Category: Large Family 
Price Range: £16,485 to £27,515
Space, reliability, comfort, strong diesels, low running costs, safety kit, good stereo
Dull image, unimaginative interior, not at all sporty
Not desperately exciting, but very thoroughly thought out and pleasant to drive. A sensible buy.
The Avensis is one of the most overlooked cars in the UK: unless you've owned one, you're most likely to have seen an Avensis, like its predecessor the Carina, in a minicab rank. It's not an eye-catcher, nor is it a car you'd dream about.
However, this latest version - launched in 2003 and last updated in summer 2006 - is considerably better-looking than the first-generation model, or the dull-as-ditchwater Carina. Designed and developed in Europe, it is modern and neatly styled, with good attention to detail and a high quality of build by the British team at Toyota's factory in Burnaston, Derbyshire. Added homegrown content includes the petrol engines, made in Deeside, Wales, although the D-4D diesel units are built in Poland.
The Avensis comes in three body styles - four-door saloon, five-door hatch and five-door estate. Two petrol engines are available, the 1.8 VVTi (129bhp) and direct-injection 2.0 VVTi (147bhp): most buyers, however, will opt for the D-4D diesels, a 2.0 (126bhp) and 2.2-litre (147bhp or 175bhp). The 2.0, badged D-4D 130, and more powerful 2.2, the D-4D 180, are new from July 2006. The short-lived 2.4 petrol engine has been discontinued.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Toyota Avensis
wrote on 27 03 2008