Toyota"s minor changes for cleaner driving

Toyota Ireland has announced some minor changes to its Yaris and Aygo models as well as some changes to the Auris D-4D engine. The changes all deliver better economy levels and lower levels of CO2 gases in the exhausts. The Yaris 1.0 L petrol engine has improved CO2 emissions by 9g/km to 118g/km, moving from Tax Band B to Tax Band A. The advanced new 1.33 L Dual VVT-i petrol engine, with standard 'Stop & Start" technology, delivers high performance with 100bhp and is available with both six-speed M/T & six- speedmultimode. Due to its low CO2 figures of 120 and 119g/km, respectively, it now falls into Tax Band A. The revisions to the 1.4 litre D-4D engine in the 2009 Yaris deliver a lower CO2 figure of 109g/km along a higher torque of 205Nm. This is an improvement of 15Nm compared with the older model. Other changes to the Yaris include exterior re-styling to the grille and bumper area, lamp area to the front and rear of the car and the introduction of new grades and colours. For 2009, the Aygo boasts evolutionary design and refinement improvements. Aygo engineers have achieved reduced noise vibration and harshness (NVH) values on the car by increasing sheet thickness in the exhaust. The car uses more noise-damping materials with some additional felt in the A pillar trim and asphalt sheeting in the front footwell. The Aygo"s award-winning 1.0L VVT-i petrol engine now runs on low viscosity engine oil. There is also a new clutch switch which cuts fuel injection during gear changes. Both of these changes result in a reduction of 2g/km CO2 to 106g/km and improved fuel consumption at 4.5L/100km (62mpg) with manual transmission. The 90bhp D-4D engine in Auris has been revised to deliver increased performance, reduced C02 emissions and improved fuel economy. The 1.4 litre engine is now matched to a new six-speed manual transmission. Toyota claims that the maximum engine torque has been increased by eight per cent, +15Nm to 205Nm; CO2 emissions reduced by six per cent, -8g to 124g; and fuel consumption improved by a similar margin to 4.7l/100km (60.1 mpg) with these engine improvements.