Avensis mpg's & tyre life.

[ten0rman]

I've noticed that there are a small number of people on this forum with Avensis's. I'd like to compare notes re mpg & tyre life. Not for any particular reason, just completely out of interest.

Car - 2013, 1.8 petrol, manual, estate. Used mainly for local with an occasional long journey solo. Most long journeys are done towing a 1400 kg (or thereabouts) caravan.

MPG - overall 38.8mpg, but fluctuates around 40 for local and down to about 25 when towing. Occasional solo long journeys can be up to the mid - high 40's.

Tyre life -
Bridgestone Courier - Front 35416 Rear 28077
Michelin Energy Saver (possibly the + version) - Front 23974 Rear 41923
Michelin Cross Climate (possibly the + version) - Front 29549 Rear (still in use but at least 28K)

I find the Cross Climates somewhat noisier than other tyres.

ten0rman

[bungeejumper]

Avensis owners who do most of their miles with a trailer in tow would seem to be a fairly small pool of people. Maybe try an owner's group, or a caravanning group? It's got to be in https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums ... nsis-club/ somewhere.

Actually, most of your tyre life figures look okay to me, with the possible exception of those Bridgestones on the rears. Thirty-anything K is considered pretty respectable for a largish 1.8 petrol, but I guess it mostly comes down to driving style in the end. My old Passat got nearly 50K out of Dunlop SP Sports, which normally have a woeful reputation for scrubbing out early.

My present Toyota (Auris estate, 1.6 petrol, same bhp and mpg as your Avensis, but no towing) likes Michelin Primacy 4s better than the Energys which originally came with it. I'd expect Cross-Climates to be a bit noisier because I imagine they're a bit more rugged.

The reason Toyota's 1.6 and 1.8 petrol engines aren't more fuel-efficient is because they tend not to have turbos or other complicated gizmos to make life more expensive. The upside of it is that these 25 year old engine designs have a quarter of a century of doing their stuff with near-total reliability on all the roads of the world, including all the bad ones. No wonder they've nearly all been phased out.

BJ

[ten0rman]

Hi BJ,

Possibly somewhat irrationally, I don't like Bridgestones. I don't know why as the only other vehicle that I know for definite with them was a Yamaha SR500 motorcycle. I suspect it's the same irrational predjudice I have over Fords dating back over 60 years, although it has to be said that the only Ford I've ever had was a right piece of crap. Never again will I have Ford!
What this means is that I wasn't too bothered about the 28K on the rear as I was glad to get shut of the Bridgestones Going back to the Peugeot 405 diesel estate we had and doing much the same work, that car's tyre life went up by about 40% when changing from Pirelli P6000 to Michelin, hence, for me it was a no-brainer on the Avensis to change to Michelin. Having said that I was disappointed with the 24K on the front with Energy Savers but the 30K using the Cross Climates does compare nicely with the Peugeot. I do like the Crss Climates though, and I'm prepared to put up with extra noise because, again, very subjectively, the car does I think, feel better on them.

In terms of performance, I wasn't aware that these engines are ancient - I just thought that's the way they are. Having said that, this engine has surprised me on a small number of occasions - 2nd gear with two people, no caravan, up a 30% gradient and no signs of distress; 3rd gear when towing up Strone Hill on the A85 near Dalmally; and, best of all, shocking a Passat diesel owner when I casually dropped the Avensis into 6th at 40mph, uphill, and with four passengers - he exclaimed that the Passat wouldn't do that.

Efficiency. Compared to a 1.6 petrol Montego estate (29mpg), the Peugeot 405 diesel estate (42mpg) and the Focus diesel estate (45mpg) I don't think anyone (other than greenies who want something that cannot be achieved) can complain about my figures.

ten0rman

[bungeejumper]

Possibly somewhat irrationally, I don't like Bridgestones. I don't know why as the only other vehicle that I know for definite with them was a Yamaha SR500 motorcycle. I suspect it's the same irrational predjudice I have over Fords dating back over 60 years, although it has to be said that the only Ford I've ever had was a right piece of crap.

Ain't that da troot? Back in the seventies, the first thing you did when you bought a new Japanese motorbike was to throw away the factory-fitted Bridgestones before they killed you, and fit a proper pair of Dunlops or Avons instead. It's certainly what I did. They seemed to be made of nylon or something, they were so hard and skiddy on a wet surface.

But time heals all wounds, and I'm happy enough to accept that the bad old days of Bridgestones did seem to be a thing of the past by the mid to late 1980s. They couldn't possibly have built a racing culture on those dreadful old tyres. They also merged with Firestone (???) about then, and things got better still. Good enough these days.

I'm sure MM will be along in a minute to correct me, but I'm pretty sure that the basic Toyota 1.8 lump is unchanged from the 1990s, except that they introduced variable valve timing and a few other things to the mix along the way. Up until about two years ago they were also making turbo-charged 1.3 petrol engines, but they dropped those overnight when they decided to put all their eggs in the hybrid basket and go fully eco. They also used to do some diesel engines, which I think were from BMW (???), but most of them weren't much cop, and they also bit the developmental dust.

I think there are a lot of 1,8 engined cars these days that will beat 45 mpg, and some aim for 50 plus. But that's usually thanks to an awful lot of expensive electronics. When I bought my car the 1.6 petrol engine was well out of favour, which is how I came to be driving an 18 month old estate car for half the current showroom price. (A whisker over £10K.) Can't say I've ever regretted that deal.

I was firmly told not to try towing with a hybrid Auris - I forget the reason, something to do with the drive train overheating I think? I believe the current Avensis has overcome that problem.

BJ

[MonsterMork]

Possibly somewhat irrationally, I don't like Bridgestones. I don't know why as the only other vehicle that I know for definite with them was a Yamaha SR500 motorcycle. I suspect it's the same irrational predjudice I have over Fords dating back over 60 years, although it has to be said that the only Ford I've ever had was a right piece of crap.

Ain't that da troot? Back in the seventies, the first thing you did when you bought a new Japanese motorbike was to throw away the factory-fitted Bridgestones before they killed you, and fit a proper pair of Dunlops or Avons instead. It's certainly what I did. They seemed to be made of nylon or something, they were so hard and skiddy on a wet surface.

I'm sure MM will be along in a minute to correct me, but I'm pretty sure that the basic Toyota 1.8 lump is unchanged from the 1990s, except that they introduced variable valve timing and a few other things to the mix along the way.
BJ

Yes, back in the day Bridgestone bike tyres were indeed awful. Mind you, so were a few of the others, with their triangular cross-sections, or for those who want the full-on sideways experience may I just say two words? Cheng Shin ... (cue old school bikers having a connery). SR500? Set of Avon's I reckon would be about right.

The 1.8 Toyota lump is somewhat venerable. First installed in 1997 it has proven itself to be quite a durable unit in most cases, with VVTi added from around 2001.

Getting back to the original post, unfortunately I can't really comment! My 1.8 Avensis is from 2003, with 115k on the clock but only does around five thousand miles a year. Tyres have only just been changed from whatever was on there when bought three years back (as detailed in a post somewhere else on this board) so I can't yet say owt about the mileage ability of the Bridgestone Turanza T005's now fitted. As for economy I used to get around 42-45 about town, or 50 (and occasionally a touch more) on long runs. I am now fighting with the gang of evil swine known as Lambda sensor, MAF sensor, IAC valve and Catalytic Converter, who have ganged up on me to slurp unleaded like it is going out of fashion I have spanners and a trade account with several motor factors, and I am not afraid to use them! Victory shall be mine!

MM

[DrFfybes]

Our is the 2016 1.6 Diesel Avensis Estate, chosen for the size, frugality and as a wafting mile muncher . When the seat is set right I can happily do the 3.5 hour journey in one hit, struggling only with tiredness on the M54 stint past Telford which by 10:30pm is very quiet and very dull.

It is used mainly on the M5 between Shropshire and Devon, where it pretty much exactly gives a rather disappointing 50mpg average. This doesn't seem to matter whether it is doing 65, 70, 0r 75mph.
It will just about edge over 55mpg if the cruise is set at 60mph, but labours uphill in top gear at that speed. In fact the top gear is really a pain, anything under 55 needs a downshift, meaning on country roads it is pretty much always in 5th. I'm thinking of getting it remapped to boost the torque.

It needs 5th at 50 mph for roadworks and the "air quality zone" past Wrexham (actually 2 of our cars drop a gear for 50mph, makes me wonder how much less pollution they cause compared to 60mph).

Tyre life - no idea yet. The tyres on it were about 4-5mm in July, which was about 6000 miles ago. At the service last week they were still all over 3mm, but I know the last bit of tread wears quicker. They are Bridgestones on one axle and Michelin on the other (one reason on it's favour was the lack of budget tyres - never a sign of good maintenance on a used car). Road tax is £20. That was for a year. Our other cars are multiples of that each month. There is something very wrong with the VED system

I like the reversing camera, MrsF isn't as keen and prefers reversing sensors. The stereo quality is poor but I'm comparing it to our other 2 cars which were £50-90k when new. However at sub £8k for a 3.5 year old car with FSH from the main dealer, it is fine. We're currently using it as a tool to move stuff anf us. It will probably last until we stop driving, or diesel cars are banned. Otherwise I suspect in 20 years we will look at it and think we should have taken more care of the interior, rather like we are doing now with the Carina.

Paul