Auris is first car with Toyota's 'keen look'
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TOKYO -- For a taste of the latest design trends at Toyota, look at the redesigned Auris hatchback, the first car billed as exhibiting the brand's new "keen look" styling language.
The new face -- edgier and sportier -- will soon be propagated across the carmaker's lineup. On the Auris, a Corolla-based hatchback for Europe and Japan, first check out the headlamps. The swept-back, wraparound lights integrate into the fenders and blend into a narrow upper grille.
Another feature is a pulled-forward Toyota emblem that creates a focal point from which the hood flows backward.
"The Auris is the first car which we've officially said embodies keen look," Hiroya Fujita, the Auris chief engineer, says.
Keen look also emphasizes the bumper openings, as seen in the lower grille aperture and the fog light recesses. For a sportier feel, it employs sharper character lines, namely in the Auris' belt line.
In keeping with Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda's mandate to build more exciting cars, keen look also focuses on a vehicle's posture. It strives for a wider base and lower center of gravity.
Designers gave the Auris what Fujita calls a "road-attacking stance." The new generation, which debuted in Japan last month, is 2.2 inches lower than the previous one.
Toyota first floated keen look styling elements in the FT-Bh concept car shown at the Geneva auto show in March. But its elements have already crept into such cars as the Scion FR-S, the European-spec hybrid Yaris and the Prius C small hybrid.
You can reach Hans Greimel at hgreimel@crain.com. -- Follow Hans on 
