See how MNers are getting on test-driving the new Toyota Auris Icon 1.8 Hybrid. Non-testers: Tell us your fave things about Britain - £200 voucher to be won. NOW CLOSED

[KatieBMumsnet]

This thread is for the 8 Mumsnetters who are taking part in the extended test-drive of the new Toyota Auris Icon Hybrid.
Five testers and their families will also be making a video of their test drive - so look out for this on Toyota's page on Mumsnet soon.

Below are some questions for you to answer over the course of the test drive - please don't worry about answering all of them straight away, some may be more relevant after you've had the car for a week or so.

We'd like you to post updates on this thread at least twice a week - more if you'd like! Please also remember to send any photos of your test-drive to me.

Questions

• What were your/your partner's first impressions of the car?
• What do the children think of it?
• How did you find driving a Hybrid? Was it what you expected?
• What's it like to drive?
• Is it a comfortable ride?
• What's the boot space like?
• What do you think about the features of the car? E.g Heads up display, electric seats, smart start system, multimedia system, rear-parking camera?
• Were these features what you expected the Auris to have or additional?
• Are there any other features you?d like the car to have?
• Has testing this car made you more or less likely to buy a Toyota in future?
• Has testing this car changed your perception of Toyota cars at all? If so, how?
• What one thing do you like best about it?
• What one thing would you change about it?

For those of you not taking part in the extended test drive, did you know the Toyota Auris is made right here in Britain? With this in mind, we'd love to know your favourite things about Britain?...What 'Great British Days Out' are a must for you and your family? Are you planning any holidays in Britain this summer? What about British produce? Do you try to buy British when you can? Share your comments and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 Love2Shop voucher

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Whoop whoop. Picking mine up midday tommorow. Typical girl thing - I hope it's a nice colour. Bright white would do me :-D

I get my at 9am tomorrow - very excited! Am hoping it will pusuade DH that we need to trade my rust bucket car for a new car!!

Are you planning any holidays in Britain this summer? We are going to Bath for a city break and hoping for Beamish as an over night trip later in the summer. Not having a proper holiday this year but hoping to do a bit of exploring Britsin next year.

What about British produce? Do you try to buy British when you can? We try & buy British and use local suppliers where possible. We've a good market & local green grocers/ butchers who all source from as locally as possible.

Have fun melliebobs and Jamdoughnutfiend! I'm in the second wave of testers in 2 weeks.

I was gutted not to be picked but I can add my comments as a non-tester about the best of Britain. I love Britain in the Summer for it's countryside. We holidayed in May in the Lake District and the walking was tremendous. I like the sunshine but would get bored of that easily and Britain offers so much outdoor and indoor to do. We love going to British cafes for scones and tea or to British restaurants for traditional meals.

As for buying British I try where possible but sometimes convenience gets in the way.

I have picked up the car and had a drive in it. bit nerve racking tbh. I am so used to my own car and this will take a bit of getting used to.

got mine too this s.morning. no time to.got.us to.it as we.headed.straight into a 150 mile drive. the automatic takes some getting.use to.

lovely pearlised white though! first impressions good.

First impressions.

I've never been so daunted to drive a car!! So much going on with it, the guy lost me on the locking/unlocking system!

yes i found the turning on the car tricky. it seemed like I had to turn it on once then again at times. a bit like half turning on the ignition.

went for a drive and i felt more confident.

tried to do a video at the dealership but hadn't recorded it as we aren't used to using the tablet. nevermind.

The dealership were great and took me out for a drive to explain stuff as it came up and then let me drive back to get used to it.

Had a go on the motorway and used the cruise control. Very odd but nice to have

The dealership were really nice where I was too but I let my DH drive it back home. went for a drive on my own today. not sure of the vision out of the back windscreen. i know i have the camera but it is weird.

My favourite thing about Britain is how in the supermarket (or even in very small shops) you can buy ingredients and foods from all around the world.

So many other countries that you visit, they are great for the first couple of days, and you eat lots of until you realise that the selection is very limited and there is no way to get any food that is not "native" to that country's cuisine.

Got the car yesterday and headed off from Crydon back through central london to home. So about a 1.5 hour drive from the dealership. Was a good chance to get used to the car.

So quick first impressions...

• What were your/your partner's first impressions of the car?

It was bigger than I expected, quite sleek and a little bit boxy looking around the boot, but a really nice car - bigger than I was expecting

• What do the children think of it?

My children are small, DD1 was disappointed it wasn't pink (she is nearly 4) and DD2(22 months) liked the leather seats - she kept stroking them going "mmmmmm, nice "

• How did you find driving a Hybrid? Was it what you expected?

Found the hybrid a bit weird to start with - because it doesn't start, you just have a green ready light, which is a bit disconcerting when you drive an old, noisy diesel estate like me! But I got used to it really quickly. I liked the fact that when you were just poodling along in traffic it is nice and quiet and just rolls along, but if you put your foot down it is pretty nippy. I was a bit concerned as I live on a very steep hill, so getting out of my road onto the main road is like is pretty dangerous. DH's car is a Galaxy and is seriously under-powered, and is a nightmare at this junction, so I was concerned. But The Auris was great, no hill start, foot down, no waiting. Am really impressed

• What's it like to drive?

It is lovely to drive - but to be fair, it has more bells and whistles than any other car I have ever driven. It is very smooth, easy to park and drive around London and the small congested streets where I live. It is quite firm over the speed bumps, but I really like that.

• Is it a comfortable ride?

It is comfortable, the seats are really nice andsupportive, there is good leg room in the front. The back isn't so great for leg room, I am 6ft and DH is 6ft4 so with us in the front, there isn't much room in the back - even the girls are a bit cramped in the car seats, especially DD2, in her stage 2 seat, her legs sort of stick straight out and because (unsuprisingly) she is tall, the stick straight into the back of the seat.

• What's the boot space like?

I was really impressed with the boot space. We have an estate and a Galaxy, so used to really huge boots, but I can fit my Phil and Ted in easily and a few shopping bags, so I am pretty happy. I also like the little pockets at the sides for "bits" so they don't roll around the boot - very useful yesterday when I went to the garden centre.

• What do you think about the features of the car? E.g Heads up display, electric seats, smart start system, multimedia system, rear-parking camera?

I have never used parking sensors before, I don't need them, but I did think the parking camera was very very good. I love being able to stream music from my iphone and answer calls (novelty!) hate hate hate the navigation system. We set it to direct us home and it was so annoying and intrustive. We spent ages trying to turn it off, and couldn't figure it out - in the end we found the prompt volume under a random setting and turned the sound down - so irritating!

• What one thing would you change about it?

Bigger rear window, is tiny and I hate not being able to see behind me properly

Once I have had more chance to drive, I will add more and I think DH will have a few comments too

What 'Great British Days Out' are a must for you and your family?

Walking in the hills and mountains. Exploring British nature and what Britain has to offer outside!

Are you planning any holidays in Britain this summer?
Yes, we have booked a holiday in Wales and Scotland to have a few adventures up the mountains.

What about British produce? Do you try to buy British when you can?
Yes definitely! On the subject of British summer- there's nothing better than British strawberries and cream on a summers day! Cliche but true!

Great british days out for us as family are walks in the countryside, spotting different native wildlife and geocaching along the way, we love finding out of the way places and sitting down with a picnic. Another great British day out for us is heading to some of the big parks in this country with family and friends and setting up rounders, cricket and football. My stepson at 14 still loves this.

Are we going on holiday in Britain this year: this is the first year in ten we've not holidayed at all due to having a newborn, however all our holidays are uk based normally, and we have booked a stunning large house with friends next Easter in the Scottish highlands to do more walking and geocaching.

What about British produce: I try and use a local farm shop, however sometimes due to convenience and cost it doesn't always come top of the priority list. For other things such as gifts etc i try and source items that are personal and handmade and British.

Just done a big shop with it. Like the side pocket to the boot. Big enough to fit in a 2l bottle of coke in so it's not rollin around the boot. It's the simple things

I was surprised to learn that the Hybrid is made in Britain. From the reviews it sounds lovely, gutted I couldn't apply (too far from pick up points.) I'll add my comments about Britain though :)

What 'Great British Days Out' are a must for you and your family?
We love to visit Castles, National Parks and museums, and try to go to as many as we can locally and when on holiday.

Are you planning any holidays in Britain this summer?
We always tend to holiday in Britain, it's much less stress and there are so many lovely places to choose from. We're camping in Devon followed by a stop off at Weston Super Mare this summer.

What about British produce? Do you try to buy British when you can?
When we're on holiday we buy as much as we can locally, it costs a bit more than the supermarket but it's a luxury while we're on holiday. In the supermarket I do buy British produce, but don't necessarily go out of my way to find it, IYSWIM.

Dh and I have now both driven the car. He isn't so keen as he doesn't like automatics and says it isn't a drivers car.

• What were your/your partner's first impressions of the car? It's pretty and modern looking. Lovely pearlescent white extreior, leather seats, but quite cheap looking plastic metal look bits kind of spoiled it a bit for me.
• What do the children think of it? DS (2) was excited by what appeared to be a tv in the front and wanted cbeebees on!
• How did you find driving a Hybrid? Was it what you expected? I've never driven an automatic before, so kept finding me left hand and foot reaching for something that wasn't there, but quickly got used to it. Steering is light as a feather and even though its a hybrid, still has a good bit of oomph when you need it. It's baffling at first when y are not sure what all dials and knob and lights are for but quickly get used to it. LOVE the keyleSs entry and start. Having a child and all the accoutrements that go with him will make such difference not have to rummage around in my bag for keys!
• What's it like to drive? Smooth and quiet, even on the motorway.
• Is it a comfortable ride? Yes, the seats are fully adjustable as is the steering wheel, once set up I was good to go!
• What's the boot space like? Boot space is good. I've taken out the shelf to make use of the extra space as we had suitcases and dss BJCM to hoik up the road.
• What do you think about the features of the car? E.g Heads up display, electric seats, smart start system, multimedia system, rear-parking camera? I hate the reversing sensors and the camera, feels like an unnecessary gimmick and quite distracting with the beeping. I can park my car no problem but aborted my attempt at a parallel park in favour of a drive into space. The display screen is great but again will take a bit of getting used to. My only gripe is when driving if it is sunny y can't see the screen at all because of the glare. It's fab to DAB radio, I need to work out how to use it properly thgh. By electric seats I think you mean the heated seats? It's June, I don't think I'd be using them, althgh I am in Scotland. Will report back later on those. I like that's there is an extra 12v socket in the rear. MeAning DS can have the iPad on during long journeys to watch films without the risk of it dying on him. The auto lights and wipers are great too.
• Were these features what you expected the Auris to have or additional? I would expect the auris to have these feature at this specification going by the price.
• Are there any other features you?d like the car to have? Will answer this later
• Has testing this car made you more or less likely to buy a Toyota in future? Will answer this later
• Has testing this car changed your perception of Toyota cars at all? If so, how? Will answer this later
• What one thing do you like best about it? Will answer this later
• What one thing would you change about it? Leg room front and back. Dh is tall and felt squashed in the front. And DS didn't like how close the front seats were to his feet either.

'Great British Days Out' are a must for you and your family?
We love visiting national trust properties, they have lovely grounds and huge amounts of space to run around and picnic on.

Are you planning any holidays in Britain this summer?
We do caravan holidays occasionally as our LO is in a huge caravan phase and loves them!

What about British produce? Do you try to buy British when you can?
Yes, if we see it we will buy it!

getting used to the car and my ipod is back with us after going pear shaped in the car which is good as they are expensive to replace.

went to work but didn't dare park it in the car park as it is double parking etc and no proper spaces. still find the camera weird. and not sure about that P button.

I had no idea that Toyota manufactured in Britain. If I was able to afford a car, I'd definitely be more inclined to buy Toyota on that basis.

What 'Great British Days Out' are a must for you and your family?

We love to spend time by the river (Thames). We had a lovely day out in Windsor recently (can't get more British than that!) where we walked along the river and had a boat ride

Are you planning any holidays in Britain this summer?
We're going to have a long weekend in York at the end of July, to visit some museums and sightsee. I prefer to do the main holiday abroad as I do like a bit of sun and you can't rely on the British weather! However, there are so many interesting places to visit in the UK and DS and I are really looking forward to exploring York

What about British produce? Do you try to buy British when you can?

Yes, when I can. British strawberries and apples are the best by far.

We always holiday in Britain as there are so many lovely places to go. I love the country lanes and the red post boxes and occasional old red telephone boxes that you see when you are driving around. We have wonderful scenery and everything is always green.

Today I have a 25 min mway commute to work. Great opportunity to try out the cruise control.

Bit unnerving but it works!

alemci what does the P button do? That wasn't explained and I ain't reading through that bible manual to find out!!!!

Parking brake. Use it when idling at lights etc, put it into neutral, press p button and remember to press the brake pedal to put it back into drive.