If you're going to travel over 3,000 miles in three weeks, you don't normally want to consider doing it in a humble family hatchback. So it was with some trepidation that I approached the first three weeks in August at the wheel of our long term Toyota Auris.

The first seven days involved a family trip to Oakhampton in the West Country. The following week, I had to pay for my pleasure with a daunting series of appointments around the North of England. And the final week rounded things off with the other half of my family holiday - to Bude in Cornwall.

I'd asked the boss for something larger but no dice. So my 2.0-litre D4-D diesel-powered Auris it was. I shouldn't have doubted the car but I did. It doesn't, after all, look like a motorway-minded car. Actually though, it is. In my line of work, I get to drive a variety of models but from a driving comfort point of view, none has bettered this Toyota.

I can remember particularly a string of expensive Audis that left me with back ache after a relatively short time at the wheel. Using the Auris, in contrast, was a pleasure. I was able to get out after a 500 mile stint and walk completely upright to the Burger King in the motorway service area. Brilliant.

Lest this sound too much like a Toyota ad, I should point out that I wasn't the Auris' biggest fan when it arrived. I wasn't completely convinced by design details like the 'floating' fascia panel behind the gearstick and the gearchange shift light on the dash frankly irritated me. It just shows how you can learn to live with things and end up liking them. The 'floating' panel is now something I point out to passengers, while in recent days, I've found myself almost unconsciously timing my gearchanges in line with the dash panel's upshift lights.

"When I brim the car full of diesel, it's at least 100 miles before the needle starts to move at all from the 'full' point.."

In the third week of my trek, up and down the steep roads down to the Cornish coast around Bude, I had the opportunity to further appreciate the pulling power of the Auris' D4-D 2.0-litre diesel engine. It needed all of its 124 braked horses to make decent progress up the snaking little backroads but I noticed that it left me pulling away from virtually all following traffic every time. This would be a surprisingly good towcar.

The electrically-assisted power steering is accurate and compared to the petrol models, it's easy to feel the weight of the D4-D engine on turn-in. The six-speed manual transmission features some closely-stacked ratios that you'll need to keep on top of to maintain decent torque which, in the D4-D 130, is found in a narrowish seam between 2,000 and 2,800rpm. Fortunately, the 'box is a joy to use. Less delightful is the simple torsion beam rear suspension which feels a little dead. It's illuminating that the range-topping T180 gets a fully independent rear suspension setup.

Toyota quote a very respectable 52.3mpg for this punchy 'D4-D 130' unit and on the basis of my experience, that seems like a fair figure. When I brim the car full of diesel, it's at least 100 miles before the needle starts to move at all from the 'full' point. Emissions for this car is rated at 151g/km, only 19g/km worse than the entry-level 1.4-litre D4-D unit which frankly, I'm glad I didn't have to have. Likewise, insurance is extremely cheap, the D4-D 130 attracting a 6E banding.

In creating the Auris, Toyota say that their engineers started with the passengers and then worked outwards, maximising occupant space with elements such as a flat passenger floor and high window surfaces. It's worked. My notes tell me that this car's all-new platform has an overall length of 4,220mm incorporating a 2,600mm wheelbase. This means that the wheelbase represents 61.6 per cent of the car's total length. The higher the percentage, the more space is afforded to people rather than oily bits. What it all meant in family terms was that we could take slightly more stuff than the Focus we used for our holiday last year. As my wife reminded me when I tried to point out that we hadn't got room for all the souvenirs she was buying in the Cornish antique shops.

As with most potential buyers in this sector, safety's a key consideration for me, given the necessity of long journeys with two children. Look at the facts and it's soon clear that the Auris didn't achieve its Five Star Euro NCAP safety rating by accident. The combination of a driver knee airbag and a collapsible steering column were key factors in the 35 point, 5-star result for adult occupant protection. A 'Minimal Intrusion' cabin design and up to nine airbags boost its safety rating from the start and contribute to the 4-star performance this car also achieved for child occupant protection. Another key benefit in this respect is the way that ISOFIX anchorage points have been included on the outer rear seats. Euro NCAP also awarded Toyota a class-leading three out of four-star rating for pedestrian protection.

Overall? Well I'm a lot more loth these days to surrender the keys of my Toyota, even when something more prestigious rolls up in the carpark. My national meanderings have left me with a healthy respect for the Auris. No, it's not cutting edge to drive or particularly charismatic. But it does what it's supposed to do better than any other car in its sector I've tried. And I'll take that combination of virtues any day. So, by the way, will my passengers..

TOP 5 AURIS DEALS

The results below show the top AURIS deals on buyacar

	Toyota Auris 1.4 D-4D T3 5dr MM Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £273	Saving £1,416	Price £14,234
	Toyota Auris 1.6 VVTi TR 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £249	Saving £1,246	Price £12,944
	Toyota Auris 1.6 VVTi T Spirit 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £276	Saving £1,388	Price £14,062
	Toyota Auris 2.0 D-4D T3 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £283	Saving £1,465	Price £14,635
	Toyota Auris 2.0 D-4D T Spirit 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £302	Saving £1,570	Price £15,480

typical 12.28% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000