Auris is evolving to meet the needs and preferences of even more motorists with two new grades joining the line-up this spring.
* SR follows the lead of the flagship SR180 to deliver eye-catching sports styling and specification within an even more accessible price range
* TR provides a price-friendly combination of generous specification, exceptional safety and superior quality
Toyota has given its new Urban Cruiser small SUV its European debut at the Geneva motor show, the latest addition to its distinguished 4×4 vehicle heritage.
The new model is aimed firmly at the urban all-road market, where European sales have almost doubled since 2002. Scheduled to go on sale in the UK during the first half of 2009, it responds to customer demand for stylish SUVs with lower fuel bills and CO2 emissions: Urban Cruiser is expected to come in below the 140g/km emissions benchmark.
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Toyota has given the production design of the new iQ its world premiere at the Geneva motor show. First presented as the Concept Car iQ at the Frankfurt motor show last year, the new model will go into production late in 2008 with UK sales scheduled to start in spring 2009.
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Introduction
The new Land Cruiser V8 replaces the Amazon and is the eighth generation of Toyota’s legendary Land Cruiser large-scale SUV. It remains true to its heritage in being a thoroughbred off-roader. More than that, it is equipped with world-first technologies to ensure safety, comfort and secure handling both in the rough and on the open road.
Toyota’s “no compromise” approach is clear in vehicles with traditional body-on-frame construction, crucial to the vehicle’s ability to tackle the toughest terrain. This tried and tested approach is matched by sophisticated handling, suspension and drivetrain systems that extend the off-road capabilities and enhance comfort and stability in normal driving.
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New models, new engines, a wider choice of hybrid power models and record-breaking feats helped power Toyota to a fifteenth successive year of sales growth in the UK in 2007.
Combined UK sales of Toyota and Lexus passenger cars and Toyota LCVs totalled 143,436 units in 2007, an increase of 3.2 per cent on 2006. These results outperformed the new vehicle (passenger car and LCV) market as a whole, which grew by 2.6 per cent year on year.
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Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., returns to its compact pickup truck roots with its latest concept vehicle A-BAT. The environmentally advanced A-BAT provides modern versatility, roominess and style in a compact pickup architecture. The A-BAT will be on display at the Toyota exhibit in Detroit at the 2008 North American International Auto Show beginning Monday, Jan. 14.
“Driving from beyond the suburbs to the city is a way of life for many people,” said Kevin Hunter, president, Calty Design Research, Inc. “We’ve taken Toyota’s truck heritage to a different level by envisioning a vehicle capable of manoeuvring the suburbs as well as dirt roads. This compact truck is as comfortable for long commutes as it is for road trips. It can accommodate outdoor toys and home improvement supplies. Plus, customers benefit from the hybrid powertrain’s low emissions and fuel economy.”
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Prius celebrates its 10th anniversary this month and a decade during which it has pushed the boundaries of automotive innovation and set benchmarks in low emissions and fuel economy that Toyota’s rivals are still struggling to match.
Even though Prius has pioneered many new technologies, most notably its Toyota Hybrid System (THS) powertrain, it has proved enormously popular with motorists, thanks to its environmental credentials, versatility, ease of use and low running costs. It remains the world’s cleanest family car, with carbon dioxide emissions of 104g/km, and has an official combined cycle fuel consumption figure of 65.7mpg.
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New RAV4 and Yaris models are lined up for 2008, ensuring Toyota customers can enjoy some true New Year bargains. With high equipment specifications, competitive on-the-road prices and the benefit of Toyota’s hallmark quality, durability and driving pleasure, they are perfectly positioned and priced to succeed.
RAV4 XT-R
The new RAV4 XT-R is set to become the most popular version of Europe’s best-selling SUV, offering customers an upgraded specification that covers all bases in terms of style, comfort and convenience.
Even though it goes beyond the equipment level provided in the XT4 model, the XT-R costs the customer less: taking the full specification into the equation, the total added value is worth £1,565.
On the outside the XT-R is distinguished by its dark-tinted rear privacy glass, new-design six-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels, chrome-finished grille, front under-bumper protection plate and bespoke XT-R badging. In place of a spare wheel there is an easy-to-use tyre repair kit. Deleting the rear-mounted spare means the XT-R gains a wide-opening tailgate.
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Toyota has unveiled two new robots, a “Mobility Robot” and a “Violin-playing Robot”, which could become very useful at Christmas in years to come.
The Mobility Robot provides transport in places where conventional wheeled vehicles would fail, including steps, making it the ideal aid for all those hours of Christmas shopping.
The Mobility Robot can move at speeds of up to 4mph – human walking pace – and travel up to a distance of 13 miles on one hour of battery charge. In addition to being able to transport its owner, it can also follow people and avoid obstacles, allowing it to function as a porter, leaving the owner’s hands free at the New Year sales.
The Violin-playing Robot is capable of performing a variety of tasks with its hands and arms. Its delicacy of movement is best demonstrated by the fact it can play the violin. It can achieve vibrato on a violin similar to that created by humans, enabling it to play all the classic Christmas carols.
The 1.5-metre tall Violin-playing Robot, equipped with a total of 17 joints in each of its hands and arms, uses precise control and coordination to achieve human-like agility. It could also be used to assist with domestic duties or nursing and medical care.
These newest additions to the Toyota Partner Robot family are being developed to support people’s everyday life but unfortunately you won’t be able to purchase them for this Christmas. Toyota hopes to have these and other Toyota Partner Robots on sale in the early 2010s.
Toyota Partner Robots are envisioned to assist people in four main fields: domestic duties, nursing and healthcare, manufacturing and short-distance personal transport.
Toyota is primarily focussing on technology that works in harmony with people, such as assistance devices that can help move heavy instruments in a factory, on mobility technology for autonomous movement, on full-body coordination for walking and jumping, and on tool manipulation.
Toyota has unveiled a massive driving simulator, designed to safely analyse driving characteristics and so develop improved active safety technology.
The driving simulator, located at Toyota’s Higashifuji Technical Centre in Japan, provides one of the world’s most-realistic simulated driving environments, allowing driving habits and reactions to be accurately gauged.
Key to this virtual reality is the use of a real car placed on a platform housed inside a 7.1-metre-diameter dome, the inside of which serves as a giant 360-degree video screen.
As the driver operates the vehicle, a tilt mechanism, vibration apparatus and other devices manipulate the dome, which can be moved around an area the equivalent of four tennis courts, under precision computer control.
The result is a true simulation of the actual sensation of driving, including a sense of speed, acceleration and riding comfort through turns and other driving manoeuvres. Sound effects make the experience even more real.
The driving simulator is no toy. It will mainly be used to analyse driving characteristics under such conditions as falling asleep at the wheel and drowsiness, glancing from side to side and not checking that the road is safe, fatigue or illness, as well as developing active safety technology for effectively reducing the number of accidents.
Toyota’s stated long term aim is to produce cars that never crash and the company plans to put the driving simulator to full use in advancing R&D, not only for on-board vehicle safety systems, but also for systems that support safe driving practices and integrate cars with the road infrastructure.
