Toyota Auris Hybrid in the UK

Toyota are to produce a Hybrid version of the Auris

Toyota are planning on building – in the UK – a Hybrid version of the Toyota Auris. This will feature the same Hybrid platform as the Prius, which will give it a 98bhp petrol engine together with an 80bhp electric motor. But because the Auris is smaller than the Prius, and less well equipped, the new Toyota Auris Hybrid will come in at a lower price, which will pitch it below the Honda Insight – a key marketing advantage.

An extra plus for Toyota is that the Auris’s size and weight will probably make it more economical and less polluting than the Prius. The Prius has headline emissions of 87g/km, and it is certain that the Auris Hybrid will beat this. But those figures are of course skewed by the hidden environmental costs of producing and running a Hybrid, particularly the battery production and disposal. And although we haven’t driven or tested the new Prius yet, our experience on the old Prius was that it doesn’t come close to achieving the sort of economy you could get from say the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic we reviewed recently.

It is expected that the Auris Hybrid will be launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, and will probably be followed by a RAV4 Hybrid.

By Cars UK