Toyota mulls fourth diesel
July 01, 2008
Manual or nothing. That's the gearbox choice for the just-launched diesel versions of the Corolla and RAV4, and Toyota New Zealand doesn't think that'll be a problem.
A different story, though, should the Palmerston North-based market leader also be able to lay hands on a diesel version of the Avenis wagon. That car would have to be an automatic, the company's boss says.
TNZ has released two turbodiesel Corollas - a 66kW/190Nm 1.4-litre costing $33,990 and a $5000-dearer 93kW/300Nm 2.0-litre - plus a $45,990 RAV4 with a 2.2-litre engine generating 100kW and 310Nm.
Designed for Europe and the United Kingdom, these are cars TNZ had to fight hard to secure. Negotiations apparently began two years ago and head office in Japan only gave the nod after engineers had thoroughly checked out the cars' suitability for New Zealand conditions. Our diesel fuel also had to pass muster.
TNZ seems keen to get a turbodiesel Avensis wagon as an alternative to the slow-selling petrol model. The oiler Avensis has been sold in Europe and the UK for some years, with a 2.2-litre engine developing as much as 130kW power and 400Nm torque.
For now, however, it's only sold with a six-speed manual - and that's a turn-off for TNZ boss Alistair Davis.
He told Yahoo!Xtra he'd prefer to await an auto - well, a constantly variable transmission - under development. Doubtless TNZ is thinking about Ford's Mondeo - which recently hit NZ in auto turbodiesel form. Toyota's upcoming counter-measure is a six-speed stepped CVT.
Davis made clear it's still early days anyway.
"At the moment we don't have any plans," said Davis. "There's a possibility we might introduce the Avensis turbodiesel wagon one day but that's far from certain."
He's keen to fully exploit growing consumer desire for genuinely economical cars. The next fuel-savers coming to TNZ are petrol-electrics - the next-generation Prius is expected in 2009 followed the next year by a built-in-Australia hybrid version of the Camry. The Camry and the larger platform-sharing Aurion are not designed for diesel.
TNZ's entry into the passenger sector is logical; its Hilux and Hiace dominate the ute and commercial markets and sales of oiler passenger models have exploded since 2006. Of the 21,000 vehicles it aims to sell in 2008, around 7000 should be diesels.
The best value for money proposition has to be the entry 1.4-litre diesel Corolla, though even that costs $2800 more than a mid-grade 1.8-litre GX hatchback.
The 2.0-litre model is a $41,000 car if you option into an enhancement pack that does, admittedly, throw in a lot of tasty gear. The diesel RAV4 sits $1000 above the 'large-bodied' Limited.
There are detail differences such as the 'wrong side' indicators and, on the Corollas, a curious warning light sequence for the front passenger side airbag (because it can be disabled). And, of course, at idle especially, the tell-tale rattle of an oiler engine is even less unmistakeable here than with some European opponents, notably the Peugeot 308.
The diesels deliver a safety advantage, having more airbags and also featuring the traction and stability controls that have been sadly lacking from the petrols. TNZ admits this has been an issue that cost it some Government fleet contracts for petrol Corollas. The fix is still a year away.
The diesel RAV4 is on a 110mm-shorter wheelbase than the 2.4-litre petrol, so has 90 litres' less luggage room. But it trumps the CVT-only petrol for towability, being rated to take up to 2000kg braked, a 500kg advantage.
From the kerbside, only committed Corolla-ists will notice the diesels have a slightly different roof spoiler. It's easier to look for the D-4D badge forward of the front doors.
Inside, there are different cloth trims and, while the 2.0-litre matches the 1.8 GLX hatch in having climate control air conditioning, the layout is entirely different - knobs rather than pushbuttons.
Even the dearer diesel lacks alloys; they're in a $2000 enhancement pack that throws in stuff that'll be the envy of petrol Corolla owners ... keyless start, auto wipers, heated wing mirrors and so on.
Thrift is a clear draw. A claimed economy of 5 litres per 100km on the European NCAP overall cycle makes the 1.4-litre Corolla as thrifty as Toyota's most frugal pure petrol car, the Daihatsu Sirion. They're beaten by the Prius (4.4L/100km claimed) though the Corolla might have the greater range. In theory, there's 1100kms' driving out of a 55-litre tank.
The 2.0-litre, with a claimed return of 5.4L/100km, is also substantially thriftier than the most frugal pure petrol Corolla, the 1.5-litre wagon (5.8L/100km and a range of 862kms).
The RAV4's claimed overall of 6.6L/100km represents a 40 percent advantage.
Davis said it was not easy to gain Toyota Japan's approval to sell the cars here. In the parent's eyes, these models were to be reserved for Europe - even when they're built in Japan, as these are.
Engineers had to check suitability for our conditions and fuel, an expensive and time-consuming exercise that would have to be repeated for Avensis, Davis said.
"Toyota has limits on the numbers of engineers it can deploy and New Zealand is a very small market.
"When it comes to prioritising diesel work, Europe comes first. Toyota is very cautious. The engineers have to check through everything about New Zealand diesel and regulations."
Going manual-only outwardly defies the perceptible interest from Kiwi motorists in auto-diesels, though TNZ says 60 percent of competitor cars bought here in 2007 were manuals. Even so, if Toyota built automatic diesel Corollas and RAVs, Davies says he would immediately take them.
Just as Hyundai has done with the 1.6-litre i30, an obvious competitor for the 1.4-litre. (The enhanced 2.0-litre might conceivably be compared with the Peugeot 308 while the RAV4 will surely face the Holden Captiva and Hyundai Santa Fe).
TNZ is confident it can achieve monthly sales of 20 1.4-litre Corollas and 70 2.0-litre cars. It is also targeting 25 RAV4 sales per month - about 40 percent of the petrol RAV4 sales average.
Toyota's fleet sales aspirations are obvious and service intervals of 15000kms will surely prove irresistible to bulk buyers. Mind you, they've yet to convince rental car company clients to place diesel Corollas alongside the thousands of petrol versions on lease.
What this means to you: Manual-only strategy isn't perfect, but Toyota's entry into this sector has huge significance. More mainstream brands will surely follow.
A different story, though, should the Palmerston North-based market leader also be able to lay hands on a diesel version of the Avenis wagon. That car would have to be an automatic, the company's boss says.
TNZ has released two turbodiesel Corollas - a 66kW/190Nm 1.4-litre costing $33,990 and a $5000-dearer 93kW/300Nm 2.0-litre - plus a $45,990 RAV4 with a 2.2-litre engine generating 100kW and 310Nm.
Designed for Europe and the United Kingdom, these are cars TNZ had to fight hard to secure. Negotiations apparently began two years ago and head office in Japan only gave the nod after engineers had thoroughly checked out the cars' suitability for New Zealand conditions. Our diesel fuel also had to pass muster.
TNZ seems keen to get a turbodiesel Avensis wagon as an alternative to the slow-selling petrol model. The oiler Avensis has been sold in Europe and the UK for some years, with a 2.2-litre engine developing as much as 130kW power and 400Nm torque.
For now, however, it's only sold with a six-speed manual - and that's a turn-off for TNZ boss Alistair Davis.
He told Yahoo!Xtra he'd prefer to await an auto - well, a constantly variable transmission - under development. Doubtless TNZ is thinking about Ford's Mondeo - which recently hit NZ in auto turbodiesel form. Toyota's upcoming counter-measure is a six-speed stepped CVT.
Davis made clear it's still early days anyway.
"At the moment we don't have any plans," said Davis. "There's a possibility we might introduce the Avensis turbodiesel wagon one day but that's far from certain."
He's keen to fully exploit growing consumer desire for genuinely economical cars. The next fuel-savers coming to TNZ are petrol-electrics - the next-generation Prius is expected in 2009 followed the next year by a built-in-Australia hybrid version of the Camry. The Camry and the larger platform-sharing Aurion are not designed for diesel.
TNZ's entry into the passenger sector is logical; its Hilux and Hiace dominate the ute and commercial markets and sales of oiler passenger models have exploded since 2006. Of the 21,000 vehicles it aims to sell in 2008, around 7000 should be diesels.
The best value for money proposition has to be the entry 1.4-litre diesel Corolla, though even that costs $2800 more than a mid-grade 1.8-litre GX hatchback.
The 2.0-litre model is a $41,000 car if you option into an enhancement pack that does, admittedly, throw in a lot of tasty gear. The diesel RAV4 sits $1000 above the 'large-bodied' Limited.
There are detail differences such as the 'wrong side' indicators and, on the Corollas, a curious warning light sequence for the front passenger side airbag (because it can be disabled). And, of course, at idle especially, the tell-tale rattle of an oiler engine is even less unmistakeable here than with some European opponents, notably the Peugeot 308.
The diesels deliver a safety advantage, having more airbags and also featuring the traction and stability controls that have been sadly lacking from the petrols. TNZ admits this has been an issue that cost it some Government fleet contracts for petrol Corollas. The fix is still a year away.
The diesel RAV4 is on a 110mm-shorter wheelbase than the 2.4-litre petrol, so has 90 litres' less luggage room. But it trumps the CVT-only petrol for towability, being rated to take up to 2000kg braked, a 500kg advantage.
From the kerbside, only committed Corolla-ists will notice the diesels have a slightly different roof spoiler. It's easier to look for the D-4D badge forward of the front doors.
Inside, there are different cloth trims and, while the 2.0-litre matches the 1.8 GLX hatch in having climate control air conditioning, the layout is entirely different - knobs rather than pushbuttons.
Even the dearer diesel lacks alloys; they're in a $2000 enhancement pack that throws in stuff that'll be the envy of petrol Corolla owners ... keyless start, auto wipers, heated wing mirrors and so on.
Thrift is a clear draw. A claimed economy of 5 litres per 100km on the European NCAP overall cycle makes the 1.4-litre Corolla as thrifty as Toyota's most frugal pure petrol car, the Daihatsu Sirion. They're beaten by the Prius (4.4L/100km claimed) though the Corolla might have the greater range. In theory, there's 1100kms' driving out of a 55-litre tank.
The 2.0-litre, with a claimed return of 5.4L/100km, is also substantially thriftier than the most frugal pure petrol Corolla, the 1.5-litre wagon (5.8L/100km and a range of 862kms).
The RAV4's claimed overall of 6.6L/100km represents a 40 percent advantage.
Davis said it was not easy to gain Toyota Japan's approval to sell the cars here. In the parent's eyes, these models were to be reserved for Europe - even when they're built in Japan, as these are.
Engineers had to check suitability for our conditions and fuel, an expensive and time-consuming exercise that would have to be repeated for Avensis, Davis said.
"Toyota has limits on the numbers of engineers it can deploy and New Zealand is a very small market.
"When it comes to prioritising diesel work, Europe comes first. Toyota is very cautious. The engineers have to check through everything about New Zealand diesel and regulations."
Going manual-only outwardly defies the perceptible interest from Kiwi motorists in auto-diesels, though TNZ says 60 percent of competitor cars bought here in 2007 were manuals. Even so, if Toyota built automatic diesel Corollas and RAVs, Davies says he would immediately take them.
Just as Hyundai has done with the 1.6-litre i30, an obvious competitor for the 1.4-litre. (The enhanced 2.0-litre might conceivably be compared with the Peugeot 308 while the RAV4 will surely face the Holden Captiva and Hyundai Santa Fe).
TNZ is confident it can achieve monthly sales of 20 1.4-litre Corollas and 70 2.0-litre cars. It is also targeting 25 RAV4 sales per month - about 40 percent of the petrol RAV4 sales average.
Toyota's fleet sales aspirations are obvious and service intervals of 15000kms will surely prove irresistible to bulk buyers. Mind you, they've yet to convince rental car company clients to place diesel Corollas alongside the thousands of petrol versions on lease.
What this means to you: Manual-only strategy isn't perfect, but Toyota's entry into this sector has huge significance. More mainstream brands will surely follow.
Post a comment
To post a new comment, you must Sign in first.