24 – AUTONEWS - AA CLUB OF KENYA MAGAZINE
USED VEHICLE
REVIEW
By Michael Mwai
Toyota Avensis effortlessly com
We often focus on used
cars recently imported
from Japan or Europe. In
this issue I will take you
back in time to a third or
fourth hand vehicle that
has been on our roads
since the mid 2000s. Do
you remember Toyota
Avensis? When it was
launched by Toyota Kenya
then I was not too keen to
test it because I believed
that “all Toyotas are just
Toyotas with different
names”. I have indeed driv-
en many and owned two so
I know a thing or two about
them. They are well built
vehicles focused on
giving owners val-
ue for money and
amazing return
on invest-
ment.
The Avensis, howev-
er, was a whole different
kettle of fish. Like Lexus
for the Americas, Toyota
decided to design a car
specifically suited for the
European market.
One that would compete
with VW Passat, Peugeot
508, Vauxhall Astra (Opel
Astra) and the trendy
Renault Laguna. To do
this they needed to fit into
the lives of Europeans as
fleet, family as well as
executive
ve-
hicles.
It needed enough power
to thrill whilst returning
a decent mileage both in
town and on the highway.
Looking at its design I
doubted if it had sufficient
ground clearance or the
approach angle to manage
our challenging roads back
then.
To my surprise, it was
able to navigate over most
bumps and into the deep
potholes without scraping
its chin. This was before
we enjoyed the roads
President Kibaki started
building.
Fortunately, I also had
the opportunity to sam-
ple the Renault Laguna,
albeit on Europe’s well-
paved roads. While it
did well, I don’t think it
matched the Avensis for
handling. These results
were mind-boggling as it is