We review the Toyota Avensis from price to economy and all its features

“Ah I see your dad’s leant you his car for the weekend”, my colleague said to me as I pulled into the work car park.

I’m at the wheel of the brand new Toyota Avensis, which might have a reputation for being an old man’s car, but I’m more than comfortable being seen in it.

4

First of all, I think it looks cool.

It’s too flash to be my dad’s car, that’s for sure, with its aggressive front grille and sharp metallic orion blue paint job (£495 extra), Toyota certainly seems to be aiming for younger drivers.

4

I’ve driven it from London to Norwich to see how it copes with a longish drive. Toyota quote up to 76.3mpg (extra urban), which I was nowhere near; I averaged 48mpg for the entire journey according to my dashboard.

Driving it's a doddle, the nifty tech features like the lane assist, road sign assist and rear view camera makes life a whole lot easier. In fact, there’s so much going on along the dash and on the steering wheel your biggest concern is keeping your eyes on the road.

I normally end up plugging my phone in as a sat-nav in Toyotas as it’s easier to use than the built-in one, so it was refreshing to find system which recognised my postcode at the first attempt.

4

Safety features include front, side, curtain and KNEE airbags, just in case you whack your legs before anything else in a collision.

There’s a USB and Aux-in socket hidden in the centre console, along with a sliding drinks holder, which doesn’t actually hold a bottle of water very well. I ended up removing it to get it out the way.

More Motors

quirky, fun and economical

We review the Citroen C3 Feel from price to economy and all its features

big grille with sweeping headlights

We review the DS Divine (from Citroen) from price to economy and all its features

Skoda has the last laugh

We review the Skoda Yeti Outdoor from price to economy and all its features

crisp handling and better steering

We review the Ford Fiesta ST200 from price to economy and all its features

Keen to see what my dad thought of it, I took him for a spin, and while he was impressive with the comfort and space, the interior design wasn’t up to his standards, and the lane assist had to be turned off as it was bleeping too often for his liking.

4

That was probably more a reflection on my lane-hopping than anything else though.

Before driving one I’d have never considered buying a Toyota Avensis myself, as I’ve never seen it as an exciting enough car, but I’ve changed my mind.

With a total cost of £24,290 I would consider it, plus, I had half a tank of diesel left after a long day’s driving, having only topped it up with £20.

The tech upgrades and metallic paint job certainly help make the Avensis stand out, and even if it’s not cool enough for my old man, it’s good enough for me.