We took the wraps off of the extensively revised Toyota Auris at the Geneva Motor Show last week. On sale in the UK later this year, the model benefits from a new engine line-up, a fresh look and a much improved interior.
In this simple, matter-of-fact post, we compare visual differences between outgoing and new.
Up front
The front grille incorporates a floating badge and there are new, more rounded headlights. The bumper has been reshaped and the lower air intake is now longer and wider.
2015 Toyota Auris front end
Current Auris front end
In profile
A shark fin aerial antenna debuts and new two-tone alloy wheels are offered. New colours will also feature, including the sky blue hue applied to the Auris pictured below.
2015 Auris profile
Current Auris profile
At the rear
Two-tone taillights appear alongside a reshaped bumper and a new hybrid badge appears too.
2015 Auris rear
Current Auris rear
Inside
The multimedia controls are touch-sensitive and are set in a piano black surround.
The lowest edge of the dashboard is finished with a leather look trim and the rotary dials for the climate control have been replaced with more tactile buttons.
2015 Auris interior
Current Auris interior
In addition, new cowled dials feature alongside a full colour 4.2-inch information screen.
2015 Auris instrumentation
Current Auris instrumentation
Also good to know
In addition to the visual tweaks that have been applied to the 2015 Auris, the engine line-up has been revised.
A new 114bhp 1.2-litre direct injection turbo petrol engine replaces the outgoing 99bhp 1.33-litre naturally aspirated unit and a BMW-sourced 112bhp 1.6-litre diesel powertrain – first seen in the Verso MPV – appears alongside the existing 90bhp 1.4-litre D-4D engine, which has been overhauled to meet Euro 6 emissions regulations.
Finally, the hybrid powertrain has been tweaked to deliver lower CO2 emissions and better fuel economy.
Prices and specifications for the new Auris will be announced in due course.
Why not do a similar comparison for the 2015 Avensis.
Hi Mike
Thanks for your post.
Quite spooky as we are working on this at the moment! Should be up on our Blog by close of play today all going well.
Thought rear legroom was being addressed as in the current one I own the rear passengers dont have much need/leg space
knee/ legrrom is very small in the current one I meant 🙂
Hi Peter
Thanks for your post.
As you may be aware the dimensions of the Auris have not changed in terms of interior space but we will pass your comments back regarding the rear to the product team. Hope you like the new design though.
The BMW sourced 1.6 diesel 112 bhp is actually a PSA Peugeot Citroen engine which BMW sourced from them!
Hi Ruhban
Thanks for your post.
The 1.6 diesel which we use is built by BMW. While there was some co-development between the two brands in the past to develop the 1598 cc unit this was originally based on the BMW 2.0-litre diesel engine. It was not directly sourced from PSA.
Hope this helps.
I take delivery of the Auris Excel Hybrid next week will this be the new shape?
I like the look of the new Auris. Is there any news on when it will be available in the UK for customers to place orders? I need to get a car this summer and will consider the new Auris if it is available sooner enough!
Hi Peter
Thanks for your post.
Good to hear about your delivery next week. We can confirm that the new shape Auris will not be available until around September this year.
Hope this helps.
Hi Graham
Thanks for your post.
Great to hear of your interest in the new Auris. The honest answer is that the dates are not yet set in stone but we are working towards the order books being open from June/July with the first deliveries taking place from August/September.
Hope this is soon enough but let us know if you have any other questions.
I’m about to place an order through my company for a touring sports icon plus. If the order goes in in the next couple of weeks will it be the old model I receive in the summer? If so, do you have any idea how long it would be likely to take from order (no factory extras) to delivery were I to wait until the new release? And do you have definitive dates for release yet? Thanks.
Hello Matt
Thank you for your post.
Good to hear about your order of an Auris Touring Sports.
If the order is placed in the next couple of weeks then you would receive the current model. This is still TBC but we are working towards to order books opening for the new model from the beginning of July, with deliveries commencing from Sept/Oct. Hope this helps but let us know if you have any other questions.
Thanks for the quick response earlier.
Hmmm. Dilemma! To have the new car for this summer’s trip to France or to wait and get the new model?!
Is the overall spec the same for the Icon Plus Hybrid in both models, and other than the design differences, are there significant changes in the way the car drives etc. that would make it sensible for me to wait?
I’ve read somewhere about soundproofing being improved – is that right?
Is interior comfort etc basically the same?
Also, there’s the mention of improved hybrid economy – how significant is that improvement in terms of MPG?
I also read that the steering had been adjusted to give extra weight at speed – is that correct?
Sorry for all the questions, but I’d thought I was going to be getting the new version, so up until now I’ve been disregarding any negative comments I’ve read online about the old one where they’ve been addressed by the redesign, so now I’m having to give serious thought to whether or not to wait (if I’m even allowed to by our lease company, as my current car is 3 years old).
Thanks.
Hello Matt
You have got a dilemma there. We would be happy to help but I fear our response would be biased! As always our recommendation in such cases is to drive the car to help make your decision however we appreciate that no demonstrators will be at the showrooms at the moment. We mention this because interior comfort can be a very individual perception.
The issues you are referring to to were raised in the following Blog article,
https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-auris-2015-engine-line-up-explained
It does mention about the sound proof improvement, steering adjustment and does broadly outline some of the upgrades between the current generation and the new model. We will need to wait regarding confirmation of whether the hybrid fuel economy changes but CO2 emissions have been reduced. It can be prone to change but we are pretty certain we will keep to the timings mentioned in our previous reply. This may be a decision from your lease company and more information regarding vehicle specification will be made nearer to the launch date. If we can help with any other questions please let us know.
How far back does the front passenger seat recline?
In the new Auris will the speedometer’s full scale be UK mph friendly? One of the criticisms of many euro cars is that the speedometer has km/h numbers, typically from 0 – to anything north of 200. It appears common that for the UK the scale numbers stay the same and the software is changed to read mph. The result being that most of the dial is redundant and the important range from 30-70 mph occupies a very small proportion of the scale and makes accurate reading quite difficult
Hi Richard
Thanks for your post.
We do appreciate your feedback and have passed this back to the product team. The speedometer will read in 20 mph increments and while we have close up images of the European model dashboard, we have yet to receive UK models at this stage for us to photograph. We would be happy to send you images showing the speedometer nearer the time or let you know when cars will be at our dealer network if you want to see one for yourself. Please let us know and we would be happy to help.