irishcar.com

14 March 2003: Toyota's new Avensis has gone on sale at a starting price of E24,250, just E600 more than the outgoing car but with a much higher specification.

It is also more competitive in its entry-level 1.6-litre than both the equivalent VW Passat (E25,680) and the Renault Laguna Mirage (E26,500), and is just E170 dearer than the Ford Mondeo LX.

The Avensis is available in saloon, liftback and wagon versions, and for the moment only 1.6- and 1.8-litre VVTi petrol engines are on the Irish market, with a top price of E30,350 for the 1.8 Luna saloon with automatic transmission.

A range of 2-litre petrol and D-4D turbodiesel versions are coming later in the year.

The Avensis is the first car in Europe to have a knee-protection airbag among its nine airbags, and Toyota are expecting a 5-star rating in the April results of the latest Euro NCAP crash tests.

Toyota Ireland MD Dave Shannon saod today that he fully expects that the new Avensis will bring Toyota to lead position in the Irish market by the end of the year.

And he's also positive that - despite the late arrival of the car to Ireland and the delay until June in getting the very important diesel, which represents 40 per cent of Avensis sales here, that the new Avensis will lead the segment, as it has done for 16 out of the last 17 years.

A key element of the new Avensis is the attention paid to lowering cost of ownership, and changes have been made structurally so that impact damage which would have cost E3,000 on the outgoing car would only cost E1,300 on the new one - a 55 per cent reduction.

Similarly, a typical E2,600 crunch in the rear would cost just E900 to repair on the new vehicle, down 65 per cent.

And Toyota are saying they expect the tyres on the new car to last 45,000 miles, a big improvement on some previous cars.

Air conditioning is standard across the range, and full climate control is available in upper specification cars.

The distributors plan to sell between 5,500-6,000 of the new Avensis in a full year.

	March 2003 - by Trish Whelan & Brian Byrne
New Avensis goes on sale at testing price 14 March 2003: Toyota's new Avensis has gone on sale at a starting price of E24,250, just E600 more than the outgoing car but with a much higher specification. It is also more competitive in its entry-level 1.6-litre than both the equivalent VW Passat (E25,680) and the Renault Laguna Mirage (E26,500), and is just E170 dearer than the Ford Mondeo LX. The Avensis is available in saloon, liftback and wagon versions, and for the moment only 1.6- and 1.8-litre VVTi petrol engines are on the Irish market, with a top price of E30,350 for the 1.8 Luna saloon with automatic transmission. A range of 2-litre petrol and D-4D turbodiesel versions are coming later in the year. The Avensis is the first car in Europe to have a knee-protection airbag among its nine airbags, and Toyota are expecting a 5-star rating in the April results of the latest Euro NCAP crash tests. Toyota Ireland MD Dave Shannon saod today that he fully expects that the new Avensis will bring Toyota to lead position in the Irish market by the end of the year. And he's also positive that - despite the late arrival of the car to Ireland and the delay until June in getting the very important diesel, which represents 40 per cent of Avensis sales here, that the new Avensis will lead the segment, as it has done for 16 out of the last 17 years. A key element of the new Avensis is the attention paid to lowering cost of ownership, and changes have been made structurally so that impact damage which would have cost E3,000 on the outgoing car would only cost E1,300 on the new one - a 55 per cent reduction. Similarly, a typical E2,600 crunch in the rear would cost just E900 to repair on the new vehicle, down 65 per cent. And Toyota are saying they expect the tyres on the new car to last 45,000 miles, a big improvement on some previous cars. Air conditioning is standard across the range, and full climate control is available in upper specification cars. The distributors plan to sell between 5,500-6,000 of the new Avensis in a full year.
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