Toyota - Dependability rules

Motoring editor ALASTAIR SLOANE looks at Toyota's latest three cars, just released on the New Zealand market.

The world has got it all wrong about Germans and their cars, says a German columnist. Performance and quality are no big deal, even in a country renowned for both. No, the average German car-buyer ranks image as most important.

"As long as the car carries the right label, Germans are willing to accept almost anything, flawed ride and handling included," says Auto Motor and Sport writer Wolfgang Konig.

Second on the Germans' buying criteria is image. Hans' and Heidi's car must be good to look at and talk about, and reflect something of themselves.

If they host champagne parties during the week, climb the north face of the Eiger on Saturdays and race motorbikes around the Nurburgring on Sundays, they probably won't own a used Opel taxi.

Napier car-restorer Dr Greg Beecham understands the attraction of image. He exports many of his classic Jaguars to Germany, where buyers don't care that a rebuilt 1959 Mark II uses a 1998 Ford engine and a 1995 Toyota manual gearbox. They want a classic Jaguar because it looks like a car should.

This is where Japanese cars fall down as a serious alternative in Germany. Sure, their build quality and reliability is often better and they are easy-peasy to drive. But their visual appeal doesn't bring out the beer, bratwurst and oom-pah-pah bands.

Not yet anyway, says Konig. One day things might be different - "provided they stop copying their European competitors' design features."

Japanese cars are not designed in an office at the foot of Mt Fuji. They are penned in studios in America and Europe, mostly by non-Japanese designers. Sometimes their designs mirror those of rival European models and sometimes they don't.

Toyota's best-selling Echo small car, for example, was penned by a Greek and is very much an individual in its own right, especially the interior.

But Toyota's new people-mover, the Previa, is not. It looks, from most angles, like a reworked version of the latest Renault Espace, the French model which started the people-mover phenomenon 20 years ago. But the latest Previa won't be threatened by the Espace because the French vehicle is too expensive to import.

The Previa is one of three models just launched by Toyota New Zealand. The other two are the large-car Avalon - aimed at taking sales from the Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon, Mitsubishi Diamante and Nissan Maxima - and the all-new, all-wheel-drive RAV4.

The Avalon and Previa aren't exactly visual knockouts and wouldn't turn heads in Germany. But the RAV4 might raise an eyebrow or two.

Car-buyers in New Zealand aren't as preoccupied with image as the Germans. It's a factor, certainly, but we prefer dependability and function. That's why Toyota has sold more new vehicles than anyone else over the past 12 years. And although its latest offerings are not as adventurously styled as the Echo, Toyota will continue to dominate the new-vehicle market.

First, the Avalon. It might be new to New Zealand and Australia but it has been around in a slightly different form for six years in the United States, where it was described as bland but efficient.

The Down Under car has been adapted to suit Down Under conditions. It differs in components to the American model except for some panels and glass. Gone, too, are the underpinnings. It now sits on a stretched version of the Camry's chassis, which has been stiffened to allow for better suspension tuning.

Toyota engineers said they tested 80 suspension settings over the past three years before arriving at a set-up that copes with everything that New Zealand and Australian roads can throw up.

The Avalon is powered by a 3.0-litre V6 engine, basically the same unit found in the Camry and Lexus ES300. But Toyota has reworked it to marginally boost power and torque.

Three models are available: the Conquest at $41,800, the VXi at $46,800 and the Grande at $52,300. A $2200 option across the range includes 16-inch alloy wheels, rear spoiler and mesh grille. Standard equipment is extensive, although ABS braking in the Conquest costs an extra $1000. This is a curious option these days in a car costing more than $40,000.

Toyota says it expects to sell 20 Avalons a week in a large-car market running at about 12,000 a year.

The Previa differs markedly from the model it replaces, which has been around since 1991. It is now front-drive instead of rear and the engine is under the bonnet and not under the driver's feet.

The switch has allowed Toyota to increase the wheelbase for more interior room and an improved ride. It has also enabled the company to engineer two rear sliding doors for entry and exit instead of the old model's one rear door.

The Previa is powered by an alloy, 2.4-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. The engine has been reworked to run smoother, boosting power by 13 per cent and torque by 6.

There is no V6 option, however. Toyota says it can do without one, despite the people-mover market being dominated by the V6-powered Chrysler Voyager, Honda Odyssey and Mazda MPV.

Two Previas are on sale, the standard model at $53,900 and Grande at $59,900, both with all the bells and whistles

The all-wheel-drive RAV4 has been a success since it was introduced in 1995, its soft looks belying its ability on and off road.

The new model is stronger and has more interior room. Power and torque from its alloy, 2-litre, four-cylinder engine have been boosted by variable valve timing. Toyota has made full use of the extra oomph by using a viscous coupling in the centre differential, which splits torque 50/50 between the front and rear wheels. This is especially useful in the sticky stuff.

Four RAV4 models are available, two with three doors and two with five. The manual three-door costs $36,500, the automatic $38,250. The manual five-door costs $43,000, the automatic $44,750. Again, ABS braking is a curious option on some models.

On the whole, the RAV4 looks sharper and tougher. The Germans might even concede that it has visual appeal.