motorstoday.co.uk 30 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, August 24th, 2006 new registration supplement 06


Rav revs


mental rendition of ‘She’s Elec­ tric’ by Oasis while the Lam­ borghini Gallardo tinkles “Fit and You Know I t ” by the Streets in the old cortex. If I was to attribute a record title to the latest Toyota RAV4 it would probably be "You’ve come a long way, baby" by Fat- boy Slim. Okay, it’s an album not a tune but it pretty much sums up the RAV4. From rather humble beginnings, Toy­ ota’s compact 4x4 has grown into a very accomplished proposition. The latest version was


S


wheeled out to a broadly- appreciative press at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show and first impressions suggested that Toyota had retained many of the core strengths of the exist­ ing RAV4 while adopting many of the characteristics that have


OME cars have natural theme tunes. The Toyota Prius always sparks a


B y AN D Y EN R IG H T


made the Nissan X-Trail such a success. This blending of the two should give Nissan some sleepless nights. When it comes to pan-European sales, Toyota yield to nobody in this market, but the X-Trail has, for a cou­ ple of years now, been recog­ nised as the market leader on these shores. The latest model has a lot to


live up to. Before the advent of the RAV4, small 4x4s were rather unlovely items of the ‘tumble jeep’ persuasion. Show them a comer and they’d show you the sort of low speed aero­ batics that would have a Red Arrows pilot reaching for the barf bag. The RAV4 changed all that. Dubbed the GTi of 4x4s, the


RAV4 soon became the hot ticket in town. That is until the rest of the market got with the programme and developed


some seriously capable rivals like the Honda CR-V and the Land Rover Freelander. With the RAV4’s thunder


well and truly stolen, Toyota needed a response. The second generation RAV4 was better in every respect. Better to drive, with an intriguing array of engines and layouts, it also cribbed a number of ideas from MP Vs that made it more prac­ tical as well. Toyota look to have hit the


nail squarely on the head with the latest RAV4. Bigger, smarter but still resolutely pragmatic, i t ’s a tempting proposition. We’ll have to wait for a proper road test to get to grips with its driving manners but the revised suspension and sharper steering points in the right direction. A hybrid option would have been wel­ come but otherwise the RAV4 looks to have covered a good few bases.


B y AN D Y EN RIGH T


h e r e is a strange rule in car buying behaviour that dictates quite how big a country’s wares can


www.bmw2hire.com Prestons Rental Tel: 01282 720760 motorstoday.co.uk Toyota


Under-rated class act T


become before we stop buying them. Small French and Italian cars are good, some medium ones tolerable but large ones are usually a joke. The same used to apply to Japanese cars until Toyota’s luxury division Lexus shook up the hierarchy. Toyota is now aiming to deliver a stri­ dent wake up call to the medium range family saloon sector in the bluff shape of the latest Avensis. In order to get a true picture


of how good the car is, we’ve taken a look at it in its entry level 1.8-litre guise. With fewer bells, whistles and mechanical whiz-bangs to distract the buyer, perhaps this is where the merits of the Avensis are easiest to assess. Or perhaps not. One glance at the technical specifica­ tion reveals that even on first rung of the Avensis ladder there’s quite a bit to contend with. Not that Toyota will pun­ ish you for the privilege. The entry-level Colour Collection variant starts at £13,995 which is around £1,000 cheaper than directly comparable rivals from Ford, Vauxhall and Renault. What’s more the Toyota looks


so much more substantial than any of the others. It really does appear at first glance to be half a class bigger again, but the tape measure does not lie and shows the Avensis to be a mite smaller in most key dimensions than a Mondeo. Still, to compete with the best Europe can offer, Toy­ ota have realised that a dodgy Japanese translation rarely cuts it. Hence this Avensis is designed in France and being marketed solely on this continent. Even Toyota anoraks may


have trouble recognising the lat­ est facelifted Avensis from its post-2003 predecessor but peer closely at the revised front and rear ends and improvements begin to become apparent. The engineers have also been hard at work on improving the suspen­ sion and steering systems used across the range, improving the ride (which did not need much


enhancement) and the handling (which really did). Otherwise, it’s pretty much as you were. Toyota have made a very fine


job of transforming the Avensis 1.8 from a middleweight snooze- mobile into one of the category’s real heavy hitters. Any car that can marry lowest in class run­ ning costs with best in class practicality and mix in a healthy amount of dynamic competence and sheer road presence is usual­ ly good enough to claim the number one spot. I t’s probably not rocket science to predict that the Avensis 1.8 will fail to outsell the Ford Mondeo or the Vaux­ hall Vectra but make no mistake - i t ’s a better all round car. Alongside the Mazda6 and the Honda Accord, the Toyota Avensis now shows the Japanese have finally got to grips with what was always something of a home banker for the Europeans.


£500* off every approved bought at the Big Event. Over 80 Pre-owned Approved Audis in stock.


A u d i


www.bmw2hire.com Prestons RentalTel: 01282 720760


Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, August 24th, 2006 31


Special Bank Holiday 4 Day Event Friday 25th August to Monday 28th August 2006 inclusive.


Interior Today. Tomorrow.


Climate control air conditioning Heated exterior mirrors Brushed metal effect centre console Unique seat fabric 4 speaker CD audio Leather steering wheel and gear knob


Toyota.


Exterior Free metallic paint; Silver Steel and Ixion Blue Unique 15" alloy wheels ABS and front, side and curtain airbags T Sport body styling. Remote central locking Front and rear electric windows Front fog lamps. Colour coded rear spoiler Colour coded rear parking sensors


Corolla Colour Collection from £11,895


VANTAGE COLNE North Valley Road. Telephone: 01282 857760


Arrange a test drive on line at www.toyota.co.uk/vantage


BLACKBURN Trident Park. Telephone: 01254 580033


Corolla 1.4 WT-i Official Fuel Consumption Figures in mpg (1100km), Urban 33.6 (8.4), Extra Urban 49.6 (5.7), Combined 42.2 (6.7). C02 Emissions 159 g/km. TODAY TOMORROW TOYOTA Model shown Corolla Colour Collection 1.4 WT-i 5 door manual, manufacturer’s list price £11,595. Prices correct at time of going to press and include VAT, delivery charge, number plates, one year's road fund licence and £38 first registration fee. Subject to availability. • Excludes Audi TT and Q7 range. Based on previously advertised prices.


Blackburn Audi Trident Park, Whitebirk Drive, Blackburn, Lancashire Tel: 01254 668777 www.blackburn.audi.co.uk


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