Toyota Auris hatchback

Drive

The Auris is an easy car to drive. The steering is light around town, though it lacks accuracy. The wheel adjusts for reach and height, and there's a big footrest for your clutch foot. Unusually, the centre console on which the gearlever is mounted is setup like a bridge, allowing the gearstick and handbrake to be placed high, comfortably close to the steering wheel. The most powerful engine, the 130bhp 1.6-litre petrol, feels weak unless it's revved really hard - the same can be said of the smaller 1.33-litre petrol - and both become noisy. The diesel isn’t particularly quick or quiet, either. The petrol-electric HSD hybrid is essentially a Toyota Prius under the skin, and offers silent electric running over short distances.

Comfort

The Auris posted a disappointing 80th place out of 100 for comfort in the 2010 Driver Power buyer survey. That could be partly to do with the obvious wind whistle and tyre roar in the cabin, especially at motorway speeds. Add to that the noise of the engines, especially the diesel, and the Auris could do with more refinement. The floor of the Auris is unusually flat, so there's lots of rear foot space, and the rear bench seat reclines for added comfort.

Reliability

The Auris gets loads of safety features, including nine airbags and traction control, which help it achieve a five-star Euro NCAP rating. However, Toyota's well documented accelerator pedal issues in 2010 extended to the Auris. The problem has been rectified now, though, and the car has proved electrically and mechanically reliable. The 2010 revisions to the range added much higher quality ‘soft touch’ cabin plastics throughout. 

Practicality

It doesn’t necessarily have a large boot - 354 litres is about average for a family hatchback - but there are lots of storage cubbyholes of varying shapes and sizes. There's a tray under the passenger seat, a deep box within the central armrest, two separate cup-holders that sit flush with the dash, a space underneath the gear lever, and two glove boxes. It will also sit four six-foot adults in comfort - many family hatchbacks can’t. 

Value for money

Given the level of standard equipment each trim level provides and the soft-touch quality of the plastics the Auris feels keenly priced. That said, it's beaten for value by similarly sized cars from Kia, Hyundai and Skoda. Even the basic Auris T2 model gets air-conditioning, whereas TR and SR get alloy wheels and two-zone climate control. The HSD hybrid is expensive, but the two separate trim levels are both highly equipped. All cars get a five-year/100,000-mile warranty.

Running costs

Economy across the board is very good. Stop-start, which cuts power (and therefore fuel use) at a standstill, is standard with the 48.7mpg 1.33-litre petrol engine. The 1.4-litre diesel boasts 60.1mpg, and the petrol-electric hybrid HSD a class-leading 74.3mpg. Toyota does offer fixed-price servicing and parts across its dealer network, but intervals are a relatively short 10,000 miles.