USED Toyota Avensis Hatchback (03 - 09)

My car

I have been driving the Avensis 2.0D-D4 T3X five-door for over two years and have put 77,000 miles on the clock. For company car drivers like me, I have well and truly tested this car.

The diesel engine works very well, and has good pull from the lights and very good mid-range pull from 50 to over 70 mph. I can sometimes get over 60 miles per gallon when I am not in a hurry.

Being over six feet tall, I do find that the seat adjustment should go lower, as my arms are either too far from the steeting wheel, or too close should I put the seat forward. Still, it doesn't detract from being a very comfortable drive on long journeys.

The boot is enourmous, and just last week I managed to get a five-foot long fridge-freezer in the back.

The gripes are reversing and parking. The side and back windows are so high that I can never reverse into a space first time - I always seem to need a second or even a third try. Still, all the buttons work well on the dash, and the air-conditioning is a breeze with precise adjustments. However, I wish they would put the clock in a more prominent place and make it larger.

All in all, it's a really first class car, and its looks gives the impression of being a more expensive up-market brand. For my next car, I would choose the Avensis again, but would prefer a much more powerful diesel.

My car

I had this model for six months of various driving - motorways and town use - and was not too impressed, considering the advertising of its quality feel.

Bits of the trim fell off, and the centre compartment refused to open when pressed.

High speeds on the motorway created a lot of wind noise around the windscreen. The seats were uncomfortable, I just couldn't get settled.

In my opinion, the only good thing was the engine.

For me, it was too much of a old man's car and I was glad to get rid of it.

My car

Overall good car to drive and own but slightly underpowered with the 1.8 engine.

My car

I'm soon to replace my company T3-X 1.8 petrol Avensis.

I drove this demonstrator for just one day. The effortless power was superb, even in sixth gear. Overtaking was a dream, unlike the slightly underpowered 1.8. At high speed on the motorway, the engine was almost silent, barely ticking over at 2000rpm.

Accelerating through the low gears, however, produced that awful diesel noise, like a cross between a tractor and a taxi.

It was a hard decision but I'm going to stick with petrol and get the T4 with sat-nav. More sedate, but why zoom up to a traffic jam when you can avoid it completely?