Toyota Avensis 2.2 D-4D 150 (2009) CAR review

For a new car, the British-built new Toyota Avensis looks and feels remarkably similar to the old one. The Avensis faithful will see this as a good thing. In much the same way that you’d worry if a BBC newsreader arrived on your screen one day with a pink mohican and LOVE and HATE tattooed on his knuckles, you don’t look to the Avensis for innovation and novelty value. It’s safe, reassuring and reliable. 

Designed in the south of France, the third-generation Avensis is available in saloon and estate forms (but no hatchback), with a choice of new petrol engines and revised diesels. It has a slightly sharper look, with a hint of Cadillac or Saab around the nose, although mostly it looks like an old Avensis that’s been gently squashed. It’s actually the same height as before, but 50mm longer and 50mm wider.

So the new Toyota Avensis has ballooned like the Mondeo?

Not really, it still feels like a regular family car, whereas the once class-defining Ford has moved into an altogether chubbier, harder-to-park place. The Toyota also weighs more than the car it replaces, but only by 10kg.

There’s good room for four adults inside, plus a good-size child in the middle at the back. The doors are all big and open wide, so even a dodgy hip won’t stop you getting in and out easily. The long, shallow boot has a decent 509 litres of space, although the forwardmost parts take quite a stretch to reach. There’s a full-size spare under the boot floor. So far, so sensible.

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