Toyota reveals new face of Avensis

Sep 10 2008 Steve Hughes

Toyota reveals new face of Avensis

TOYOTA has given the first glimpse of the face of its all-new Avensis which is to be built in Britain and will go on sale from the beginning of next year.

It will be the third generation of the family model to emerge from the factory at Burnaston in Derbyshire, which is one of three successful UK factories for Japanese giants, together with Honda at Swindon and Nissan at Sunderland.

Designed in the South of France, the newcomer is making its global debut at the Paris Motor Show next month.

The new car has Toyota's latest corporate identity which the company hopes will enable it to steal sales from rivals such as the Ford Mondeo, the forthcoming Vauxhall Insignia and Volkswagen Passat.

Toyota is also revealing the estate version for the first time.

Although specific details of the 2009 models will not be released until the start of the show on Thursday, October 2, Toyota says that the engines will be more powerful and emit less CO2 than the current models.

The design is also said to appeal to a younger audience in a bid to attract a new generation of buyers who are deterred by the relatively high age profile of the car in comparison to rivals.

Joining the new Avensis in Paris will be two other new cars from Toyota which are due on sale early next year.

One is the diminutive iQ, which at less than three metres long is not just the world?s smallest premium four seater but boasts all of the safety attributes of bigger cars. It also has a CO2 level of just 99g/km so is exempt from car tax..

The other newcomer is the 1.4-litre diesel Urban Cruiser with four wheel drive, which has a CO2 figure of 133g/km.