when cold

Smokes like crazy when under hard acceleration

Worst radio ever! Difficult to program and poor reception

Uneven front tyre wear

Boring interior although well made

Seats are not that comfy although nice fabric.