Toyota Verso Long TermTest : VERSATILITY - THE NAME OF THE GAME

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Can a family-practical MPV really also make a great day-to-day business person's commuting tool? Graham Motuel and his five children have been putting our long term Toyota Verso to the test at weekends while Graham himself has been stacking up the miles between clients during the week. Here's how he sees it.

A family MPV would probably not be the first choice for a businessman like Graham Motuel who spends many hours a week plying the motorways up and down the UK visiting customers. Yet on closer consideration, the size and flexibility that the Toyota Verso offers could make a compelling case for travelling business types who need to transport significant loads in the course of their working day.

Running training courses at various locations forms part of Grahams regular work and necessitates the transportation of significant amounts of equipment and documentation. Much to his surprise he found the Verso to be ideally suited for this role. The large rear door aperture provides a low loading area that is so much easier to negotiate than trying to heave boxes and equipment into the boot of a saloon car and with the rear seats being able to fold into the floor in a single operation, the Verso offers the business user a huge amount of carrying capacity should it be needed. A thoughtful design touch that Graham really appreciated was the rear tonneau cover that neatly pulls out of the floor and hides anything stored in the back of the car.

The shape is still reminiscent of the original Verso but everything has been sharpened up through a series of revisions, as if the Verso has spent a month at Automotive Fit Club. The wheel arches are more defined, and the latest revised front grille and bumper are sharper in appearance. Theres also a definite upper and lower body to the car, helped by those distinctive shoulders which give it a far more progressive look.

"This car really can help you move house: I know, Ive tried it."

The big changes however, are reserved for the inside. Unlike its predecessor (and many similarly sized rivals), this Verso can seat seven and, uniquely in its class, all five rear seats fold down into the floor to create a totally flat loading surface. This means that you wont need to haul heavy seats into and out of the car if ultimate carrying capacity is required. A lot of thought has gone into this system, the seats not only being the lightest in class but also requiring a simple one-touch operation to fold each one flat.

If you missed the import of that paragraph, then read it again. First, this car can seat seven the maximum number of bodies most people are ever likely to want to transport. Manufacturers like Ford can bleat on all they like about five seats being enough in a mini-MPV but I can tell you that if you have seven seats, you tend to use them a great deal more than you might expect. Ditto that flat loading bay.

This car really can help you move house: I know, Ive tried it. Thinking of buying one of those large MPVs like a Ford Galaxy or a Citroen C8? This car means that you dont necessarily have to. The interior feels like its been constructed using much more in terms of quality fitments than I remember in the first generation version of this car. As with all manufacturers, Toyota have worked hard at getting the door slam sound exactly right and the combination of carefully sited hinges and clever air sealing makes the Verso sound more impregnable than Fort Knox when you slam the doors shut.

The cabin design majors on geometric shapes and three-dimensional elements to render an arch like effect. Its quite unlike any other Toyota interior and marks a new design direction thats surprisingly bold for a model that will be marketed to some of the most conservative new car customers. Id number myself amongst these kinds of people and Ive certainly taken to the Verso. So much so that the keys have yet to be prised away from my, despite my colleagues best endeavours.

When they eventually are, Ill be looking at my finances to see if I can possibly scrape together the requisite £15,005 to purchase my own example. Yes, I think the car is that good. But surely there must be a few gripes? Well, I cant talk about anything going wrong or falling off because nothing has. I cant talk about irritating little character flaws because there really arent any.

OK, I suppose some other mini-MPVs might be better to drive or might boast a better image, but for goodness sake, you dont buy a car like this to drive like Michael Schumacher or to pose down at the Golf Club. No, Im happy with my Car of the Year. The next few months will decide whether I stay that way.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Toyota Verso
PRICES: £15,005-£21,905 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 5E-8E
CO2 EMISSIONS: 165-184g/km
PERFORMANCE: [1.8] 0-60mph 10.8s / Max Speed 122mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.8] (combined) 36.7mpg / (extra urban) 43.4mpg / (urban) 28.5mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Nine airbags / ABS with EBD
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/heightmm 4360/1770/1622mm