2002 Toyota Avensis Verso GLS review from UK and Ireland

So far all we've needed doing is having the handbrake adjusted - in fact if we hadn't driven to Leeds (we live in flat East Anglia) we'd probably not have even noticed it needed doing!

As a Mum with 2 kids and numerous friends to carry to and from school, I needed a car big enough to take all of us, but didn't think I could really justify the expense of a full MPV. After loads of research I ended up at my local Honda, Vauxhall and Toyota dealers.

Enter the world of the Car Salesman - try being a forty-something blonde female trying to explain to a twenty-something single male just exactly what you need from a car - not easy.

To be perfectly honest I never got into the Vauxhall showroom, as all men I spoke to who pronounced any knowledge of things vehicular rolled around on the floor laughing when I mentioned the Zafira. (A friend of mine who does have a Zafira has recently had to endure the inconvenience of it being off the road for a week while it had a new cylinder head gasket fitted after only 8 months, so perhaps they were right).

The Honda guys were OK and let me test drive a Stream for a long as I wanted, but they weren't too keen on letting me take it away to do the school run.

The first Toyota I test drove was the Picnic, which of course was an older car. The salesman at this Toyota dealer (again a young slip of a lad with no children), when told that I'd previously test driven a Stream, told me I'd end up buying one of them. Hmmm. However, whilst in the showroom I spotted an Avensis Verso and my heart leapt - it seemed to be everything I was looking for - 7 seats, plenty of boot space even with all seats in, extremely child friendly, and of course the all-important Toyota reliability. One problem - this particular Avensis Verso had already been sold and the salesman wouldn't even unlock the doors to let me sit inside! Another hhmmm. Did he really want to sell me a car I began to wonder?

However, undeterred, off I went to another Toyota dealer, admittedly not so local (an hour's drive away), and here the service was miles better. A friendly salesman (who may even have grandchildren, let alone children) who let me take the car for as long as I wanted, including the hour's drive back to home to pick up the kids from school and then cart them all back to the showroom. The children loved it - so having gained their vote of approval the decision was made and we ordered one.

We've never looked back. The kids can bring friends home after school, we can take grandparents out for the day and all go together in one car, grandad can drive us and all our luggage down to the airport without having to worry about using his car and his petrol and we can all fit in comfortably!

Driving the Avensis Verso is pure bliss. I thought the Rover was luxury (well it was when we first bought it 12 years ago!) but there's no comparison. It's extremely comfortable to drive, even long distances (the Leeds trip previously mentioned takes us over 3 hours). The children are extremely happy in their back seats (far enough away from the driver to be less distracting than in a normal car!) with their own air conditioning and heating system and their own toy compartments at the side of their seats.

I've recently had the two back seats out to take a large load and there was bags of space - with all five rear seats out you'd be able to hold a party in the back.

The satellite navigation is great fun - the children love the thought of the car telling Mum which way to go - although you do have to watch your settings on it - we took a trip to Colchester Zoo via the M11 and M25 during half term because I'd got it set to go on the fastest route - coming home we set it to shortest route and that was a lot better.

The radio and CD player are perfectly adequate for our needs going to and from school and the occasional longer journey.

Because it's so much bigger (that takes some getting used to when parking!) and heavier than our previous car, I've had to get used to changing down to lower gears than previously, but having got used to it, have discovered that despite it's size and bulk it's quite a nippy car - I've surprised quite a few "boy racers" by getting passed them when they haven't expected it. It also handles extremely well round corners and roundabouts.

The interior lights are brilliant - the children have their own above their seats right at the back. The boot also has a very useful light of it's own which lights up the whole boot area when the door's open at night time.

I could carry on ad infinitum extolling the virtues of our car - my parents have had their Toyota for years now and have always sang Toyota's praise - we're now finding out for ourselves just how good they are.