Supra, Auris, RAV4 – the wild world of new Toyota
Fun used to lurk near the bottom of Toyota’s agenda. That’s all changing, says Jake Groves
SAYING TOYOTA is on a roll is quite an understatement. Traditionally, understatement is a very Toyota quality – but that’s changing fast, and soon you won’t be able to avoid seeing the signs of Toyota’s newfound flair and confidence. In its engineering, styling and ambition, Toyota is getting loud and proud. The company is going through fundamental and far-reaching changes in what it makes and how it’s made. Fuel efficiency continues to be a priority, but it’s now joined by vibrant motorsport and performance car divisions. Its previously deadly dull family hatch has just had a complete overhaul that ramps up its desirability, while its SUVs and crossovers are set to stand out from a packed field.
The brand’s latest Golf-class platform – Toyota New Global Architecture, or TNGA – underpins most of it. First seen on the current Prius, TNGA’s flexibility means it’s now used in the funky C-HR and will underpin the new Auris and RAV4 SUV. It’s good enough for the Lexus UX baby SUV too. Toyota claims a 65 per cent rigidity boost compared to its previous platform, and allows engine bay components and suspension mounts to be positioned lower, improving the centre of gravity for better handling.
The design of mid-size Toyotas has delivered equally radical changes. The quirky C-HR – as featured in this month’s Giant Test – is selling like the warmest of buns, and the wildly styled Prius is still one of the best-selling hybrids. The new Auris hatch, due on sale in the UK in early 2019, is as eye-catching but much better resolved. Although Johan Van Zyl, Toyota’s European boss, reckons the previous Auris did what was asked of it, selling around 460,000 units since 2010, this latest version is way more exciting. Adds Toyota’s global design general manager, Simon Humphries: ‘Our primary goal was to create the most bold and dynamic hatchback on the market, without compromising interior usability.’
The RAV4, meanwhile, was North America’s best-selling car in 2017. That sort of success might once have made Toyota play safe with its successor, but not this time around. Design-wise, it’s clearly inspired by last year’s maximum-lifestyle FT-AC concept, and it’ll come to Europe with petrol or hybrid power and four-wheel drive in early 2019.
The pinnacle of Toyota’s rebirth, though, comes in the form of the new Supra – a car the Gazoo Racing team has had a hand in. Gazoo Racing may only be a minnow in the performance car world, but it’s going from strength to strength: 2018 began with podium success in the Dakar rally, the Yaris has been competitive in the World Rally Championship, and Fernando Alonso will co-drive a Toyota at Le Mans this summer.
Much of Toyota’s previous motorsport activity has occurred in a vacuum, but now it’s clearly joined up with the road-car range; the Yaris GRMN wasn’t just a quirky novelty. It’s understood there will be two versions of the Gazoo Racing performance car models. Gazoo Racing Meisters of the Nürburgring, or GRMN, are hardcore performance models: the Yaris has just had the supercharged GRMN treatment. More accessible but still potent will be the GR models: think VW Golf R and GTI respectively and you’re not far off.
This is all feeding into next year’s Supra, co-developed with the next BMW Z4 and to be built alongside it by Magna Steyr in Austria. The fifth-generation Supra will deploy straight-six petrol power – a far cry from the Verso, Avensis and other old-school Toyotas. Van Zyl even fistpumped the air when the wild-looking Supra GR Racing concept took the stage at the Geneva show. ‘ This concept is a clear signal of our intention to bring back one of our most legendary sports cars to the market.’
You can understand his excitement – after so much tedium, Toyota is making its family cars exciting again, hammering out clever new tech left, right and centre, and resurrecting a performance icon.