Ten Hours in an Avensis

I have posted my thoughts on certain cars here before, so regular readers will know I am somewhat critical of things automotive. Recently, I had the pleasure of a meeting in Dumbarton, Scotland. This meant getting there and back in a day, a journey that would take 10 hours driving. Not including stops. On top of the two-hour meeting. Needless to say I was hoping for a decent car. [spoiler alert] My hopes were dashed. 

I had thought about this drive when out strolling, and came up with a few things that would make the trip manageable, without expecting miracles:

• A diesel engine. On a motorway in-gear grunt is king. Not needing fuel every 300 miles is also plus.
• Supportive seats. I'd rather not add a visit to an Osteopath to my expenses.
• Decent connectivity with the stereo. Auxiliary input in particular; listening to podcasts makes the motorway less brain-numbing
• Steering wheel controls. It's 2012, not asking too much. Plus, outstretching arms is an inconvenience for the lazy
• Reasonable isolation from road/tire noise. Something that often goes unnoticed by people who drive the same car all the time.
• Air conditioning. An added bonus; but it was summer, albeit in the temperate climate of the UK.

To my dismay, the car turned out to be a 2011 Toyata Avensis. With a petrol engine.

I shall not rant, but try my best to present my opinions objectively. It is worth noting that the car was well-specced; all conceivable extras seem to have been chose (reversing camera, satellite navigation, 6 CD changer, air conditioning) with the exception of leather upholstery. 

I'll get straight to the bad points seeing as these frustrated me the most. But, being ever the geek, I will group them.

Driving experience. The obvious one was the serious lack in power. At motorway speeds the accelerator pedal did little more than cause more noise, although, slowly, the vehicles velocity did change. For any spirited lane changes, one needed to increase the engines leverage on the wheels. By two gears. The gearchange was a big let-down as well, giving the driver little real feedback, instead a feeling of "afterthought engineering" resistance, but in the wrong places.

Infotainment. Having seen the high spec of this particular car, I was pleasantly surprised, imagining a blissful trip. That pleasantness soon began a transition to its antonym. The infotainment system was unfathomable, with a display that looked like something from a Japanese luxobarge from the mid 90's. I couldn't figure out how to turn off the navigation without ejecting the SD card containing the mapping (that's coming from a self-confessed tech geek). On a smaller, slightly more confusing note, there was no AM tuner on the radio - a pretty small thing to omit, preventing the occupants from BBC Radio 5 Live.

Interior ergonomics. For something with inherently few options for their placement, the steering wheel controls managed to seem very awkward to reach. Not so much that a hand had to be removed from the wheel to use it, but sufficiently awkward that hands had to be strained to use them. The plastics and switchgear gave an feeling of cheapness, but while trying to give the impression of high quality to compete with the top German makers (BMW, Opel, VW). I can't help but be saddened somewhat by this pretence - the car is no longer an honest machine. 

Engine power aside, the Avensis performed well on the motorway, offering good isolation from road noise and cruising comfort. Interestingly, given the modest and often frustrating power deficit, its natural gait hovered around the 85 mph mark. The door "thunk" was also satisfying, strange, given that the interior was so low rent. Another pleasant surprise came in the form of the seats. On initial seating, they seemed to lack the physical and visual features one would normally associate with supportive seats, but after a 16 hour day - including 10 hours behind the wheel - I was rather fresh.

My impression of the Avensis changed quite a bit between collecting it and returning it. On seeing it I was impressed - still thinking it had a diesel engine. That went down steeply when I got inside, and plummeted further in the first 5 minutes driving it. It began redeeming itself the following day, and continued to do so during the trip. However, it's journey to redemption didn't claw back enough to make up for the dismal impression it made in my first half hour with it.

Conclusion? I couldn't recommend one to anyone of my friends or family. For the cost, a much better car (of the same age and type) could be had. But it wasn't all bad, it did have good qualities, just not good enough. These were also countered by a lot of bad features, as well as a pretty dismal first impression. 

P.S. I can be positive about hire cars. I had 2012 Vauxhaul Astra diesel two weeks ago: fantastic car. Well specced, borderline unbelievable power and refinement. I also had a 2011 Nissan Micra a few months back: until the Astra, this was head and shoulders above any other hire car I had. Simple, buts honestly simple, no pretence.

P.P.S I wrote this in WriteMonkey a distraction-free text editor. Check out their awesomely bloat-free application here. Hence the break in tradition; I wasn't listening to music while writing this, forgive me.

Toyota Prius

As part of the New Job, I do quite a lot of travelling. The majority of which is abroad, but some is domestic. The nature of the job requires a car, so we hire them. It's great as I get to sample a nice range of cars (as a passenger or a driver), but these are rather far removed from anything that could be branded as exotic - in fact, they are mostly in the cheapest/smallest group.


Last Wednesday, I was booked into a training course in Newcastle (St. James' Park, got a tour too - it was great!). The hire car? A gen 3 Toyota Prius. At 4:30 am before a three-hour drive it was not what I wanted to be greeted with.


As an avid reader/watcher of automotive media, I had my preconceptions of what it was going to be like (read "I already disliked it"). Was I surprised? Yes. In a good way? Nope.


I accepted that it was awful compared to what a car should be, but I never thought it could be as bad as the hacks made it out to be. I was wrong. So very wrong.


Let's leave the hybrid aspect aside for now and concentrate solely on the experience for the occupant. Every single tactile surface felt like it was made of material that was on it's third life via the wonders of recycling. The dashboard surface was particularly appalling, it's nastiness will not be forgotten for some time.


PST. Power Sharing Transmission. It's effectively a Continually Variable Transmission (CVT), but with two inputs (in this case an electric motor and IC engine). I won't get into the details (for more see here), but suffice to say that it eerie. To cut a long story short, it allows a continuous range of gear ratios (unlike traditional ones which offer discrete rations: 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc). This is of interest to the boys and girls who developed the Prius because it allows the engine to operate at a RPM which is of optimal fuel efficiency, or where peak power is produced. This means that when you go to overtake on the motorway, you mash the accelerator pedal into the footwell carpet and the engine zips to it's peak power zone straight away (which is alarmingly high, and doesn't sound pleasant at all).... and stays their for the duration of the accelerator pedals stay in the carpet. All the while the car is speeding up!


A few other things that are worth a mention:

1. Steering. It's like those old steering wheels for Playstations from 7 or 8 years ago: total feeling of disconnection; in terms of steering feel, and that it simply feels like there is no mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels you are supposed to be controlling. Deeply unnerving.
2. Cabin noise. It's loud, even by my standards (I own a 20-year-old Golf GTI, and have owned a straight-piped Corolla). For a new car (with such a hefty price tag) it's just not good enough
3. Ride comfort. There is no need for it to be that harsh. The excuse of the extra battery weight is invalid, F10 BMW 5-series is minimum 1700kg and rides much better (price differential doesn't excuse the Prius either, it has a mass of just over 1300 kg)
4. Drive train couldn't make up it's mind. It was constantly switching between combinations of electric and petrol power: surely that's inefficient (not to mention jerky and irritating)

On a good note, it masked the sensation of speed remarkably well: a motorway cruise, although noisy, didn't seem to stress it out overly. Also, the dashboard, nasty as it may be, was a great companion for KFC-feasting.


It has been widely commentated in the media that the Prius has become a fashion statement. I disagree whole-heartily: it has become a lifestyle statement, and said lifestyle has become fashionable. I fear that the shortcomings that upset me will be glossed over as quirks that arise from its goodness to the environment, but they are not. The Prius (now in it's third generation, remember) has put "greenness" above fundamental vehicle development. For example, earlier today I had another hire car, a 2012 Nissan Micra 1.2. That was a surprisingly pleasant place to be and an involving drive. But best of all, it's three-pot power-plant sounded genuinely terrific! 


My point is that the majority of buyers purchase a Prius as a lifestyle vehicle, to be trendy and keep with the times. That is OK, but I fear they are being ripped of; it has so many flaws for what it's supposed to be that it is just a bad car, not a car that is not-as-bad for the environment as others. It's a shame, because I really want to see a good alternative fuel car. The best so far is the Honda FCX Clarity, that's the way forward (imho).


(Written while listening to Damnation by Opeth)