Toyota Avensis Touring Car

Toyota has unveiled its new Toyota Avensis “Next Generation Touring Cars”, with just a week to go before the start of the 2011 BTCC season ,at Brands Hatch next week. The new cars highlight the liveries of privateer teams Dynojet Racing and Hughes Motorsport/Speedworks.

Dynojet Racing livery

Both cars have been constructed by GPR Motorsport using bodyshells from the Toyota production line at the Burnaston Plant, in Derbyshire and will be powered by Toyota’s 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, with 300bhp available.

The British Touring Car Championship season boasts a record 27-car entry this year, with 10 different manufacturers represented. All 10 races will be featured on ITV 4 in HD as well.

Toyota, in conjunction with VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency), has announced some voluntary recalls on some models of the Avensis and Lexus IS 250. All drivers of the affected vehicles will receive a letter which advises the procedure for taking their vehicle into an authorised Toyota or Lexus repairer, for the rectification work to be carried out.

Toyota Avensis

The issue affects 2.0-litre and 2.4-litre Avensis petrol models produced between July 2000 and September 2008 and relates to potential concerns with the fuel system in the vehicle. There are two concerns affecting these vehicles, namely a possible cracking of the fuel pipe after a long time and the second concern is related to potential insufficient tightening of the fuel pump check valve.

There are approximately 15,500 UK registered Avensis vehicles that are affected and the work to rectify the issues should take between two and four and a half hours to complete, at no cost to any customer.

Lexus IS 250

The issue affects certain Lexus IS 250 petrol engine models produced between August 2007 and February 2009 and is related to the fuel pressure sensor.  The fuel pressure sensor could loosen (or in rare cases leak) due to possible insufficient tightening of the sensor.

3,100 UK registered cars are affected by this recall and again the repair should take either one hour to complete or up to three hours if the gasket needs to be replaced. All works will be completed at no cost to the customer.

Toyota’s Managing Director commented,”We are committed to putting the customer first and have a total focus on the quality of all our products. We will liaise with our customers to carry out the repair procedures as efficiently as possible, with minimal disruption”.

Toyota has also confirmed that there has been no reports of any accidents related to either condition.

Euro NCAP has released data on its top five safest cars in 2009, based on their maximum five star rating and their overall score. The Volkswagen Golf VI was top of the list.

The top 5 cars are as follows;

1. Volkswagen Golf VI
2. Honda Insight
3. Toyota Prius
4. Hyundai i20
5. Toyota Avensis/Volvo XC60/Vauxhall Astra (Opel)

Euro NCAP has also published a full list of results in an easily printable table of all the cars they have tested and upgraded in 2009.  Car leasing prices on all these models are also available now.

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Company car drivers looking for a reliable, economical and quality saloon will probably consider the Toyota Avensis. We have a Toyota Avensis  diesel saloon 2.0 D-4D  T2 business contract hire offer from £257.35 +VAT per month. Great fuel economy with a combined mpg of 55.4 and a CO2 figure of 135g/km, which is well under the 160g/km threshold.

The Toyota business contract hire terms are based on the following;

- Non-maintained business contract hire over a three year term at 10,000 miles per annum.

- 3 rentals in advance followed by thirty-five subsequent rentals (38 payments in total)

- “With maintenance”, metallic paint and other vehicle options can be added at an extra cost.

- The image shown may not represent the exact model.