The Restyled and Upgraded 2010 Toyota Aurion
January 2011
The Aurion is Toyota’s flagship in the large car segment in Australia. It is basically a Camry with a different front fascia and rear end. For 2010, the Aurion received a significant facelift to enable it to compete with rivals like the Ford Falcon and the Holden Commodore. The three trims of the Aurion – Presara, Prodigy and Sportivo - get new exterior styling changes which include new front bumper designs, wider radiator grilles, headlamps and fog-lamp surrounds, trapezoidal lower intake, LED stop and tail lamps. Toyota's designers also discarded the Aurion's body-side mouldings for a fresher look and introduced new wheel designs for the entire range.
The base model Aurion AT-X is primarily geared towards fleet buyers and bagged the “Australia's Best Large Car” award in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Powered by Toyota’s 3.5-litre quad-cam V6 engine and bragging of a five-star ANCAP crash rating, the Aurion offers lots of space with its 504 litre boot, which will prove quite handy when you load-up the family for a holiday trip. Estimated fuel economy is pegged at 9.9l/100kms. The high-tech engine directs power to the front wheels via six-speed automatic gearbox. When you climb inside the AT-X, it doesn’t look or feel entry-level at all and the ride is compliant and luxurious.
Building on the standard perks of the entry-level model, the semi-luxury Prodigy features dual-zone climate control air conditioning, an electrically adjustable driver's seat, front and rear park distance controls, speed alert warning, a power rear sunshade, wood grain interior, electro-chromatic auto-dimming rear vision mirror and full leather upholstery. The mid-range Prodigy also gets a chrome grille, front fog lamps and 16 inch alloy wheels as standard amenities. Under the hood, the Prodigy is equipped with a wicked 3.5-litre six-cylinder petrol – unleaded engine that produces 200 Kw of power and 336 Nm of maximum torque at 4,700 rpm.
The range-topping and luxury-oriented Presara offers a lavish interior with electric seats with a two-memory setting, an electric sunroof, keyless start, a reversing camera, a premium eight-speaker audio system and satellite navigation. The Presara also features high-intensity discharge xenon headlamps with electric level adjustment. The side mirrors face down when reversing to assist the driver during parking manoeuvres in areas where space is compromised. The stately sedan is powered by an imposing 3.5-litre Dual VVT-i V6 engine that is mated to a six-speed sports automatic gearbox. In addition, the Presara rides on 17-inch split five-spoke rims shod in high performance rubber.
The Sportivo is the Toyota Aurion's sports orientated variant and comes in two flavours for the Australian market: the SX6 and the ZR6. The introductory SX6 boasts of a unique sports body kit, upgraded suspension, electric driver’s seat, leather wrapped steering wheel, trip computer, 17 inch alloy wheels and Sportivo-branded scuff plates. The more luxurious ZR6 shares the same exterior design, but raises the ante with dual-zone climate control air conditioning, electrically-adjustable leather sports seats, heated wing mirrors, parking sensors and an optional sat-nav/audio system. Both Sportivo variants feature a 4.3-inch colour LCD screen and a six-speaker audio system with USB input for iPods.