TRUST TIMES TEN
Toyota, the four-wheel Japanese brand that again leads the way as the one Australians trust the most, keeps innovating while remaining reliable
TOYOTA is yet again Australia’s most trusted car brand. That’s according to the latest Reader’s Digest survey, making it 10 years in a row that the Japanese car crowd has topped this annual survey of more than 2000 people across the country.
It appears a tonne of people are happy with “positive experiences” with the brand and maintain continuing faith in Toyota’s reliability, quality and affordability.
The top-dog rating sits well with strong sales this year giving Toyota Australia a rails run at its 13th consecutive year as the country’s best-selling automotive brand (and the all-new HiLux is still to come).
Toyota Australia sales and marketing director Tony Cramb says winning this 10th “most trusted” crown is significant recognition and valued by the company and its dealers.
“Toyota is determined to continue building its brand and sales by providing the best possible customer experience,” Tony says.
“Sales are one measure of success and the survey results confirm the high level of confidence we have built with consumers over an extended period.”
While there’s a fair range of Toyotas these days – from compacts to family sedans to SUVs and proper four-wheel drives – much of Toyota’s early success was built around the fabled and rugged LandCruiser, imported first by Queensland’s Sir Les Thiess. Today there is a Toyota for all manner of outdoor excursions – with more to come.
For next month, there is a refreshed, updated LandCruiser 200 Series, a reworked Prado plus the much-anticipated 2015 HiLux and its wagon spin-off, the Fortuner.
But it’s the Cruiser which remains godfather to this Toyota off-road crew and is acknowledged as the vehicle which has allowed Toyota to establish a foothold in markets such as Australia.
Here, the Toyota wagon remains the front runner in its segment; sales are up more than 4.3 per cent this year with a market share of better than 83 per cent in the large wagon niche. The LandCruiser 200 Series for 2015 is said to be picking up style, performances and safety “advances” when it hits showrooms in late October.
Toyota reckons there’ll be more power for the 4.5-litre, twin turbo diesel V8 and better fuel consumption plus fewer emissions for both the diesel and the petrol V8. The diesel’s new injectors and revised engine mapping lifts power by 5kW to an even 200kW with torque still a barn-towing 650Nm. Fuel economy is said to be now 9.5 litres per 100km, an 8 per cent improvement.
There are some minor changes to the petrol engine but outputs remain at 227kW and 439Nm.
Outside, there’s a touch more aggro to the nose and a lower, wider grille plus some cosmetic changes to further tidy up the LandCruiser cabin. There are subtle changes to the tailgate and tail lights plus a couple of extra body colours for the new season. This Toyota LandCruiser line-up starts with the diesel-engined, five-seater GX, followed by petrol or diesel GXL, VX and Sahara all running a six-speed automatic transmission. THUMBS UP Top outdoors machine
THUMBS DOWN Prices? It would appear the SUV world doesn’t mind Volvo’s all-new and all-plush XC90 wagon.
The all-wheel-drive Swede’s already been named 2015 Car of The Year and Large SUV of the Year at the British magazine Auto Express New Car Awards. Now comes news Volvo’s been swamped by orders, with 57,000 prospective owners around the world outrunning the forecast 50,000 sales for the year (or what’s left of it); some 75 per cent of orders are for the range-topping Inscription model.
Here, the reaction for the handsome machine has been just as positive, according to Volvo Car Australia boss Kevin McCann.
“The all-new XC90 went on sale in Australia on August 8 and we’ve been delighted by the overwhelming positive reaction from customers and dealers so far,” Mr McCann said.
“We are confident this XC90 will follow in the footsteps of its predecessor and establish itself as the leading seven-seat, luxury SUV in Australia.”
The demand for the top-line model also points to Volvo being better appreciated as a prestige car maker.
Mitsubishi’s hybrid Outlander has once again successfully run this year’s FIA Asia Cross Country Rally, taking out first place in the T1-3 Electric class and finishing 20th overall.
The Outlander PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) covered 2400km of tough tracks in just over 40 hours, which is handy work in showcasing the reliability and durability of the system. It’s the third year the hybrid Mitsu has run this rally.
Changes over the showroom wagon include more power from battery, generator and petrol engine plus more ground clearance with suspension tweaks and bigger diameter wheels.
Subaru has given the entry-level Forester 2.5i-L wagon a little touchup with a variety of extra features in a Special Edition starting at $34,990 – just $2000 over the standard model with CVT transmission. The pack includes leather trim seats, heated upfront and with the driver’s seat powered.