Home & Garden

Starting from today, Toyota UK is accepting orders for its modestly updated iQ mini, which will make its debut at this week's Paris Motor Show. Priced from £10,158 on the road, the 2011 model year iQ benefits from some barely noticeable changes inside and an engine lineup that has been revised to meet Euro 5 emissions standards.

Along with the introduction of a new gray interior with contrasting black upper trims on the doors and toning fabric upholstery or optionally with Kuru black leather upholstery, the iQ's cabin also gets new soft-touch materials on the dashboard and the door panels.

Other updates include the "manta ray" motif panels on the door and center console that adopt a new black finish and a new scarlet surround on the center console.

For 2011, the 1.0-liter VVT-i and 1.33-liter Dual VVT-i petrol engines have been revised to meet Euro 5 emissions standards, with Toyota claiming the changes had no impact on performance or fuel efficiency. As such, the 1.0-litre (manual) model delivers 99g/km and 64.2mpg UK on the combined cycle and the 1.33-liter (manual) with Stop & Start returns 113g/km and 57.6mpg UK.

Carscoop reader Nick K. had an opportunity to snag what may very well be the first spy photos of the long-anticipated minivan version of the Prius, rumored to be called the Prius Alpha.

Spotted out in California following a new Lexus CT200h with its logos covered, the camouflaged minivan seen here - said by Nick to be "about the size of a Mazda 5" - appears to be wearing a Prius-esque front fascia and doesn't look to fit anywhere else in the lineup.

As you can see in our photo gallery after the jump, the minivan and the Prius also seem to share a similar design for the windshield, front window line and tail lamps.

If earlier reports from Reuters and Japan's Nikkei daily are correct, the Prius MPV will end up housing three rows of seats with space for up to seven passengers and be powered by in-house developed lithium-ion batteries (which may later be manufactured with help from Panasonic).

As we recently told you, Toyota Executive VP Takeshi Uchiyamada hopes to launch six new hybrids worldwide by 2012 (two Lexi and four Toyotas) on top of its current hybrid offerings. That means the Lexus hybrid family - LS, GS, HS, and RX - will likely gain another crossover of some sort and probably an IS hybrid.

Toyota - currently at three hybrids in the U.S. with the Prius, Camry, and Highlander - will likely get at least one more variant of the Prius, as well as three other models. Speculation on those is up to you all.

By Phil Alex

Many thanks to Nick K. for the spy pictures!

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

SPESIFIKASI Toyota Auris
Toyota Motor Corporation said it would produce a small hybrid car in the factory Valenciennes, France, in 2012. Principals began to inject an additional investment of funds 53 million euros, or USD 638.5 billion to make it happen.

Toyota is trying to strengthen the hybrid market in the Blue Continent by creating a new model after the success with the Prius. Currently, the factory producing the Yaris in France since 2001 and employs 3,000 people with production capacity of 270,000 units per year.

"We are very grateful to the authorities who have given assistance on this project. Financial aid from central and local governments and local authorities have promoted the implementation of this program," said President Director Makoto Sano Toyota France.

Toyota has started producing hybrid cars Auris in the UK in June. Meanwhile, there has been no announcement about the hybrid model to be produced in France, whether or Yaris Auris. To be sure, the appointment of production location in the City of Blue Wine difficult it will supply the hybrid units to all corners of Europe to the eastern region.

The combination of two words whose meaning is apparently contradictory called an oxymoron, like "living dead", "dangerously safe", "almost pregnant" and "Camry Sport.

Though as strange as it may seem, in short, the car has a certain logic. A typical Camry is well known for its comfortable ride, soft as a marshmallow itself, its direction unclear and the lack of driving pleasure. But the SE version of the Toyota sedan seems to avoid being characterized as boring.

Yet, Toyota sells so many copies of the Camry every year we have to realize one thing: driving dynamics do not reflect the priority of everyone, and should not be either. That may well offer the SE sport to those shopping for a Mazda6 or Ford Fusion?

The Camry SE has aerodynamic additions that provide a little more style to its familiar form, like a front bumper, a rear diffuser, side skirts and a spoiler on the trunk. Personally, I would not get a Camry without these additions. In fact, as they can give the car a sportier look, a competitor like the Suzuki Kizashi is not displayed and no one looks much sexier.

The interior offers a feeling industrial. In addition, alignment of parts of the dashboard is poor, and that's since the consolidation of the sedan for the 2007 vintage. The mixture of dark gray and light gray is nothing exciting. However, all orders well designed, with large buttons and rotary controls easy to use air conditioning, comes to forgive part of monotony.

I wish the driver's seat cushion can be lowered further because my head is tickled by the ceiling while driving: would recline, for it would be inappropriate cons with my usual driving position. The leather seat surfaces are slippery, and with little lateral support, it bustles constantly on the seat in the curves, or it grips the steering wheel.

The space at the back, very generous, three adults can sit on the bench with little chicane. Trunk space, meanwhile, excels with its 425 liters.

I would also like that you can get Bluetooth connectivity without having to opt for all leather and transparent panel. Yes, you can buy a module at the dealership BLU Logic, unfortunately it does not buttons mounted behind the wheel. It would also be nice to have the USB audio da chain without using a group of options $ 3,130.

Under the hood lies the 4-cylinder 2.5-liter 16-valve engine introduced recently by Toyota: it develops 179 horsepower (10 more than in the LE and XLE versions) and a torque of 171 lb-ft. A 6-speed automatic transmission with manual mode is also included, since they can not get manual gearbox in Canada.

The 0-100 km / h in 9.2 seconds making, which is not so bad, and one of the fastest in our recent comparison of mid-size sedan. It does not feel as fast when driving more inspired, because the 6-speed automatic will be slow to react, even in sport mode, for the sake of fuel economy. Traction control is hibernating all summer, since it will probably never apply until there is no snow on the ground.

Speaking of fuel economy, our one-week trial ended with an average of 9.1 L/100 km, which is more than acceptable.

At full throttle, the engine becomes noisy, only by adopting a more relaxed driving, the interior of the Camry is quiet. The turnover of the car is comfortable, obviously, and the suspension so-called "sport tuned" pleasantly surprised us: not by its rigidity, but by how it makes the car more enjoyable to drive. Note that we did not say "exciting to drive, since management is still unclear at the center, which does not inspire to go hunting for twisty roads.

The base price for a Camry SE 4 cylinder falls to $ 27,755, while the band leather and transparent panel said earlier on our test car bringing the total to $ 30,885. For the price, a Suzuki Kizashi appears smaller but more captivating than the Camry, if a sports sedan is your cup of tea of course.

As some of you may recall, Toyota showed a redesigned version of its Highlander SUV at last month's Moscow International Motor Show. Today, the Japanese automaker released details and photos of the U.S.-spec model that will begin arriving at Toyota dealers from September 24.

Not surprisingly, the NA 2011 Highlander features the same styling updates as the model shown in Moscow. On the outside, the Highlander gets a new front fascia, hood and fenders, redesigned head lamps and tail lights, a re-trimmed rear bumper, as well as new alloy wheel designs and black rockers with chrome accents for the gasoline models.

For 2011, Toyota has further distinguished the Hybrid version that gains a unique front grille and bumper design plus color-keyed rockers with chrome accents, vertically stacked fog lamps and blue lens covers for the head lights.

Inside, changes are limited to the added comfort and convenience features such as the 50/50 split third-row seat and manual rear climate control that have been made standard across the range, the standard power lift gate on the SE grade and the revised audio / navigation systems.

The standard 2011 Highlander will continue to be offered with two gasoline engine choices including a 2.7-liter four-cylinder unit with 187HP and 186 lbs-ft offering an EPA-estimated 25 MPG rating in highway driving, and a 3.5-liter V6 with 270HP at and 248 lb.-ft. of torque, hooked up to a five-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission.

The updated Highlander Hybrid debuts a more powerful 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine for 2011, replacing the outgoing 3.3-liter V6. The system pairs the larger displacement V6 engine with an electric drive motor-generator for a total system output of 280 net horsepower. Toyota said the 2011 Highlander Hybrid receives EPA estimated fuel economy ratings of 28 MPG city and 28 MPG highway.

Prices for the revised Highlander range from $27,390 for the base 2WD four-cylinder model to $42,945 for the 4WD Hybrid variant in Limited trim.

__________________________________________________________________

Photo Gallery: 2011 Toyota Highlander

_____________________________________________________________________

Photo Gallery: 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid