Toyota stopped building cars called the Auris before 2021. The badge was used from 2006 to 2018 for a compact hatchback and estate derived from the Corolla, and in Europe it was replaced by the Corolla name in January 2019. A new 2021 Auris was never launched. What follows is an account of the final-generation car’s engines and pricing, together with the model that took its place.
The Final Auris at a Glance
The second-generation Auris, coded E180, was revealed in August 2012 and reached European showrooms in early 2013. It was offered as a five-door hatchback and a longer five-door estate called the Touring Sports. Production ran until December 2018. The car was built in Japan at Toyota’s Takaoka plant and in the United Kingdom at Burnaston, where European-market hybrids were assembled. It shared its New MC platform with the E170-series Corolla and the Lexus CT.
Interior
The Auris used a five-seat layout with a dashboard that Toyota later carried over to the E170 Corolla sedan. The estate version traded a little of the hatchback’s styling for a taller, more usable cargo area. Across markets, equipment ranged from simple cloth-trimmed grades to models with leather, dual-zone climate control, navigation and a rear camera. Because the car was sold in so many countries, standard specification and pricing varied considerably, and options were often bundled differently from one market to the next.
Engines and Hybrid Output
Engine choice depended on market. The core European gasoline line-up comprised a 1.33-liter four, a 1.6-liter Valvematic four and, from 2015, a 1.2-liter turbocharged four rated at 116 PS and 185 Nm. Diesel buyers could pick 1.4-liter, 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter units. The Auris Hybrid, the most technically significant version, paired a 1.8-liter gasoline engine with an electric motor for a combined 136 hp (100 kW). It shared the Hybrid Synergy Drive system and battery pack with the Prius, and was the first mass-produced hybrid built in Europe. In Japan the Auris also offered 1.5-liter and 1.8-liter gasoline engines, the larger one paired with front-wheel drive and a CVT or six-speed manual. The hybrid paired the gasoline engine with an electric motor through an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission, and it could run on electric power alone at low speeds and for short distances.
Exterior and Dimensions
The E180 hatchback measured about 4,275 mm long before a 2015 facelift stretched it to roughly 4,330 mm, on a 2,600 mm wheelbase. Width was 1,760 mm and height ranged from 1,460 mm to 1,475 mm. The Touring Sports estate added about 285 mm, mostly behind the rear axle, and its sill was set lower to ease loading. In Japan a four-wheel-drive version was available with the smaller 1.5-liter engine, though all European cars were front-wheel drive.
Where the Auris Was Sold
The Auris was a global nameplate in a limited sense. It was the badge used in Europe and Japan, while Australia and New Zealand sold the same car as the Corolla Hatchback, with grades including Ascent, Ascent Sport, Levin SX and Levin ZR. North America saw the second-generation hatchback only as the Scion iM for 2016 and the Toyota Corolla iM for 2017 and 2018. Ireland offered a panel-van version. This meant the same basic car wore four different names depending on the market.
The E210 Corolla Successor
The car that replaced the Auris was the twelfth-generation Corolla, coded E210, which arrived in Europe in January 2019 on the TNGA platform. It came as a hatchback, sedan and Touring Sports estate. Engine options included a 1.2-liter turbocharged four, a 1.8-liter hybrid and a 2.0-liter hybrid that made about 180 hp and was shared with the Lexus UX. The E210 Corolla also formed the basis of the performance-focused GR Corolla in later years. For a former Auris owner, the Corolla hybrid was the natural successor, offering more power and lower emissions than the outgoing 1.8-liter hybrid.
In the United States, the Corolla hatchback arrived for the 2019 model year to replace the Corolla iM, giving Toyota a modern five-door again after the Auris-based iM ended. The global consolidation onto the Corolla name simplified Toyota’s marketing but also ended a badge that had been in use for more than a decade, and used hybrid Auris examples remain widely available in Europe and are sought after for their low running costs.
Pricing
Pricing varied by country and year, so no single figure applies to the whole run. In the United Kingdom, the Auris Hybrid went on sale on 1 July 2010 at a starting price of GBP 18,950, about GBP 550 below the Toyota Prius of the time. That price applied to the first-generation hybrid; the second-generation E180 hybrid and the facelifted cars carried higher list prices as equipment levels rose. Toyota positioned the Auris below the Camry and Avensis in Europe and against the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus, so its pricing was benchmarked closely against those two rivals.
Release Date and the Successor
The Auris name ended in Europe in January 2019, when the E210 Corolla hatchback and Touring Sports arrived on the newer TNGA platform. Japan had already dropped the Auris in March 2018, and Taiwan kept the name until July 2020, renaming the car Corolla Sport. The Corolla successor offered 1.2-liter turbo, 1.8-liter hybrid and, in some markets, 2.0-liter hybrid engines, with the 2.0-liter hybrid making about 180 hp. Related reading includes the 2020 Toyota Auris Review and the 2020 Toyota Prius V Review. More Toyota Review pages cover the rest of the range.
