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 pretty light and easy to drive, given its size, if not quite as simple to use as past Japanese models.
Early examples of the Avensis had a slightly sticky gearchange, but this seems to have been improved; the new six-speed manual gearbox in the D-4D T180 is very good.
The July 2006 overhaul has brought instruments that are earier to read and simpler switchgear, though sadly not the excellent touchscreen sat nav system from the Lexus range or Prius, nor parking sensors, which would be useful in a car this size.
This is no sports car, despite the suspension and chassis modifications (July 2006), but the Avensis is absolutely obedient and predictable, with accurate, well-weighted steering and sharp brakes.
All the Avensis engines offer a fine blend of performance and economy, the 1.8 VVTi almost managing to be best-in-class in both categories. It's a willing engine and if it does sound busy and a little crude when stretched, the noise is not over-intrusive, its efforts thrown into sharper relief because the rest of the car is so quiet.
The 2.0-litre, which only shaves 0.9 seconds off the 1.8's 10.3 second 0-62mph time to get there in 9.4 seconds, does not seem significantly faster on the road and emits a distant but present rising and falling vibration at motorway speeds - of the two, the 1.8 is the better buy.
Most buyers will be after the diesels, however. The 2.0 D-4D 130 (124bhp/221b-ft) does a good 124mph and 0-60mph in 10.6 seconds; the 2.2 D-4D 150 (148bhp/229lb-ft) does 130mph and 0-60mph in 9.3 seconds; and the D-4D 180 (175bhp), claimed by Toyota to be the most powerful four-cylinder diesel in the sector, does 136mph and 0-60mph in 8.6 seconds. All are strong mid-range, quick off the mark, yet quieter and more refined than Toyota's earlier diesels, with little by way of diesel clatter. Even the D-4D 130 (new from July 2006) is unfussy and capable, and a thoroughly pleasant, if not pulse-raising, drive.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Toyota Avensis
wrote on 27 03 2008