When Toyota launched the facelift AurisX hatch range they released a 1.3l version. This caught my attention. I thought to myself "what were they thinking! A 1300 engine in that big body!" Curiosity got the better of me so I went over to the nearest Toyota dealership and arranged to test drive the AurisX 1.3.
The model that I drove was the base model. Standard features were aircon, power steering, abs, airbags and front electric windows. No mags, just 16" steel rims.
Upon starting the car the engine didn't sound like there was anything special under the hood. I proceeded to leave CMH Toyota Umhlanga to do my root to Sibaya and back. Going around the circles in Umhlanga I got some surprisingly decent response from the 6 speed gear box,... yes, a 1300 with a six speed gear box o_O
Then we got onto the N2 towards Sibaya, I decided to open it up a bit. I didn't get a feeling of sluggishness, and the car did well to pick up speed, in fact if the sales person didn't tell me that this was a 1300 I would have thought that I was driving a 1600 all along. The aircon didn't affect the power at all. Nicely done Toyota!
Come to think of it this is quite an excellent eco car. Small engine, low emissions, low fuel consumption, and all this with the power to match a 1600, 74kw to be exact.
I would really consider buying this car but priced at R182k, I think consumers would get put of at that price for a 1.3L. Overall great car, wrong price.
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