Avensis evolves

Expert Rating:

What is it?

The Toyota Avensis is a staple of the family car market and very popular with company car drivers for its reliability and quality. Toyota's all-new Avensis aims to deliver all of the above but with a slug more style and driving panache. To achieve this, the styling is a little bolder than we've seen on previous Avensis models and the mechanicals have come in for much attention in a bid to make the car more fun to drive. That's a tall order in a class where six superb new rivals have joined the fray since mid-June 2007. The Toyota Avensis has its work cut out.

Is it any good?

We could answer this question very quickly: the new Avensis is good, but not good enough to worry the class best. Let's expand on that. Toyota says it has concentrated its efforts on stability, agility, ride comfort, steering feel and refinement: all things the class leaders have in abundance. Certainly, there's no doubting the new Avensis's stability at higher speeds, through twisting country bends and on slushy roundabouts. The new car is 50mm longer and wider than its predecessor, which lends it a big car feel and helps with the planted sensation but doesn't make the Toyota feel quite as outsized as a Ford Mondeo. However, the Toyota also misses the ride comfort of the Ford at anything other than a motorway cruise. In town, the Avensis bumps and jiggles its way along where a Mondeo soothes like a head massage. There's also too much road noise in the Toyota compared to its key rivals. The steering feels good, but there are too many flaws to the way the Avensis drives for it to bother the main contenders in this class.

If the Avensis falls down on Toyota's main goals for its new family class contender, the engines and interior save the company any further problems. The build quality is superlative, even if some of the materials lack the touchy-feely softness of some rivals' interior, there's plenty of space in the front and rear seats and in the boot of the saloon and Tourer estate. Our only gripe is that the front seats begin to feel uncomfortable after a couple of hours, even if you have the electrically adjusted pews of the top spec T Spirit model. The Tourer's boot is generous with space and the rear seat folds flat to leave a big load floor, though it's not quite as spacious as the best in this sector.

There's a choice of 1.8- and 2.0-litre petrol engines, along with 2.0- and 2.2-litre turbodiesels. The 1.8 petrol is zesty enough to make the 2.0-litre an unnecessary choice and returns a respectable 43.5mpg combined economy in the saloon (42.8mpg in the Tourer). Toyota expects more Avensis buyers to choose an estate with a turbodiesel engine in mid-spec TR trim. This means a 2.2 D-4D 150 with 148bhp and manual six-speed gearbox. It's a sound choice, delivering 0-62mph in 9.2 seconds, 50.4mpg average economy and company car driver-friendly 150g/km carbon dioxide emissions.

Should I call the bank manager?

If you need a car for munching motorway miles, pick up the phone. If you're driving is on a greater variety of roads, by all means try the Toyota Avensis. From the base T2, through TR and T4 trims to top spec T Spirit, all are well equipped with chilled air, CD stereo and seven airbags. Only the T2 does without standard alloy wheels or cruise control, and Toyota reckons the TR will make up the bulk of sales. Toyota's legendary reliability and build quality is present in abundance and the Japanese firm says its new family car has some of the lowest insurance and running costs in its class. Add in excellent fuel economy and low CO₂ emissions and the Avensis makes a lot of financial sense.

Summary

The Toyota Avensis may make a good deal of financial sense, but it misses the emotional appeal of rivals such as the Ford Mondeo and Mazda6. We're not talking Ferrari levels of emotion here, but the Toyota is too clinical to fire the soul. It is also plagued by too many compromises - such as its ride, seat comfort, and road noise - for a car in this sector. If you buy a car solely with your head, the Toyota Avensis makes a lot of sense, but if your heart has even the tiniest say in matters you will find more satisfying cars elsewhere in this class.

Alisdair Suttie