2010 Toyota Auris Facelift Detailed

Toyota will bring a slightly revised Auris at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March but, unfortunately, boring is still the best way to describe the "fresh" face of the car. However, the best thing - in case you're one of the many tree huggers out there - is the addition of a hybrid version that could bring a minor increase in European sales.

Getting back to the refreshed Auris, there's not much too talk about the upgrades. And probably Toyota thinks the same as the Japanese manufacturer only released a short press release announcing the car.

Well, the enhancements can be very well noticed when looking at the adjacent photos, as the first things that are eye catching are the new grille, the new headlights and taillights plus the different alloy wheel design. Additionally, the exterior mirrors are now housing the turning signals.

And that's about all we know about the new Auris, but the guys over at Toyota promised to release the whole list of specifications later this year, probably prior to the first public unveiling that the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Meanwhile, given the fact that the Auris HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) will mostly rely on the concept launched by Toyota last year at Frankfurt, we can speculate a little bit on its technical specs. Featuring almost the same powertrain as the Prius, the Auris HSD offers four driving modes, three of which can be selected on-demand by the driver: the ECO mode, the Power mode and the EV mode, which allows the car to run for up to 1.25 miles (2km) at speeds up to 31 mph on electricity alone, with zero fuel consumption and emissions.