Toyota Auris - Pictures

The smooth 175bhp diesel is the best bit about this car. It is also used in the Avensis, RAV4 and Verso, as well as the Lexus IS220d. Maximum torque of 400Nm peaks at 2,000rpm, ensuring excellent response.

First impressions of the Toyota cabin are good. Its three-spoke steering wheel is pleasing, and the instruments are quite sophisticated. But the plastics are shiny and cheap, while the seats lack upper back support.

Neither car has a particularly smooth gearchange, but the Auris’s is the poorer. While it’s fine in town, as soon as you start to push the engine, its flaws are exposed. Downshifts can be particularly notchy.

It’s slightly deeper than the Mégane’s boot, but wheelarch intrusion restricts the width of the Auris’s load space. Both cars have 60:40-split folding back seats, although the Toyota’s rear bench doesn&rs