Toyota Avensis 2.0 Diesel Test Drive

This new Avensis is more European in look and feel than the old model, most certainly, but if you're searching – inside or out – for the sort of exuberance that flows strongly through vehicles which include the Vauxhall Insignia, or of course small executive motors which most D-sector autos aim to match, the Avensis remains wanting.

Beneath, the newest Avensis will be based upon what Toyota refers to as a fresh new platform, having said that it has stuck with technological know-how it knows to attach to the new metalware - engines & gearboxes are chiefly a progression of what has gone previously, with diverse degrees of progress.

In the case of our test model – a middle-specification 148 horsepower diesel that is likely to be the major seller. Transmission is a six-speed manual, a design lifted over from the previous car.

The Toyota Avensis's biggest failure though, is its ride. While impressively compliant, it manages to blend a jitteriness over small, sharp ridges (primarily at decreased velocities) with sub standard body handling over more difficult highway surfaces.

Relatively elevated gearbox ratios versus some rivals suggest the Avensis' in-gear performance isn't so all-conquering. Away from the track, , the spread of power proves as helpful for give-and-take road driving as it does overall performance, and on the open road the Toyota Avensis is an painless vehicle to drive.

Driven swiftly across country, The Toyota Avensis is simple to change direction, steers precisely and grips very well.


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Reliable and boring were two terms that kept on turning up as a number of testers emerged from the Toyota Avensis. It is tricky not to be impressed by the tightly constructed interior, tight-fitting components and complete perception of indestructibility.

We’d gamble that if you were to take the current crop of family saloons and push them for 300,000 miles, it would be the Toyota’s internals which would last longest.


Similar to the old model it replaces, the third-generation Toyota Avensis is a effectively constructed, tightly built and functional family saloon. One which now pulls off the difficult exercise of combining segment-leading speed with equally remarkable economy & emissions statistics.

This alone is proof of the engineering efforts Toyota has poured into its advancement. There are still some flaws, specifically an unresolved ride, not comfortable seats and an in some cases loud engine, but neither are big concerns.

If your search for the ideal machine begins & ends requiring a vehicle that will carry you & yours silently and safely, the Avensis will appear totally sufficient.

But nevertheless, as driving enthusiasts, we wish Toyota had placed more energy towards making the Toyota a more desirable, stimulating motor to drive & own. Considering that what it really is lacking in the most is sparkle.

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All the same, alongside the swooping, glamorous cabins of numerous competitors – the Vauxhall Insignia for example – the Toyota offers its occupants very little in the form of adventure.

The lines of the dashboard are neat & the contrast between the bumpy dash and the charcoal-effect centre unit standard on high-specification models is effective, though the expanses of vertical surfaces provide a subdued feel.

Missing pizzazz isn't the Avensis’s only ailment. Although the touch-screen sat nav with its adjacent control buttons works well & the gauges are clear, the placement & layout of some supplementary controls are less sufficient.

With the exception of various testers moaning that the seat designs turned out to be inadequately comfy for longer journeys, there's little else to fault in the interior accommodation. There's sufficient seat and steering wheel realignment to suit a good number of users, and the rear cabin, if not entirely as accommodating as the Vauxhall Insignia, is pretty good for the sector.