2007 TRD Aurion SL3500 Road Test
October 16, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
2007 TRD Aurion SL3500 Road Test
CarAdvice rating: 
Recommended Retail Price: 3500S $56,990 – 6sp Auto only | 3500SL $61,500 – 6sp Auto only (model tested).
Options Fitted: Moonroof
- by Alborz Fallah
It was one of those days in Brisbane, the traffic on the centenary highway was backed up all the way to the Jindalee exit, Mogill road wasn’t moving, Coronation drive and Milton road were both blocked, and I was suppose to pick up a car in an hour.
If it was any other car, I would have probably called up and delayed the pickup till the next day, but this wasn’t just another car, it was the all-new TRD Supercharged Aurion and I didn’t want to waste a single moment…
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Who is Benny Cousins?
Haha, FWD bike, I want one (not). Yamaha actually brought out a 2WD dirt bike based on a WR. It used a hydraulic pump to supply (I forget exactly) about 20% drive to the front wheel.
By all accounts it actually worked pretty well and was light weight, but I think expensive. May become more mainstream in the future,
But a FWD bike, haha, never happen, especially performance wise. I have a DR-Z400 Suzuki. My mates call it the “Doctor” (DR) because it’s the only bike among us that NEVER EVER breaks down on a camping trip. WR’s, KTM’s a little quicker (depending on rider) but Yamaha’s built way too lightly. 8mm bolts where Suzuki uses 10mm and 12mm.
I’m sure Toyota_Paul could appreciate this. DR-Z400 Suzuki not far off Yamaha’s performance, but far FAR more reliable.
Mate bought a Hyosung 250 for about 7g’s new. He doesn’t now a lot about bikes. I’m into dirt rather than road but as soon as I saw it, I thought “uh-oh”.
I’d never heard of Hyosung before, my guess was Chinese. So they are Korean???????? It hasn’t failed him yet, but it’s only been 2000kms.
Ben Cousins …………yer I know football……I dont follow it either but he was a great player for West Coast Eagles?
I do dirt too……..YZs….XRs……….Crs………I am not fussy!
Hey Andrew how does that motor bike handle? More to the point how do you steer it??????? hehehehe
Missile, from now on I want to be known as KFC. Yes I take pillion passengers? Trouble is you would need to be a stick insect as pillion seat is about size of matchbox!
Ben Cousins must be in some sort of shit. You do not get chased thru streets in Perth for NO reason by not normal police may I ad – they took about ten things out of his car. Might be in regards to Chris Mainwarring who died with last known person with him uptil that point being Ben Cousins the AFL player. Ben used to play under Chris when Chris was captain West Coast Eagles!
Hyosung, actually it is Chinese and know someone who had a motocross bike or whatever by Hyosung and it feel apart rapidly! CRAP.
Yeah heard that too about Suzuki DRZ400 being reliable heaps…BUT based on a survey of 2000people at McDonalds Chain Restaurants held by respected Associate Professor Toy Ota Miniz Smalz-Brain. The following question was put to the starving hordes as they went through the drive-thru – “Yeah ridz a motorbike and what brand is it. Would you refer ya mates or whoever to buyz thez same brand as yourz”. The survey revealed not much, just a few graphs and tabulations that pretty much indicated inconclusively that none of them are as good as the Yamaha of mine. This link proves that Iam right so thats all I got to say about that.
PS: Dont try this investigation at home without parental guidance as simply put it is too minor to warrant a full accurate picture. And oh, if people get offended by my jokes… loosen your seat belt mate as your not in the car 24/7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ha ha ha ha ha ha funny as KFC. mate but they never surveyed me!!!!! maybe the survey was conducted outside the maccas near toyota HQ
HAHAHA GOLD KFC.
I think I get on here to read your posts as much as to get car info. I have two mates who are brothers, the elder skites how his WR is quicker (slightly) than the younger’s DR-Z but he doesn’t come with us half the time because it’s in the shop getting fixed, LOL.
Surveys mean almost nothing to me. Everytime I get a phone survey it’s something of NO interest to me like health insurance so I politley say “NOT INTERESTED”. I NEVER get car surveys, and that is annoying.
Thats wrong. Andrew M why are you a lier. I wont apoligise and we will all just laugh about it. Well your wrong, wrong I tell you!
Just because his name was similar to Toyota doesnt mean much, but he he likes Japanese Restaurants been advised. My personal friend at Toyotaville HQ, right hand man to CEO tells me this is accurate and they like the Report too – they made a point of pointing this out to all and sundry. He was upset as I told him the obvious that 2000people is a small base to carry out the survey, he pointed out that it was pointless doing more as there was no point as the SINGLE QUESTION was often misunderstood and not really a precusor to get people to open up about real sentiments and relability issues and he pointed galdly at the figures with a wry grin. He seen my point on that, even though his body language was pointless and moving right along as he wanted to run hard with the miniscule survey and profit from it. So there you go, I put my info up! So my point is it is pointless pointing out your point as it cannot be accurate as not across the entire customer base as Toyota like it. May I point out further that I agree with them.
Ahhh, Ben Cousins. Slightly rings a bell now as an AFL player. I have absolutely no interest in AFL, NRL, etc. I’m more into motorsport, boxing, cricket, etc.
Only time I hear about AFL players is when one has made a dick of himself at a night club.
KFC ,Oh I guess my …..16double dees will get in the way then, never been less than a size 10 since I was 16 ,sorry I am too tall!!!!!! Dang………I was looking foreward to a ride!!!!!!
I have a soft spot for Ben broke up with his girl friend and now this ………poor guy! These guys seem to be thrown in to the media have loads of money thrown at them young and then 10 years later after next to no education are told to behave,be responsible! Sucks to be an AFL player I think!!!!!!!!!
Alborz – you stated that torque steer is an issue but that to the side, what was the handling and braking like. Can it remain composed on winding roads and reacts postively with input.
Yes it can, if you simply steer into a corner, the hard suspension and the enormous grip, coupled with all the electronic gadgetry known to man will keep the car well behaved, but not having the ability to accelerate hard out of a corner ruins all the fun!
How were the brakes, HSV’s are renouned for brake fade but are the brakes on this machine more inspiring or should i say – fade resistant.
Brakes are pretty good, they are Dual piston aluminium calipers with ventilated discs [325mm x 32mm] for the front and Single piston aluminium calipers with ventilated discs [310mm x 18mm] at the rear. Brake fade is not that evident, although the HSV R8 is pretty good too!
All that said, how was the quality and refinement of the vehicle. Do you consider the engine calibration to be well adjusted for the blown engine.
the engine is the party piece of the whole package, if there is one thing TRD did right, its the engine. Power delivery is extremely smooth, but it is let down by the inability of the front wheels to maintain it all
i think Paul will be voting for john howard because he likes and practices his “do not say sorry” policy
So the point of this pointless survey was to point out the point of the points table that shows how pointless some surveys are with their point tallying? I get the POINT.
Watto_Cobra… do what Jerry Seinfeld did. In one show someone rang and wanted to ask questions for a survey. Jerry said “Look Iam busy right now, can you please give me your after hours home phone number so I can ring you after come back from dinner tonight”. The Indian from Delhi said “Golly gee, thousand apologises, I do not think that is possible sir….”. Jerry in his droll straight laced response cut him off right there and smugly said “Oh OK, that is inconvenient, well now you know how I feel” and hung up! Tears were done my face from that as funny!
Alborz, would it be possible to obtain a dyno graph for the 3500SL’s motor? Would love to see the torque curve in particular
come on guys
keen it on topic! I don’t want to start deleting comments.
why the strong rubbing in of brake fade on the HSV’s? i doubt 6 pistons would be worse than the 2 pistons that the TRD offer.
what brake package was on this apparent HSV that couldnt last 1 lap. im not a holden fan but i find it hard to believe that this is a common fault with HSV’s due to the brembo set up they offer. maybe the brake lines had air in them or something
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO,politics Andrew……Lets not start!
Almost your bed time ha…..night night!!hehehe
Daylight savings starts soon………….lol!We will all have to get up an hour later to talk to you ……hahahaha Or is that later?????????? NO idea!!!!!
Alborz is watching……..cool…….where is my pics of the Cobra you promised me from the show……bloody thing will be here by this time next week!hehehehe
i dont care for politics it was a light hearted dig at someone…..KFC knows
Hey Andrew I guess it comes to what year HSV he is talking about! Hate daylight savings for that reason , is that earlier? I know I was meant to be a genius after that thing I sent you today but its a chick thing,we don’t read maps!!!!!!!!! Sat Nav is good!
Do we have to keep calling you KFC???????Klink I feel fat saying the word!!!!!
Andrew… I too get what your saying to Paul….you still waiting for that beer you thought you would get from him?
OK… if not KFC what? Be kind. How about Naughtius Maximus
Done. So honestly does daylight savings start when as going to Cairns to do some repairs to yacht and this time hiring out YES A TOYOTA YARIS and will throw timing out to kilter!
Last warning guys.
We will open a Forum soon, but for now, lets keep these posts spam free.
Cool. Sorry cobber!
I mean over weight>>>>>>>>>not fat……god don’t worry about it……I am sunk trying to explain it!
Behave Klink you will get me banned too !!!!
Night all…….see you tomorrow!
Sorry Alborz. I did forget what this post was. I had to look back up further to see what I originally wrote.
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QUOTE Toyota_Paul = “As for darkness on exhaust, what do you think the inside of ALL exhausts looks like!?!? Its because essentially the exit of the exhuast is inside that square tip, so thats why the darkness builds up and is more evidence than a tradtional exhaust…nothing to do with running rich.”
QUOTE Watto_Cobra = “I think most people realise this is carbon build up. (Makes you wonder how clean it really runs) and it happens to every car. TRD’s prob, as you said, is the exhaust exits at the start of that square tip. They really do look great while clean. I’d go BLOODY NUTS tho having to clean those every bloody time I drove the car. Great looking design, poorly executed.”
QUOTE Toyota_Paul = “I really think it says alot about how biased some people are when they try to attack its exterior looks, its a stunning vehicle.”
QUOTE Watto_Cobra = Stunning in your eyes, looks pretty good in mine but not “stunning”, but other people may say “meh”, or really hate it. Personal opinion is allowed here, isn’t it?”
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Prob was Klink was being a comedian and Paul never appeared.
ALBORZ.. do you have a closer view of exhaust pipe to show finish of it??? It does appear black and not right deposits on what I saw previous? What is your opinion?
…not right deposits on inside of exhaust pipe that is
Maximus I’ll upload some more pics tomorrow,
as I said, the exhaust deposits occured on all three test cars, must be a common issue!
As for being dissapointed or not, I think I was. I was expecting a lot more – fun – as oppose to just great straight line speed.
However I think the next 5-10 years should see TRD hit the right formula
Cool, thanx. Do agree as virtually starting it is better effort and with time will come good!
typo… starting TRD brand it is great 1st up effort…
Bavarian Missile : Do you know what the circumstances were when the Aurion detonated ??
Do you know much about the crash ??
I admit it is pricey, for 61K I would rather get the Liberty GT.
BUT… cars in Oz are stuffed either way… seriously, as I’ve stated I’m at the states at the moment and been to Japan….. We Aussies get masacred in the price for our cars..
for 61K AUD… around 50~52K USD… I’d be driving 2002 Porsche Carrera with plenty of change…
Heck, save another 15K USD, and I’d be driving the new Nissan GT-R which is supposed to be priced at 80K here, and even cheaper in japan at around 65K USD equivalent… last time I heard of it coming to Oz, Nissan was hinting at around 150K+ for it… Unless its badged as Infinity, it won’t sell 150K outside of the die hard Skyline GTR fans….
Now back on this car… well as I’ve stated in the past, the FWD is not really “planned” from the start as most youf need to understand… TRD is doing Oz a lot of favour to be honest…. TRD in terms of technology is very much in the forefront… The problem was… that there simply isnt another option to “TRD-ized” in Oz….
I’m not sure whether to give info about platform plans for Toyota in the future… but all I know is… its highly based on how the Aurion performs… market wise… if its good enough to bite a good chunk from the typical GM/Ford RWD junk..err.. cars, then a RWD, possibly from Subaru or Lexus will be supplied for the next Aurion platform… Subaru’s 4WD system would be great, but you’d be looking at a 70K car… but 270~280kW 4WD Family Sedan from Toyota/TRD?… for 70K?… well… maybe worth forking over even if it will only cost half that here in the U.S.
I agree that we do get a little screwed in Oz, but its more that the US get cars ridiculously cheap rather than here being ridiculously expensive. When you look at Euro pricing and then convert to $AUS and add some for shipping we are about even.
The US market is so cheap because of US car manufacturers pinning themselves in a corner by cutting prices so much to conpensate for their shite-house cars, the upside of that is that other car manufacturers need to dramatically cut their prices to compete. Looking at Subaru for instance, a Subaru Legacy GT Spec B is $US33,995, which converts to roughly $AUS38000, a far cry from our $55k we pay. Compare this again to the UK, they don’t have the GT but the 3.0 Spec B which costs the same in Oz is 28600 pounds, which converts to $AUS70000, so compared to that, we get a good deal.
CHEAP SHODDY SHORTCUT BY TOYOTA…love the close up shot of the driving pedals in footwell (noticed the bulletproof quality of carpet edge finish that was poorly fitted). Minor point albeit…BUT ROUGH AS GUTS as will trap dirt and the like behind it and it might fray edging over time. With all the might of Toyota and the technology they have it could of been much neater finish and cutout for brackets fitted to body and went up higher! CASE OF ZEN TO SAVE THE YEN!
SEE TOYOTA SLIPS IN RELIABILITY POST… made interior floor carpet I referred to earlier came from USA???
Ben Cousins,I feel sorry for him.Did anyone really believe rehab would work in the spotlight?Leave him be & give him a chanceat the rest of his life.
David I agree…….totaly!
Cam no I dont know how the crash happened have just been reading the Toyota press releases! Toyota still say they don’t know how it detonated!
Naughtyius Maximus you really just attack anything that is remotely wrong with Toyotas…. you look at MOST cars in that pedal area and it wont be finished, unless your a gymnast who can get your head under their to see it (or a camera) there is no need for it to be perfectly done.
And mind you Im tyred of the TRD Aurion now, so this isnt a biased call this is just common sense.
OK LOL….yes it is not perfectly done as you state in the Aurion, funny my Falcon has better straighter edge trim that the wave endowed third world rate finish Iam referring to. Iam sure Alborz is not a gymnast and easily took photo and you probably never noticed before as your Toyota head is tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo big to get in there. At least you could get in and out through the moonroof Toyota boofon.
PS: Andrew M is waiting for your apology, I would of thought that would be ‘JUST COMMON SENSE’. Andrew M, on behalf of Toyota Paul I solemnly declare that he means to say sorry that he called you a lier, but he is toooooooo busy.
Sorry over what mate?
As for yourself, the point which you have obviously missed is:
1. Most cars dont have a perfect finish in that area
2. Leading on from this point, its not perfect because YOU NEVER ACTUALLY SEE THAT AREA UNLESS YOU HAVE A CAMERA.
Get it? Attacking the car because of its finish their is pathetic when the rest of its finish, well from the Aurions Ive been in, is good. Toyota leads the way in quality and relaibility… you know those 60% of Falcons that need to go in for unscheduled service within the first 5 months, thats related to poor fit and finish. Maybe instead of getting a ’straight line’ in the foot well they should be working in more important areas lol.
Hang 5 “I’ll be back”
Pauly, usually when one says they are over it usually logic dictates it is the opposite.
After driving the Aurion for me it lacks low down torque and is really not that much fun to drive. Like having one nip bourbon and coke; and I like 4nips! Once you like and know your over it………….Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Stick to your 1 nip cocktail as it is more a sedate ride wearing resplendent tweed safari suit and bowler hat squire.
toyota paul you have got to stop comparing the TRD Aurion to a falcon. One costs $61k, the other $45k, they are just not comparable.
Im over the TRD… I expected more. The regular Aurion, you can say what you want… but that lack of fun is as fast as a Ford with half a litres more displacement and has been reviewed as having good handling while the Ford has been criticed for its handling over rough surfaces (ie most public roads).
Tom what the hell are you on mate… I dont recall comparing a Falcon directly to the TRD in this current commenting…………