Toyota updates Auris and Avensis

It will, theoretically, be a quiet Geneva motor show for Toyota next week. The world's largest car maker (and according to Fortune magazine, now the worlds's 'most admired' car maker) is gearing up for a major launch at September's Frankfurt motor show – the all-new Prius hybrid.

For Geneva then, we're just getting facelifts, but they are significant ones seeing as they're nips and tucks to the huge-selling Avensis and Auris. With both cars facing ever fiercer competition from the likes of Ford, VW, Hyundai and Peugeot, Toyota isn't skimping on the updates though. Both cars will get new engines as well as heavily revised chassis and interior layouts.

The Auris, quite apart from its re-styled grille and lights, will be the first recipient of Toyota’s new 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine. With many customers now shying away from more-expensive-to-buy-and-maintain diesels, this could well be a critical engine addition to keep buyers interested in Toyota’s five-door hatch. There are no official Co2 or fuel consumption figures as yet, but doubtless they will be an improvement on the ageing 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated petrol which currently props up the Auris range as well as having superior performance to the long-serving 1.33 petrol.

The Auris Hybrid, which racks up around half of all Auris sales across Europe will continue unchanged but Toyota is saying that all models will get significant chassis and steering tweaks to make them more responsive to drive.

That goes equally for the Avensis. Like the Auris, it gets a new, smoother-looking front end while the cabin is said to be significantly changed and upgraded to allow it to better compete with the likes of VW's new Passat. Under the bonnet, the most important engine addition is the new 1.6-litre diesel co-developed with BMW, which should boost the Avensis' appeal in the company car market.

Toyota claims that its work on the Avensis represents the biggest investment it has ever made in such an update, so expect some major changes in the way the Avensis feels and drives.

Sales of both cars will start here in the autumn.