Toyota Auris Touring Sports estate (2013-2019) - Interior & comfort
A comfortable ride is one of the strong points of the Toyota Auris Touring Sports, but it can’t match the interior quality and design flair of rivals
The Toyota Auris estate remains a comfortable and quiet car at all times – although this is somewhat spoiled by the hybrid version’s noisy CVT gearbox. The interior feels solid and well screwed-together, but overall it’s a bit drab and lacks the classy premium feel you get in the Volkswagen Golf Estate.
Toyota Auris Touring Sports dashboard
Like the hatchback, the Auris Touring Sports gets a clear and well laid-out dashboard, with not too many buttons to cause confusion. There’s a robust quality to all the materials used, but they all look and feel a bit drab and workmanlike compared to the more plush VW Golf Estate. The LCD digital clock looks especially dated.
Equipment
There are four trim levels for the Auris estate: Icon, Icon Tech, Design and Excel. All are available as a Hybrid, too.
All are well equipped, with must-have kit such as body-coloured power-adjustable door mirrors, air-conditioning, a four-speaker stereo, seven airbags, hill-start assistance, a multifunction steering wheel and a tonneau cover to keep your luggage hidden from prying eyes.
Entry level Icon cars feature 16-inch alloy wheels, front foglamps, a rear-view camera to help with parking, silver roof rails, Toyota’s Touch 2 multimedia system, a six-speaker stereo with DAB digital radio, a leather steering wheel and Bluetooth phone connectivity. It also includes Toyota Safety Sense, a package of crash-mitigation features that include autonomous emergency braking, lane-departure warning and traffic-sign recognition.
Moving up to Icon Tech adds sat nav and cruise control. We reckon this represents the best balance between purchase price and standard equipment in the Auris range. Design is more costly, but some may appreciate the extra style of its 17-inch alloy wheels, part-alcantara suede interior trim and privacy glass.
The top-of-the-range Excel adds, dusk-sensing LED headlamps, dual-zone air-conditioning, and intelligent parking assistance, while introducing 3D map functionality to the sat nav system.
Options
In common with many other Japanese cars, the Toyota Auris Touring Sports doesn’t have a long list of optional extras – the idea is to just pick the spec level with the equipment you want that matches your budget.
Metallic paint is an option across the range, though, while full leather upholstery and a panoramic sunroof can be added to the range-topping Excel model.
Toyota dealers can also supply extras at the time of purchase, such as boot liners, floor mats, mud flaps, cargo nets, dog guards, parking sensors, baby seats, Bluetooth phone connectivity and DAB digital radio.
