Road Test: Toyota Auris

This new Auris is a sea-change from Toyota, writes Brian Byrne. And a promise to competitors of more to come as this hatchback precurses a new saloon and estate, arriving in Ireland from the summer.

Longer, lower, and leaner by some 40kg over the previous car, it is certainly a car with style. Strong front end with echoes of aggression from the Lexus IS F Sport design. A crisp profile with lots of character, and a much more defined rear end than we have ever seen from a Toyota in this segment.

Inside there's another major shift in design. Horizontal elements and a brushed aluminium-style trim helps to make this car feel like one a further segment step up. The main instruments are much snappier than we've been getting in Auris/Corolla. And that Toyota Touch screen system is without doubt the best management interface in the business today. Because it's simple, comprehensive, intuitive, and provides minimal distraction. Looks smart too. There are premium brands out there should copy it.

This is a roomy car, plenty of head space even though the roof is lower, good knee and feet room in the back seats for full-sized adults. Lots of cargo capacity aft. In short, stylewise and practically, this is a compact hatch from Toyota that puts it up hugely to the competition with so much more than just the reputation and build quality the brand has rather depended on before.

Powertrain options in the new Auris are familiar in size, but have been made more efficient. Two standard petrols, 1.33 and 1.6, and a 1.8 petrol hybrid. The review car had the 90hp 1.4 diesel, which now offers official CO2 emissions of 99gm/km. There's stop-start technology, and other engineering tweaks, including a coolant bypass designed to warm up the engine more quickly. With a 6-speed manual transmission to the usual smooth Toyota standard, the whole system proved very refined indeed.

The car has a lower centre of gravity than the previous generation, and improvements to steering and suspension make the car a very composed and capable drive. With fun potential too, even with the relatively low-powered diesel. The claimed fuel consumption is 91mpg equivalent, my average over quite mixed driving was closer to 57mpg equivalent, rated CO2 99g/km.

The Auris is up against really tough opposition, Ford's Focus and VW's Golf are both firmly at the top of their game. The previous Toyota had fallen behind in style and dynamics, if not in substance. I would comfortably argue a case for the latest one that it is at the very least a contender again. And maybe more. From my point of view, I was always happy to have to drive somewhere in my time with the car, and I genuinely left it back with reluctance.

Prices are a key issue in this most competitive of segments, and the Auris starts at €18,995. The review car in Luna grade rolled in at €23,995.