Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £13,420 to £19,490
Roomy, sturdy hatchback with good ride quality.
Steering lacks feel, some of the engines struggle.
It may lack sparkle, but this is a well thought-through car you can rely on to do the job.
The ride quality is tremendous. The new steel chassis is impressively rigid, and the suspension does an excellent job of handling poor road surfaces. At the front it's a MacPherson strut system, while at the back there is one of two systems. Most models get a torsion beam set-up, chosen chiefly for its compactness, but the higher performance of the T180 has prompted Toyota to give it a multi-link system better able to cope with the greater forces involved in cornering at higher speeds. Sounds like an expensive way to go about your business, but it works. It doesn't transform the T180 into something more sporting than the other models; on the contrary, it feels exactly the same.
The steering is an electronic system that, like most electronic systems, doesn't offer the driver much feel or feedback. But like everything else about the Auris, it does its job well. The accelerator produces an instant response from the engine, the brakes are well up to the task and the gearshift action is light and precise. The petrols and the entry diesel get a five-speed manual gearbox; the others get a six-speed manual. The bigger petrol and smallest diesel engines are also available with Toyota's MultiMode transmission, which can be used as a full automatic but which also has paddles that can be used for sequential manual shifting.
So far we've driven three versions of the Auris: the 1.6 petrol, with a five-speed manual gearbox, the 2.0 diesel, with a six-speed manual 'box, and the T180. One of these cars is a lot more fun than the others.
The 1.6 petrol engine, the Dual VVT-i, is a highly efficient unit designed to run frugally and cleanly. When you're dawdling around town, it feels crisp and lively, and the clean-shifting gearbox helps you get the most from it. But out of town, especially uphill, it soon starts to feel strained. Its 122bhp and 116lb-ft are not enough to bring any zip to the 1,250kg car's progress; it takes 10.4 seconds to reach 62mph, and its top speed is a so-so 118mph. It's the best 1.6-litre petrol engine in the class for power and torque - which just goes to show that the real action in this class is happening with diesel engines.
The medium-ranking diesel feels much gutsier, hurtling you uphill without a second thought. The figures don't begin to tell the story: 121mph and 0-62 in 10.3 seconds isn't a sparkling combination. But on the road, the reality is that its 221lb-ft of pulling power is available from as low as 2,000rpm, and that results in a goodly amount of go whenever you ask for it. Yes, it's noisier at full throttle than the petrol, but you get something in return for that noise. And in any case, the Auris is a very, very refined car, and the diesel rattle is merely noticeable rather than intrusive.
The T180 is an oddly bland car. There's nothing wrong with the engine, which has 175bhp and 295lb-ft of torque and is particularly good in the RAV4. But here it offers precisely nothing in the way of excitement or driving pleasure. Stick with the 2.0-litre diesel.
