Toyota Aurion 3500 SL

[Calaber]

Had a look at the new supercharged Aurion this morning. The SL is the luxo model. Still a Toyota so it was as boring as bat s**t to look at, but I was interested in the way the exhausts exit through the rear bumper.

The rear bumper facia is plastic as you would expect, but the exhaust outlets are metal inserts fitted to squarish holes in the facia and fitted flush. When you look inside, you can see the standard Aurion exhaust outlet, about 150mm inside the facia and about 100 mm below it. The exhaust gases simply exit the tail pipe and are drawn out through the bumper, but there is a large gap between the pipe and the bumper and it appears that the exhaust gas would be hitting the plastic facia before being drawn out through the holes. Over the long term, it would do wonders for the plastic facia...not!

It looked cheap and dumb, yet this car is anything but cheap. Definitely not my style.

[minux]

Hey the great thing about this car is when you are driving it hard your arms get all buff from the stupid amounts of torque steer

[AttaBoy]

Hey the great thing about this car is when you are driving it hard your arms get all buff from the stupid amounts of torque steer

LOL... isn't that a good thing?....

[Low_VX_Taxi]

Such a shame... a few things really killed this car when it could have been a xr6 Turbo eater...and a crapload more reliable... but they tried to make it look good for cheap (i.e the O.P) and making it FWD..... seriously would rip as either AWD or RWD

[Sphinx]

Last time I checked people who wore cardigans weren't all that interested in performance. Hence TRD blown Aurion = FAIL.

[Low_VX_Taxi]

Last time I checked people who wore cardigans weren't all that interested in performance. Hence TRD blown Aurion = FAIL.

And only bogans drive v8s and drink only fosters....gotta love stereotypes

[andyman]

Last time I checked people who wore cardigans weren't all that interested in performance. Hence TRD blown Aurion = FAIL.

on the other hand trd blown Hilux = WIN

[CANYONERO]

Last time I checked people who wore cardigans weren't all that interested in performance. Hence TRD blown Aurion = FAIL.

would have made more sense from a marketing point of view if it was RWD. and also a manual option i think would have been nice.

[fabz]

hahaha i think theres alot of people out there that need to look at the figures for this car and recheck reliability. I work for Pacific toyota in cairns and since there release i have only seen 1 come back with a problem and it was a rattling nut in the body. I wont go and say they are the best car in the world but if i were to have the money for a new car i would pick the TRD over a ford holden anyday.

I say put them on a track and then see whos laughing.

[CANYONERO]

i used to work for a toyota dealer too. they are a nice car. didnt they have a recal with a rattle in the dash? thats what i heard from a mate that works for a dealership ( i left just when they were just released), the techs call em rattle boxes. if thats the worst thing about them, thats not bad.....

[Cursed CX8]

i can see why the aurion could work. Families could buy them as an alternative to the commodore/falcon as they boast good performance and good fuel economy. They are relatively modern and have great safety features. Plus for those who do want a kick the 200kw through the front wheels could be fun, but getting the power down and in a strait line could be difficult if you have the ESP off.

But i can see why they could be an epic fail.
If you after big performance many people will still got the ford/holden track due to its easy modding and good factory performance. And with the front wheel drive setup and in sump gear box of the Toyota, repairs and parts arnt going to be cheap. The price for the attention to detail (as listed by the OP). Lets face it, this car is a camry with more door than charm

[Scooter79]

If I had a spare $50,000 lying around to spend on a new car I know that I'd do. Bye bye Holden. I even quite like the regular Aurion Sportivo.

.....But i can see why they could be an epic fail.
If you after big performance many people will still got the ford/holden track due to its easy modding and good factory performance....

Even if the Supercharged Aurion failed in the Australian market, they've still got a big share in the American, European and Japanese market. The s/c version is a smart move from Toyota from a marketing viewpoint.

Have a look at what sort of performance a N/A Aurion is capable of... YouTube - 2007 Toyota Aurion 0 - 200 KM The S/C one would be even more fun.

[1991_Vn2nV]

on the other hand trd blown Hilux = WIN

TRD Hilux = Fail too. It has the same goddamn interior as a normal Hilux, with some crappy bodykit and they charge more for it than a HSV E Series Clubsport? I know which one i'd rather have.

[Full Spectrum]

The creak in the dash is it falling out, I was told it's because they stick the dash in with only a few bolts or something, One owner had his car back to fix this, But it still happens.

The trd looks fine to me.. fwd i'm not a fan of.

[minux]

hahaha i think theres alot of people out there that need to look at the figures for this car and recheck reliability. I work for Pacific toyota in cairns and since there release i have only seen 1 come back with a problem and it was a rattling nut in the body. I wont go and say they are the best car in the world but if i were to have the money for a new car i would pick the TRD over a ford holden anyday.

I say put them on a track and then see whos laughing.

So the stopping of production due to the engine blow up was a myth?

You want to see one on the track? Why though? It got eaten by the Mazda MPS6, The WRX, The Force 6, VE R8, VE SS, BF XR6..almost anything with a little performance has flogged it. You cannot have a car with 235kw and expect front wheel drive only to handle it. The Mazda has less power and uses AWD, what does that tell you?

Toyota were pushing this car as an FPV and HSV killer and it did not even come close in any tests. It does a 6.1 0 -100, 14.3 standing 1/4. At 57k base price it costs more an SS-V new or an R8 ex demo. It uses as much fuel as both the SS-V and the R8.

So if you think this is a fast car then clearly you have no concept of what fast is. Hey though, lets put them on the track when you buy one so I can have a good laugh.

For anyone who thinks this car is a performance car, I am certain you do not call an Omega a performance car just because you put bigger wheels, bigger rotors and a supercharger on it. The Trd Super cardigan cannot be classed as a performance car.

[Low_VX_Taxi]

So the stopping of production due to the engine blow up was a myth?

You want to see one on the track? Why though? It got eaten by the Mazda MPS6, The WRX, The Force 6, VE R8, VE SS, BF XR6..almost anything with a little performance has flogged it. You cannot have a car with 235kw and expect front wheel drive only to handle it. The Mazda has less power and uses AWD, what does that tell you?

Toyota were pushing this car as an FPV and HSV killer and it did not even come close in any tests. It does a 6.1 0 -100, 14.3 standing 1/4. At 57k base price it costs more an SS-V new or an R8 ex demo. It uses as much fuel as both the SS-V and the R8.

So if you think this is a fast car then clearly you have no concept of what fast is. Hey though, lets put them on the track when you buy one so I can have a good laugh.

For anyone who thinks this car is a performance car, I am certain you do not call an Omega a performance car just because you put bigger wheels, bigger rotors and a supercharger on it. The Trd Super cardigan cannot be classed as a performance car.

The engine had problems during development due to no one previously fitting that style of supercharger from factory (new Eaton twin-vortices supercharger [TVS]).

Still think its a shame this thing wasn't properly developed with AWD (at least RWD) and all the crappy plastic "extras" removed and price dropped..... the engine has a fair bit of potential and with the large volume of sales in the 4cyl market segment you think Toyota would have extra $$$ to play with.....

[stocky]

The engine had problems during development due to no one previously fitting that style of supercharger from factory (new Eaton twin-vortices supercharger [TVS]).

Still think its a shame this thing wasn't properly developed with AWD (at least RWD) and all the crappy plastic "extras" removed and price dropped..... the engine has a fair bit of potential and with the large volume of sales in the 4cyl market segment you think Toyota would have extra $$$ to play with.....

theyre just a roots supercharger. all they do is blow air. toyota have used similar style chargers before. you cant blame that for an engine problem.

[Scooter79]

Is TRD an Australian division or worldwide?

[Low_VX_Taxi]

theyre just a roots supercharger. all they do is blow air. toyota have used similar style chargers before. you cant blame that for an engine problem.

So you can strap the blower from an l67 to a standard ecotec reliably?

And going by your theory holden should have released a supercharged alloytec?? Its as easy as just strapping the blower on so theres no need for R & D....

[minux]

So you can strap the blower from an l67 to a standard ecotec reliably?

And going by your theory holden should have released a supercharged alloytec?? Its as easy as just strapping the blower on so theres no need for R & D....

Mate, fact is, for the price you pay for this car, it is a pile of crap and far from being worth anything near its pricetag.

[Emackulation]

Hey the great thing about this car is when you are driving it hard your arms get all buff from the stupid amounts of torque steer

Haha, so true. This car is a waste of time.

[stocky]

So you can strap the blower from an l67 to a standard ecotec reliably?

And going by your theory holden should have released a supercharged alloytec?? Its as easy as just strapping the blower on so theres no need for R & D....

toyota already had supercharged engines in the past. youd think they would have some experience and knowledge in the area already. tell me what difference they actually made to the supercharged engines internals?

and no. i think holden have given up trying to make a powerful v6. their 8 is good enough

[Low_VX_Taxi]

Mate, fact is, for the price you pay for this car, it is a pile of crap and far from being worth anything near its pricetag.

Wow thank you captain obvious! I was having difficulty determining that a supercharged FWD is worth $70 000.....

EDIT:

Still think its a shame this thing wasn't properly developed with AWD (at least RWD) and all the crappy plastic "extras" removed and price dropped..... the engine has a fair bit of potential and with the large volume of sales in the 4cyl market segment you think Toyota would have extra $$$ to play with.....

toyota already had supercharged engines in the past. youd think they would have some experience and knowledge in the area already. tell me what difference they actually made to the supercharged engines internals?

I don't know ask somebody who really gives a toss

My point was its not like you grab a charger off the shelf strap it to an engine and it works... especially considering in the past toyota have run fairly different compression ratios on their N/A engines to their boosted engines.....

[stocky]

My point was its not like you grab a charger off the shelf strap it to an engine and it works... especially considering in the past toyota have run fairly different compression ratios on their N/A engines to their boosted engines.....

worked with mine? depends on what boost they run, and how their computers are setup

[Low_VX_Taxi]

worked with mine? depends on what boost they run, and how their computers are setup

Was it the Vn? Thats only one ecu isn't it? Toyota have a tendancy of overkill with their electronics, to the extent of even having an ecu just for the electric windows.....

By the difference in power between the N/A and charged one it would be low boost as the power difference is minimal... but I would just be taking a stab in the dark