2004 Toyota Avensis T3-S review from UK and Ireland

Minor condensation/damp appears within head lamp fitting.

Slight squeak when I first sit down on the drivers seat (and when I get out of the vehicle at the end of my journey) but nothing during the journey, and no other rattles or squeaks so far.

If I could sum up the car in one sentence, I'd say that "the car feels right!".

I decided to buy this car after hiring one for an entire weekend. Normally I wouldn't have paid much attention to a car like the new-shape avensis, but it was a whole weekend's worth of driving and 300 miles later that I took a real liking to it. So I ended up buying one!

First of all the car feels very solid indeed. The doors shut with a German precision, and everything inside just clicks and works with a high quality solid feel to it.

The shape of the new avensis could perhaps be a little more exciting, but overall I quite like it. The car provides ample room for 5 people, and the boot on the "liftback" version is absolutely enormous!

In terms of pefrormance, I find it more than adequate. For me, stepping down from a sports car to this came as a bit of a shock, but even with the car weighing in at over 1800kg, the 1.8 litre petrol engine with an automatic transmission provides a satisfying performance.

Let's face it, this car is all about the comfort of your journey, and even in "tiptronic mode", you won't be getting anywhere near a Supra off the lights! Having said that, it does cruise very well, and is perfectly suited for long distance motorway journeys.

It handles well around corners, and will allow you to switch off the traction control if you so wish. The car also has a "snow mode", which I haven't yet had the opportunity to try.

On the inside, as far as the driver is concerned, everything seems logically said out and is simple to learn. It's a simple and neat layout, and one that works well. Lighting of the controls and dashboard is all orange. I have found it relatively easy to master the controls so that I can do pretty much anything without hardly having to take my eye off the road.

I am quite tall (6 foot 4 inches tall, or more than 190cm) and I have plenty of legroom up front. What's more surprising is that with the front seat adjusted so that it's positioned all the way back, I tried sitting in the rear of the vehicle and I still had ample legroom!

My car comes with a satellite navigation system (the basic one with the built-in monochrome LCD display). I have used it on several occasions and I have mixed feelings about it. In my opinion it works best in situations where you are completely lost and need to find your way back to somwhere you know (or you know the address of where you want to go, but haven't a clue how to get there). The system is not a bad effort from Toyota, and will re-route you if you miss a turning or otherwise have to go against the suggested route that it gives.

I have tried it in areas of north London that I am very familiar with, and the routes it chooses are not necessarily the best ones. Most of the time it chooses sensible routes, but sometimes the route it chooses is just plain silly! The traffic avoidance does not really work well either, but perhaps it's because I live in London that I say that. The satellite navigation system extends too many other Western European countries too.

So overall I'm so far quite pleased with the car. It is good value for money, and it certainly doesn't feel cheap - and I can easily imagine its equivalent BMW or Mercedes costing up to £10,000 more! As I haven't had the car too long, I can't yet comment about reliability, but Toyota seem to be very good in this area and their reputation prompted me to buy the car in the 1st place. I intend to take my Avensis on many a road trip to Europe, so I hope it will serve me well.