Toyota Corolla

Fresh-faced Verso's added flex appeal

Designers are going practicality crazy at Toyota - they've facelifted the Corolla Verso and are working on a brand new 3+1 microcar!

Auto Express Car Reviews

Latest Corolla Verso gets styling similar to Auris

11th May 2007

The updated version of the Japanese firm's Ford C-MAX rival will arrive first. Bringing the MPV into line with the new Auris hatch, the Corolla Verso's makeover includes a fresh headlamp design and a new look for the front bumper.

Inside, the modifications are more discreet, with revamped fabrics and a higher-quality sound system.

Diesel buyers will get the option of an ultra-efficient 133bhp 2.2-litre D-4D engine with a particulate filter. Prices for the whole range are likely to be revised when the facelifted model goes on sale in July. A few months after that - at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September - Toyota will pull the wraps off an all-new city runabout. And it's even smaller than the firm's Aygo!

Set to follow in the wheeltracks of the Endo concept - revealed at the 2005 German exhibition - the model is only 3,000mm long, compared to the Aygo's 3,600mm length. The newcomer is expected to arrive in the UK by next summer.

There should be plenty of room inside, thanks to an ingenious seating arrangement. A '3+1' set-up offers three full-size chairs and an occasional child's pew that can also be used as extra luggage space.