Toyota Auris T3

I recently had occasion to drive Toyota's new Auris at Millbrook Proving grounds and to put it mildly, this car is a step backward from the car it replaces. It is coarse, lacks refinement and the interior isn't finished in the best materials. Unfortunate really, considering Toyota's reputation in the United States. Though the car was delivered with the 'pre-production' tag, it wasn't hard to see why that reputation is not upheld in the UK. VW's Golf is a much better car for the money.

While this is a small family hatchback, Millbrook was nonetheless an appropriate venue to test the car. The Auris will inevitably be used as a tool for commuting to work or for the morning school run, but may also be asked to make occasional evasive manoeuvres to sidestep an obstruction in the road. This car won't do that. Body roll is not tightly controlled and the rear end is simply too light, wanting to break the tires free of their grip on the tarmac.

The drone of the engine in the cockpit was overwhelming whilst travelling along at motorway speeds. My attempts to put it in sixth gear proved futile: there isn't one. The only thing between you and the passenger is an awkwardly designed centre stack that invades the footwell and robs it of space for your left leg and knee, the latter of which will be bruised by the time you reach your destination.

Looking out, the small window in the A-pillar seems like a stylistic exercise rather than a functional device. Visibility through the pillar is not improved and it remains a prominent and hindering feature.

Toyota will require greater effort if it wants to succeed with this model in the European market. Let's hope the 'pre-production' model I drove won't be the one Toyota puts in showrooms in January.