Ooh la la! Toyota showcases its new Burnaston cars at Paris Motor Show
TOYOTA has been showcasing the cars it will start manufacturing at its Derbyshire factory later this year at the Paris Motor Show.
The Japanese firm put on show the Toyota Corolla hatchback and the Corolla Touring Sports – an estate version of the car. Both of the cars will be made at the company’s Burnaston factory towards the end of this year.
The Corolla hatchback is a replacement for the Auris. At the start of the year, Toyota confirmed the Derbyshire plant would be making the new hatchback and in August revealed it would be dropping the Auris name in favour of Corolla. The Corolla Touring Sports replaces the Auris Touring Sports.
Toyota had already launched the hatchback version at the Geneva Motor Show but the Paris Motor Show was the first time the Touring Sports version had been unveiled to the public.
Toyota has high hopes for both the hatchback and the Touring Sports, with each car having a more dynamic and sporty look when compared to their predecessors.
The company has revealed more details about the cars. Both will be available with a single conventional engine option in the form of a 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine, but Toyota is placing more emphasis on the hybrid options, which can run on petrol or electricity. The hybrid choices will be a 120bhp 1.8 litre or 178bhp 2.0-litre system.
In a statement, the company said: “Toyota has responded to feedback from potential customers who want more power when driving a hybrid car, moving to offer its core models with a choice of two hybrid powertrains.
“One has all the established strengths of Toyota’s fourth generation system, including improved responsiveness, more linear acceleration, fuel efficiency and a relaxing drive. The other builds on these qualities, with more power on demand, effortless acceleration and more dynamic, ‘fun to drive’ characteristics.”
Prices for each model, which will compete in the C-segment (mid-sized family cars) part of the market, should be available soon.
Both cars will be built using a new manufacturing process that is being introduced at Toyota factories, including Burnaston, called the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform. It involves standardising engines and components across its models and is aimed at improving competitiveness. Toyota has invested £240 million in Burnaston to introduce TNGA.
Speaking about the exterior design of the Corolla hatchback, Simon Humphries, executive general manager of Toyota Global Design, said: “Our primary goal with the new Corolla was to create the boldest and most dynamic hatchback on the market, without compromising interior usability.
“Harnessing the low centre of gravity afforded by the TNGA lay-out, the vehicle is light and agile in the side view yet, as we move to the rear, the architecture transforms to create a solid, wide and low stance that is absolutely critical to the European market.”
Commenting on the exterior design of the Touring Sports, Kazuhiko Isawa, chief stylist at the firm’s European Design Centre, said: “We aimed to develop the most sleek and sporty wagon in the C-segment while offering customers downsizing from the D-segment the benefits of class-leading rear seat leg room and highly competitive loadspace.”
Toyota said that the colour choices for the hatchback will be the same as those for the Touring Sports, including bi-tone finishes.