Toyota must be a bit peeved over the reception given to its new British-built Auris, the model that in Europe replaces the Corolla range it has been offering the world since 1966. Some commentators criticised the Auris for being bland and when Autocar magazine road tested it they gave it only three stars when the Kia cee’d got four. I bet that hit the high-ups at Toyota Towers quite hard. But when you are testing cars, it’s important to keep an open mind and maybe engage the opinions of others, too. So I shoehorned my mate Big Al into the driving seat of the Auris to see what he thought. Al is taller than me, and I’m over six feet, and let’s just say he makes my 17 stone frame look slender. But Al got into the Auris with no trouble at all and rather than making a big impression on the Auris, the car did the same on him. He’s looking for a replacement for his BMW and almost bought a Corolla last year. Then he decided to wait to try the Auris, and he’s glad he did. Al had already been for a spin in the VW Golf 1.6 FSI and wasn’t overly impressed. He liked the Audi A3 Sportback, too, although that didn’t part him from his money, either. But the Auris might. It’s now down to a straight contest between that and the new BMW One Series three door that has just landed. The Beemer is a direct replacement for the 3 Series Compact he used to own and he’s sorely tempted. But the Auris offers more space and he could even get into the back. That may only be a technicality as he will nearly always be driving himself but getting him into the back of the One Series would be more Keystone Kops than real world. I also liked the Auris, and the test that proved its worth was driving more than 300 miles in a day. Frequently only half that distance in a German car leaves me with pain in the hips and a general numbness. With the Auris, the journey was completed easily and, I have to say, economically thanks to the 2.0 turbodiesel engine. This is the mid-diesel in the range – Toyota has just announced its T180 Auris model with the 2.2 litre from the Avensis, RAV4, and Lexus IS220D. The best news about the T180 is that it gets an all-independent suspension set-up – the worst is that after all the expense of developing it Toyota denies it to every other Auris buyer. These lesser beings have to make do with a lowly (and cheap) torsion beam system. That said, the Auris I had, the T3 model, rode pretty well and handled neatly enough for such a tall car. It’s not in the Focus class on this score but it does bring more space than the Ford. Seems you can’t have it both ways without affording at least £18,295 for a three door T180. The five door T3, at £15,595, is almost £3,000 less and unless you are a mad keen driver you will live with that. What will appeal instead is the fuel consumption. The test car’s computer told me that it was doing around 47 mpg but the actual figure was much better, in the mid 50s. That means the car gives some very cheap motoring but performance is still good, enhancing the driving experience. Despite what other commentators might say, you would have to be very demanding to find the Auris less than satisfactory. I’ve always been a driving enthusiast and as a family car choice it worked for me. Maurice Hardy Annette's View The name for the Toyota Auris is evidently taken from the Latin for gold and Toyota has certainly struck gold with the car in its EuroNCAP safety tests. Naturally, it scored the maximum five stars overall with 35 points out of a possible 37 for passenger protection, 37 out of 48 for child protection, and 21 out of 27 for pedestrian safety. It also got top results for side and pole impact tests plus 94 per cent in the front impact test. It was helped by the standard ISOFIX child seat anchorages in the outer rear positions and a driver kneebag to help cushion any blow against the steering column. Toyota has also adopted the current trend towards using a stop / start button and not having a column lock to slot a key into. While we had the well-equipped T3 model for test, Toyota makes a TR Auris based on the T3 but with scuff plates for the door sills and extra chrome detailing. Despite this, the TR comes out at £1,000 less so provided you like one of the three colour finishes – red, silver, or grey- then it makes sense. Buy it and you could have a new car and a holiday this year. Car: Toyota Auris T3 D-4D 130 five door Does it fit your ego?... 0-62 mph: 10.3 secs Top speed: 121 mph Bhp: 124 @ 3600 rpm Torque: 221 lb ft @ 2000 - 2600 rpm ...and your wallet?... Price: £15,595 Urban: 40.4 mpg Extra urban: 61.4 mpg Combined: 52.3mpg CO2 emissions: 144 g/km Insurance Group: 6 Best bits: it’s roomy; good value; cheap to run.