Comments on: Toyota Aurion TRD Breaks Cover

By: nona

nona — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:25:15 +0000

I own a 2003 XR8 4 speed auto 5.4L Ba Falcon, i also have a work car a red Aurion TRD 6 speed auto supercharged. And on paper and in real life my old 248000km 5.4L Falcon XR8 totally destroys my work 15000km Aurion, beating it by almost 1 full second 0-100. This is no joke, this is a fact, its a fact 100%, as simple as that. And worst of all my gearbox has been playing since 2006, and still destroys that FWD crap from 50km/h towards 260km/h.

By: HSVjebiga

HSVjebiga — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:05:31 +0000

Great topic, and i got one bright idea.
Which one of these cars mentioned above has great capacity for improvment?.
What iam talking about here is buying yourself a brand new car and taking it to a tuner shop and increasing its improvments by something like 50 to 75% of what it was in the showroom.
I mean people who have money and love for performance cars will have time and money to spend a bit more and smoke off a lot of cars from standing start, not to mention a standard factory vehicles.

By: Dingo

Dingo — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:02:46 +0000

The reason TRD didn’t opt for an AWD Aurion was simply and solely because of the developmental costs associated considering the TRD Aurion is only engineered for Australia’s relatively small market.

Infact, out of all the countries the Camry is sold in, no AWD system for the humble Camry has been developed any where therefore TRD Australia would have had to develope it from scratch to only satisfy a small market hence why it did not come to fruition.

By: Deadly

Deadly — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:49:22 +0000

I think Toyota are fair dinkum on the target for this car – Subaru etc – they realise the Falcodore performance market is a rusted on fraternity – looking at the TRD 3500sl it does not look like a muscle car in the traditional sense – for me this is very good….the people who buy Subara Liberty GT’s etc are probably much the same. Also the Falcodore muscle scene tends to be very much about horsepower, burnouts, in your face stuff – i’m past that.

The whole TRD package appeals – tight, medium sized hunkered down exterior with lots of room inside – it looks the biz to me….but again I would not buy one if they do not get the steering, handling right, not worried about power that should be OK – and no, I don’t mean how it goes on a racetrack – I have an MX5 for that.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 05:39:07 +0000

Hmmm there are performance advantages in FWD ETTan, the main one being a higher traction threshold as you have the driven wheels over the greatest mass, the engine. The main drawback is torque steer. Around a track a car fitted with the same engine and different configs will run very similar times, as both have advantages in different settings (RWD better at slow corners, FWD better at fast corners) and the FWD engine will have more power at the wheels, as they lose less, so overall they are prity even as a number of tests have shown. Street wise the disadvantages are even more reduced as there are driver aids to reduce the negative aspects of FWD (and RWD for that matter). The reason why RWD is used in Lexus is because of demand, RWDs are arguable more fun to drive and as a result consumers demand it, not to mention the stigma attached to FWD cars (supposedly not performance based).

At the end of the day TRD will produce a decent car in the Aurion, I dont think its going to be ground breaking… but it will get reasonable sales. On a side note, Ive heard reports of people seeing the TRD Aurion on the streets unclothed, they say it looks very nice. Im interested to see some more shots, given that its less then a month now till its released Toyota/TRD aernt doing a great job at hyping it up… only visible sign I have seen is their new TRD advert showing how they compete in various motorsport competitions (I think this is related to the TRD Aurions release).

By: ETTan

ETTan — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 05:13:54 +0000

think about this: Toyota/TRD had earlier wanted to build an AWD TRD Aurion but technical difficulties/cost issues have prohibited that from happening. They admitted that.

Toyota then changed their line and now saying they’re up for the “luxury performance”, and going against Liberty, Audi, Alfa.. etc. And no longer aiming to take on Holden’s SS or Ford’s XR/XR6T. What a gimmick..

Toyota aint stupid! There ARE performance advantages in RWD over FWD — Else why are all the luxury Toyota (Lexus) sedans RWD’s? the IS, GS? and just the every-man’s Toyota Camry/Corolla are FWD.

I dont drive a Holden/Ford, in fact, I currently drive a Toyota. My next car wont be a Ford/Holden/Toyota

By: Dingo

Dingo — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 04:33:22 +0000

Toyota’s will stick to FWD cars because it helps to distinquish it’s everyday models from it’s marque brand Lexus. With exception to the ES series, all Lexus vehicles are RWD or AWD whereas a typical evryday Toyota is FWD.

Besides, i am sure the Aurion will grow in popularity as the market becomes more familiar with it (remembering the Commodores has been around since ’78 while the Falcon even longer) and i’m sure the experianced gained from developing the TRD Aurion will improve Toyota’s FWD vehicles in the generations to follow especially considering vehicles are getting more powerful by the model.

Holdens HSV Astra has been bagged something awful because of it’s cronic torque steer whereas Toyota’s engineering has been able to achieve respectable results.

The TRD Aurion is sure to be a great car within it’s own rights and no-doubt will establish itself a niche market while giving greater recognition not only to the everyday family Aurions but the Toyota brand itself… not that it needs any more recognition considering it market domination. The TRD Aurion is sure to satisfy the lower end of the performance market while Lexus with it’s upcoming IS-F and LF-A will satisfy the higher end. Good business to me… !!

By: Andrew. M

Andrew. M — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:01:03 +0000

1. yes for certain it would have been the 4sp auto falcon used in the demo 0-100. especially if it were on the toyota site. (therefore not a fair test in my opinion).

2. i doubt ford or holden would want to design a FWD car for starters. i think toyota are just wanting to stick with FWD for the hell of it. i mean there are no great advantages in it. i still dont think that a FWD would ever handle as well as what you can get a RWD to. for starters you need a lot of strut braces etc just to get half decent handling out of. and the other thing that worries me is the tyre wear you get on FWD cars or the lack of it on the rear. tyre wear (in most cases) a direct representation of the grip you are getting. the rears on FWD cars barely wear.
and one major thing is towing capacity. well say no more there.

3. yes the falcon may weigh more but it puts out more torque to combat that aswell.

4. and yes power figures on the falcon may be only rumours at the moment but so is the TRD. i mean it doesnt exist yet either.

5.the falcon doesnt have just a bit more torque… it has a hell of a lot more torque and even bigger than that is the fact that it is all delivered by 2000RPM. most people call that short shifting (2000rpm).

6. and if the XR6T goes up to 270kw then you would expect the higher models(F6 etc) to go up in the same proportion. power increase doesnt mean price goes up either. it means the manufacturer has refined/tuned it a bit more. nothing extra is added to justify a price increase.

and for the record the 6 sp ford offers would have to be the best out there at the moment

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 07:30:08 +0000

Well they say its up against the Liberty GT etc… personally I see it also against the XR6T as the lower speced TRD Aurion wont be alot higher then it in terms of price.

As for power, well I think the TRD Aurion would get the current XR6T slightly… rumours at the Aurion will have 240kw and 400Nm, now the XR6T has similar figures abit more torque, but at the same time RWDs lose more power through the drivetrain. Also the lower Aurion does 100 in 7.4seconds so Id think with the extra power, torque and it all being produced down lower its going to cut the 100 down a fair bit.

As for the new XR6T, they are rumours at this stage, personally Ive heard it will be 270kw but tbh I cant see that happening, there will be an increase but it would seem illogical to put it that high unless there is also a price increased associated with it! Or else they are blurring the gap between FPV and the XR6T… why would you bother with a Typhoon if it has say 290kw or alittle more for $15k or so more! Also consider that although power will be up, the current XR6T is about 100k heavier then the Aurion, a fair amount, but thats without ESC and more importantly side or curtain airbags (prity sure). Thats going to add weight and weight has a massive effect on acceleration.

By: Azza

Azza — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 07:07:04 +0000

So would that mean that the TRD Aurion will be in rivalry against the XR6T? Or just the XR6?
And what would Holden have to rival it?
Holden haven’t yet discovered how to properly use Turbo Charging and Super Charging. Or maybe they will just stick with the SV6.
In my opinion Toyota are releasing the TRD Aurion just to rival against the XR6T.
But good luck to Toyota, they might be the best Car brand on the planet, but they are going to need more then a Supercharger to beat an XR6T. Especially if the rumors are true about the XR6T ‘Orion’.