Refreshed 2012 Toyota Prius Priced from £21,350 in Britain

Toyota has released UK pricing on its subtly facelifted Prius hybrid that goes on sale this March. The 2012 model is offered in three trim levels with on-the-road prices ranging from £21,350to £24,620.

Revealed last September at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the 2012 Prius gains some modest improvements inside and out.

On the exterior, there's a newly designed front bumper that houses new daytime running lights, clear headlamps featuring a revised LED lamp configuration, different tail lamp graphics and a new choice of alloy wheel designs.

In the cabin, there are new front seats, new upholstery and softer-touch surfaces, while Toyota also raised the equipment levels, most notably with the Toyota Touch touchscreen control system that is now standard on all grades.

Toyota also claims to have made changes to the suspension and steering column to improve comfort and steering feel.

There are no changes to the Prius' hybrid setup that mates a 1.8-liter Atkinson cycle petrol engine with a CVT and an electric motor to deliver a combined cycle fuel economy of 72.4mpg UK with CO2 emissions of 89g/km (70.6mpg UK and 92g/km respectively for models riding on 17-inh alloy rims).

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Toyota Introduces Updated 2012 Land Cruiser with V8 Turbo Diesel in theUK

After the recent presentation of the updated Toyota Land Cruiser in its home market of Japan and then in North America, the full-size 4x4 model has now been introduced in Britain where it goes on sale this March.

Available exclusively with a revised V8 turbo diesel and a single trim level, the 2012 Land Cruiser is priced at £62,285 on-the-road (equal to US$95,900 or €75,000).

On the outside, the large 4x4 sports a new fascia with a different bumper, grille and headlamps with LED daytime running lights, along with restyled taillights and exterior mirrors with LED turn indicators. Furthermore, the UK model gains new black roof rails, side mouldings with chrome details and new 20-inch alloy wheels.

The cabin gets new seats that are air conditioned/heated up front, a central cool box, heated steering wheel and improvements in the quality and appearance of the trims and finishes throughout.

The 2012 model is offered with the new Toyota Touch Pro multimedia and navigation system with a digital tuner, Bluetooth and a rear-view camera as standard, while the Japanese company offers an optional in-car entertainment package with two eight-inch seatback-mounted monitors that are said to be resilient to screen “jitter” when the vehicle is on the move.

Under the hood, the Land Cruiser's 4.5-liter turbocharged V8 diesel engine has been modified and now features a diesel particulate filter (DPF) along with new fuel injectors in the common rail system to comply with Euro 5 standards.

The V8 is rated at 268bhp (200kW) at 3,600rpm, and has a maximum torque of 650Nm (479.4 lb-ft) delivered between 1,600 and 2,800rpm.

Finally yet importantly, Toyota has introduced a slew of handling and driver-assistance systems. These include:

• Turn Assist, that reduces the vehicle’s turning radius when driving through tight off-road bends
• Crawl Control, with five speed settings for tackling steep climbs or descents
• Multi-terrain Select, with five selectable modes to tailor vehicle performance to different off-road conditions
• Multi-terrain Monitor, providing a 360-degree view of the area immediately around the vehicle via four external cameras
• Tyre Angle Display, displayed together with the predicted tyre path guidelines on the Multi-terrain Monitor, showing changes in steering angle between zero and 45 degrees
• Variable Flow Control power steering, with a unique, dedicated off-road setting

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So You Never Want to Leave Your Toyota Prius, do You?

If you are asking us whether someone has been creative with a ton of snow, the answer is no. If you are viewing this bizarre build from the side and wondering if this is some sort of humorous phallic statement, the answer once again is -you guessed it- no.

So what in the blazes is it, we hear you ask? Well, it's a Toyota Prius camper van conversion and it was unwrapped (or so to speak) at this weekend's 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon with NAPAC. And no, we are not pulling your leg – it does exist and it's available for order.

It's the wacky creation of Campinn, which specializes in these sort of builds. The transformation from going green to living in green involves the addition of a huge lump on top of the Prius, which is made entirely of Fibre-Reinforced Plastic (FRP) and increases the hybrid's length to 4,980mm (196-in.) and height to 2,050mm (81.1-in.).

Inside, there's what the company describes as a living area that can be optionally fitted with retractable coffee table and/or a side sofa while doubling as a bed, and if someone happens to visit, there's also as second bed on the…second floor. Did we mention that it also gets a back door?

What will they think of next…

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TRD Launches New Performance Line Accessories for Toyota 86 at Tokyo Auto Salon

The Toyota 86 (along with its Scion and Subaru brethren) is just one of those cars that you know beforehand will draw massive attention from the aftermarket industry as buyers will surely want to upgrade the coupe's appearance and looks.

At this week's 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon, TRD (Toyota Racing Development) presented a first batch of performance and styling goods for the 86 sports coupe.

Toyota's in-house tuning division has developed a new aero package with side skirts, a full width front spoiler, a rear apron that includes a diffuser and a boot lid spoiler that go together with a bespoke fuel cap cover and 18-inch black alloy wheels.

Inside, TRD's offerings include body hugging bucket seats, a push start button, a shift knob, and what the company describes as a "Sports Meter Link System" with readings for water temperature, oil temperature and oil pressure.

Key handling features added to TRD's Performance Line 86 include a reworked and fully adjustable suspension with new front and rear anti-roll bars, a carbon front strut, additional cross-bracing and a stabilizer set, plus a sports brake kit with 6-piston calipers up front and 4-piston at the back and a high-response, four-tailpipe exhaust system.

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2013 Toyota Land Cruiser Improvements and Equipment Upgrades Come at a Price

While Toyota has yet to publish photos of the North American version of its facelifted 2013MY Land Cruiser, the Japanese company went ahead and released pricing for its full-size SUV after yesterday's announcement.

You can read the full details on all the changes in our previous post here, but to recap, aside from the subtle cosmetic tweaks inside and out, Toyota also added some new features like the Multi-terrain Select system and CRAWL Control with an Off-Road Turn Assist, while the previously optional Upgrade package, priced at $6,270 on the 2011MY, is now standard.

All of these enhancements come at a price as the 2013 Land Cruiser 5.7L V8 carries an MSRP of US$77,995, not including a delivery, processing and handling (DPH) fee of $810.

The base 2011MY Land Cruiser was priced at U$69,120 while the model with the Upgrade Package at US$75,955, again without the DPH fee.

Toyota said that the 2013 model year Land Cruiser will begin arriving at dealerships across the country in early February.

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Facelifted 2013 Toyota Land Cruiser 5.7 V8 Announced for the U.S

As we anticipated, after the December launch of the updated 2012 Land Cruiser 200 in its home market of Japan, Toyota has announced details on the North American version that will go on sale in the States as a 2013 model later this year.

While Toyota's U.S. arm released photos of the European specification model, the same styling changes apply for the 2013 Land Cruiser that will be sold here and which we will most likely have the chance to see for the first time at next week's Detroit Auto Show.

Beginning with the exterior, the Land Cruiser gains an updated front grille and headlamps with HID low-beams and LED Daytime Running Lights, enlarged front and rear fenders, chrome side moldings, and redesigned outer side mirrors and tail lamps.

The revised model rides on newly designed 18-inch alloy wheels with a high-gloss finish that are shod in P285/60 R18 mud-and-snow steel-belted radial tires.

Inside, Toyota refined the interior of its eight-seater model with a higher gloss wood grain finish, brighter silver instrument panel ornamentation, chrome-plated air registers and updated meter-cluster lighting.

New features for the 2013 model include: a Multi-terrain Monitor with front, side or rear selectable views; a redesigned Multi-information Display; an Eco Driving Indicator light and zone display; heated steering wheel; Dynamic Radar Cruise Control; an additional power outlet (DC 12V) at the rear of the center console; and an AC 120V rear cargo deck power outlet.

There's good news for those that like their vehicles well equipped as the Japanese company decided to make all previously optional safety and convenience features standard.

These include the rear-seat DVD entertainment system, color-keyed rear spoiler, rain-sensing windshield wipers, center-console cooler box, headlamp cleaners, leather-trimmed steering wheel and shift lever, multi-information display, voice and Bluetooth hands-free controls, and heated second row seats plus Toyota’s Premium Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Navigation with Entune multi-media system and JBL audio.

While the Land Cruiser continues with the 5.7-liter V8 engine that produces 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque, linked to a six-speed automatic transmission, the Japanese brand has made changes to the 4x4's various electronic systems.

New for the 2013MY is a Multi-terrain Select system that dials in wheel slip control to match the conditions of the terrain. For example, in loose terrain such as mud and sand, the system allows for more wheel slip than normal while on solid rock, wheel slip is minimized with the system acting more like a limited slip differential.

Toyota also introduced a new five-speed CRAWL Control with an Off-Road Turn Assist feature.

The CRAW Control system is activated when the transfer case is shifted into low range regulating engine speed and output along with braking force to help the driver on extremely rough level ground or steep grades. As for the Off-Road Turn Assist feature, it pulses the rear corner brakes to help the 4x4 make sharper turns when steering through tight quarters on rugged terrain.

Finally, there's a new four-wheel multi-terrain anti-lock braking system while Toyota has added a Trailer Sway Control to the standard equipment of the Land Cruiser.

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New Toyota Camry Excels in Consumer Reports’ Tests, VW Passat Not So Much

Consumer Reports has just announced its latest test results. This time, the nonprofit organization put two brand-new, family sedans under its microscope – and while the one came up trumps, the other was a mixed bag.

Starting with the new 2012 Toyota Camry, Consumer Reports tested three different models with a four-cylinder, a V6 and a Hybrid engine, all of which ranked amongst the best in their class.

As the magazines notes, compared to the model it replaces, the new Camry has a plusher interior, more responsive handling, improved ride and better fuel economy, with only the increased road noise and some cheap details tainting the overall picture.

In fact, while the 173HP 2.5-liter four-cylinder version ties with the Hyundai Sonata for best-in-class fuel consumption delivering 27 mpg (8.7 lt/100 km), the more powerful 268HP 3.5-liter V6 is just a smidgen more thirsty and, at 26 mpg (9.0 lt/100 km), beats most four-cylinder rivals.

The Camry Hybrid’s main disadvantage is that it has a slightly smaller trunk. Other than that, the qualities of the other versions combined with an average fuel economy of 38 mpg (6.2 lt/100 km), earns it not only the “Recommended” tag, but also the top spot in its class.

The second vehicle tested by CR is the all-new North American market 2012 VW Passat. The magazine says that while the Passat is a clean sheet design, its interior “feels more ordinary” compared to its predecessors and its handling is less agile.

“VW has made the redesigned Passat surprisingly similar to the Camry, but with so-so results”, said Consumer Reports’ Test Center director David Champion, who added that the 2012 Passat is too new to have reliability data.

The base 170HP 2.5-liter inline-five version was criticized for its "antiquated and gruff-sounding" engine and its 25 mpg (9.4 lt/100 km) combined fuel economy. The top-of-the-line 3.6-liter V6 version received much more positive comments thanks to its plusher interior and its smooth 280HP engine.

According to CR, though, it’s not the pick of the range: this title belongs to the 140HP, 2.0-liter TDI diesel model which unlike diesels of yore, is completely devoid of noise, smoke and exhaust smells. Its strongest point is its consumption: the 37 mpg (6.4 lt/100 km) average was quite impressive – though not as much as the 51 mpg (4.6 lt/100 km) it recorded on the highway.

From Consumer Reports press release:

Based on previous above-average reliability, the four-cylinder and hybrid versions of the updated Toyota Camry are Recommended, The previous Camry V6 has not been reliable enough for CR to currently recommend the updated model. The redesigned Volkswagen Passat is too new for Consumer Reports to have reliability data.

Consumer Reports only Recommends vehicles that have performed well in its tests, have at least average predicted reliability based on CR’s Annual Auto Survey of its more than seven million print and Web subscribers, and performed at least adequately if crash-tested or included in a government rollover test.

 

2012 TOYOTA CAMRY

2012 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

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