Faults:
We bought the car new. A few things are a problem. We notice a mark on the roof when it was in direct sunlight. It was a clear fault when the car was given its first coat as the surface is perfectly smooth so it isn't damage. We took it back and they said it was the first they'd seen so the roof has to be resprayed which I'm really not happy about. I may negotiate for cash instead as I can't believe it will look perfectly original.
At speeds in access of 100mph (160kph across Germany I hasten to add!!!) the bonnet looked as though it was going to lift - it flapped around like crazy. We adjusted the round adjustable rubber stops under the bonnet and it solved the problem, but I was surprised it had left the factory like that - it really spoiled our journey.
2nd gear was impossible to select without it crunching. It seems to be fine now - just a running-in thing.
General Comments:
Other than these things (which I didn't expect from Toyota) it is great. The ride is excellent. We do a lot of country roads and it handles really well - you don't get horribly sick like we used to in our hideous Freelander. It's very comfortable, full of good toys and goes so well. If your thinking whether to get the 136 or the 177hp pay the extra - it's fabulous. I had a race with a Lotus up a hill I know well and really shocked him!! In the wet it is incredible.
Load space is amazing. Love the storage areas under the boot space - very useful. Love the keyless part..! Stereo is excellent. aircon excellent. looks fabulous in silver with dark windows. can get around 40mpg if you drive easy (which I don't so get 9Litres/100km).
Will cruise at 100mph all day in comfort (apart from the flapping bonnet).
20th Jun 2007, 04:53
I've now had this car a few months so wanted to add some more comments.
We've done 11,000km in just that short time and it has just got better and better. We've now done two 3000km trips and it is so effortless.
The niggles we had were sorted by Toyota very promptly. We had the bonnet flapping around - fixed; the paint problem on the roof has just disappeared.. weird; we had a small amount of wobble on the front brakes so new discs were fitted - now fine though we had to pay for new brake pads. The car did 10L/100km (28mpg) averaging 125km/h fully loaded with 3 people and a lot of luggage on a recent trip from the UK to north Italy. We did it in 16 hours non-stop.
Everyone says it looks superb and more expensive than it really is, it drives really well and doesn't cost a fortune to run. We couldn't be more happy. OK, apart from a few little things that are not perfect - I HATE the buzzer that sounds when the seat belts are not used, the plastic parts in the boot area seem to scratch really easily, I can't see the clock with sunglasses on. So not too much to moan about really.
Forget the Korean copies and overpriced, unreliable Mercs, get a RAV4 and be happy. We are!