Diesel could be the new petrol for passenger cars, says Phil Hanson
KEY POINTS:
Toyota New Zealand executives are waiting anxiously to see how the public reacts to the recently introduced Corolla and RAV4 diesels.
Other diesel cars could follow if the newcomers win a thumbs-up.
If they falter, it'll be a blow for the company that is repositioning itself internationally as a supplier of efficient and environmentally friendly cars, largely through the petrol-electric hybrid Prius and some similarly powered Lexus luxury vehicles.
It's too early to gauge what the reaction is after only a couple of weeks, but they have certainly generated a lot of showroom interest, said spokesman Bruce Buckland, who has been closely involved with Toyota's push to bring diesel power to its passenger cars.
Diesel has for years been a cornerstone of Toyota's ute and 4WD wagon market, but apart from Prius, the passenger car range has been all-petrol.
The company is offering customers the choice of common-rail diesel-powered Corollas and RAV4s as an alternative way of lowering their carbon footprint and fuel consumption, chief executive Alistair Davis said.
Toyota had been trying hard to get its hands on some of the diesel Corollas built for Europe. The upshot of prolonged and sometimes pointed negotiations was the promise of a regular supply of two diesel Corolla models and a diesel version of the RAV4 Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).
Perennially New Zealand's sales leader, Toyota is looking to sell 100 diesel Corollas and 25 RAVs a month. Last year, it sold almost 5100 Corollas and believes many of the diesel sales will be incremental, pushing the model over 6000 units a year.
Although European manufacturers and more recently such Korean companies as Hyundai offer diesel cars, this is the first major push by a Japanese company to introduce them into its mainstream car fleet.
Davis said that with the escalating fuel price there had been a notable increase in popularity of small cars from 20 per cent of the market in 2000 to 35 per cent this year.
He said the diesel share of the market had grown to more than 30 per cent. The introduction of the new passenger models would probably break 35 per cent this year.
Two Corollas are offered, both five-door hatchbacks. One uses a 1.4 litre engine, the other a 2.0 litre, both with D-4D technology - a Toyota term for Direct injection four-stroke common-rail diesel with variable nozzle vane turbochargers - technology not long ago found only in expensive performance vehicles.
The 1.4 produces 66kW at 3800rpm and has maximum torque of 190Nm at 1800-3000rpm. The 2.0 offers 93kW at 3600rpm and 300Nm of torque at 2000-2800rpm. Compared to their petrol equivalents, Toyota says they're greener and cleaner with better fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions.
The 1.4 has CO2 emissions of 130g/km and the 2.0 emits 140g/km. Both meet Euro IV emission standards, widely regarded as a benchmark. Overall fuel consumption is five litres per 100km for the 1.4 litre and 5.4 litres per 100km for the 2.0.
Servicing intervals, once a sore point for diesels, are now the same as the Corolla's petrol engines - once a year or every 15,000km.
The 1.4 costs $33,990 and the 2.0, $38,990 with the option of a $2000 extras package.
The new $45,990 diesel version of the RAV is physically smaller than the petrol models we've been getting.
The European version has a wheelbase 100mm shorter, length is down by 205mm and it's 10mm lower. The turning circle drops to 10.2m from 10.6m and braked towing increases by 500kg to 2000kg.
Toyota's happy about the size, as the current petrol RAV is uncomfortably close to the next model up, the Highlander. This Euro version restores some symmetry to the firm's SUV lineup.
It uses a 2.2 litre engine developed from the 2.0 Corollas. In addition to the extra capacity, it has a pair of balancer shafts to lessen noise and vibration and produces 100kW at 3600rpm with 310Nm of torque at 2000rpm.
Fuel consumption is rated at 6.6 litres per 100km, 27 per cent less than the petrol version. CO2 emissions are 173g/km.
Both Corollas and the RAV4 are sold only with manual gearboxes - six-speeds for the Corolla 2.0 and the RAV and a five-speed for the 1.4 hatch. Toyota's anxiously waiting to find out if a lack of automatic transmission will turn customers away.
Meanwhile, it's putting on a brave face by pointing out the better fuel economy of manuals and that because of the engine's torque characteristics, gears don't have to be changed as often as a petrol equivalent.
Buckland says that if the new offerings are popular, Toyota may add more diesels to its New Zealand lineup. One contender would be the Yaris, which uses the same 1.4 litre engine as the Corolla.
And for hybrid enthusiasts, a petrol-electric version of the mid-size Camry will shortly be added to the lineup.
Internationally, Toyota is committed to broadening its hybrid range and developing other alternatives to the petrol engine. Davis said there were many variables to be considered in developing sustainable vehicles.
From Toyota's perspective, the scope of sustainability goes beyond looking at the environment, he said. We also need to deal with consumption of energy, issues of safety, improving mobility and wider quality of life for employees, customers and communities.
He said there are at least three issues needing to be considered; the energy density of the fuel, which determines a vehicle's tank size and its ultimate cruising distance; the well-to-wheel CO2 emissions performance and resource availability.
The best option in terms of energy density was liquid fuels, with diesel leading the way and biofuels a little weaker.
He admitted that while biofuels were good in some respects, they were poor in terms of availability. Hydrogen and electricity look promising, but cruising distance remains a problem, he said.
While Davis didn't want to predict vehicle transport in the next 25 years he thought it likely that batteries, solar and alternative fuels such as recycling waste products and fuels cells would be important paths to the ultimate eco-car.
