2007 TRD Aurion SL3500 Road Test
October 16, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
Still, I had not given up, sure this is not a mountain runner and power delivery is not as usable as I’d wished for, but given all that engineering, there must be something to it that has made Toyota put their credibility on the line.
We pulled over half way up the mountain and shared some thoughts, according to the Liberty GT driver, the TRD looked extremely well composed as it screamed from corner to corner, this was surprising, given that my arms were sore from taming the steering wheel.
In the process of trying to combat torque steer, I had neglected the incredibly well composed suspension. With limited body-roll, the Aurion has the right chassis for a performance car, but the power needs to go to anywhere but the front-only.
Honestly, this is not a track car like the Liberty GT can be and it’s not all that fun to drive enthusiastically, but as a day to day family car with heaps of grunt, it does an excellent job. Would I pick it over the Liberty GT? Probably, but that has something to do with the sound of the supercharger.
We decided given the car’s establishing reputation, we should should take it down to the Gold Coast – Queensland’s car-loving hotspot – to examine interest in the car.
On multiple occasions passing drivers gave us the thumbs up, which was interesting, given they usually show the other finger when we arrive in supercars.
By all accounts, the TRD marketing department has done an excellent job, small crowds gathered to check out the car at broadbeach, some even took photos. Even the Aston Martin DB9 didn’t receive this sort of attention! Of course we couldn’t help but to show the party piece, the red supercharger.
This attracted the attention of the local Gold Coast constabulary who were keen to hand out a ticket for illegal modifications having noticed the supercharger – sorry officer, this one has passed all ADR rules.
So this is where the TRD Aurion stands. It has the power, it has the credibility and the backing of the world’s largest manufacturer, but it still lacks something that no amount of money or marketing can buy – a soul.
When you sit behind the drivers seat of a Liberty GT, HSV R8 or an FPV Typhoon, you can’t help but to feel that almost supernatural connection between you and the car, there is something magical when the car does as you ask, it’s romantic.
The TRD is like a genius first-year foreign exchange student, it has the brains, the ability and the funds, but it fails to get the point across – for now. It is a reasonably good start for the TRD brand in Australia, and it’s only bound to get better.
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Paul, have you apologised yet?
mate you accuse NM of attacking anything that is remotely wrong with toyotas yet you must forget that you attacked things that werent even wrong with fords and holdens. for eg you called the mondeo too overpriced yet it offered far more than a camry??
mate ive never heard ford of being accused of poor handling where do you get that. ford has lead the handling department until holden (with the VE) learnt how to also make a car handle. before VE came out ford was cleaning up in the handling department. and then you dip into their euro range and the focus has cleaned up there for a while too. and now the mondeo looks to be another leader from the euro stable.
I once or twice get that from other half – I once called it domestic deafness. Better get used to it Andrew M, as seems like you are similar. Must be amnesia or Toyota withdrawal symptons due to reality check as he realises “YES ALL CARS OFFER SOMETHING, NOT JUST ONE SINGLE GOD DAM CAR MANUFACTURER”
Andrew.M Im not going to link the handling document for the 1000th time, it was at drive, the comparo between SV6, SX6 and XR6. It was stated that over uneven surfaces, the Falcon got nervous, that isnt good handling.
As for this other BS you Ford fairies are creating, no there is a difference between mistaking a price tag and trying to say a brand, which gets survey after survey, study and study, of good reliability results, is not reliable.
That is one reveiwers opinion. I’ve read other comparos that make no mention of this, in fact, they were amazed how close the aging BFII is to the new Aurion and VE, in handling. I’m interested to see how Orion compares.
241kw through the front wheels… this TuRD sounds like a coffin on wheels to me.
Yes,another half arse offering from the worlds largest auto manufacturer as they know that people will buy anything with their badge on it. Through a concerted and well contrived campaign over the last twenty years they have enlisted the paid support of luminaries in various markets i.e Lawsie in Oz to spread the word about Toyota reliability and quality to the extent now where this mainly perceived reputation has reached mythic proportions.
So now they don’t have to try too hard as the blandness and mediocrity they offer is bought by willing consumers for top dollar without question. I remember reading that Mitsubishi some time ago poached a leading Toyota marketing executive hence the better built better backed campaign.
What really grates is how arrogant Toyota owners are towards other makes. Toyota started out using copies of early british and euro engine designs in the early days and in the late sixes copied most of Mercedes mechanicals for the Toyota Crown. Even today you can see that each new model of Lexus keeps with the latest Mercedes styling to the extent that they are often hard to tell apart. I’ve owned and driven both Japanese and local makes and haven’t experienced a huge difference in reliability. The longer you hold onto a vehicle the more likely ancillary bits will start to fail and need replacing. In my experience Toyota is no exception in this regard. The main advantage with Ford or Holden or even Mitsubishi(local) is that the replacement parts are a quarter or less of the price of the equivalent part for many Japanese models local and import such as Mazda, Subaru or Toyota.
Toyota Paul I will think you will find that motoring writers like most of us have far higher expectations of rough or dirt road handling when it comes to the locals like Falcon, Commodore and 380 even and are subconsciously more forgiving of the Japs in this regard as the locals are usually so good in this regard. If you drove a Commodore or Falcon over dirt road corrugations I am sure you would find the ride, handling and body integrity evident far superior to anything with a Jap badge if a direct comparison were to be made.
Hiya Toyo_Paulie.i see youve made a lot of close friends with your nonstop big T marketing. thought i should pop in for a look how things are going.
Top notch point there “Realcars”.i can’t remember who said it, but someone on here said the following:
“idiots buying toyotas thinking theyre flash as a rat with a gold tooth, think they got a better car than a Merc, haha. just listen to out-of-date Lawsie, know what I mean?”
worn out any more keyboards/mice yet Toyo_paulie? looking up your rubbish so-called figures. big T may be on the slide now, hope they like the sudden stop at the end. rofl.
Another dull toyota…..
can anyone send me ute please with a gurt big 6ltr motor
six litre is not really anything.
you can have a brillian figure ‘6′ as engine displacement but the torque and power can be pretty bad.
a 3.5 litre can be brilliant when it gets tuned and charged properly just like the TRD Aurion
The TRD Aurion was that good. Yes it really WAS that good. It WAS that good that Nobody bought one and now nobody CAN buy one as they are defunct, deceased, shut down, killed off…. In other words – EPIC FAIL!
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Then you dont have a pulse… and ute with V8… great combination lots of power and no weight over the drive wheels…
Toyota-Hater…Ford and Holden… EQUAL LAST in reliability… the stats do my talking
what are these stats you are talking about? you say there industry stats yet i am in the industry and cant find them…..
What type of car do you drive toyota paul?
Paul you are such a sad case haha
The bloke says “another dull toyota” and you tell him he doesn’t have a pulse hahahaha. Maybe he finds the idea of a 3.5L naturally aspirated engine dull?
People like other products outside of toyota paul!! you cant tell the man he has no pulse because he finds your choice of car boring!!!
Learn to accept other peoples views and opinions! You cannot control what other people like and dislike!
Geez! How old are you now?? I can guarantee you do NOT have a girlfriend!!!
Whoops – that should read “supercharged” not “naturally aspirated”.
I can’t make my mind up which colour I would prefer one in.
Perhaps Varicose Blue or Salt n Pepper Silver or even Octarian Orange for a hoot!!!