I must admit, I did quite like the advertising of the original version of the current generation Toyota Avensis. The ultra-competitive, obnoxious city boys all boasting about their achievements and the quiet guy who drove the Avensis, the obvious message being that you don't need to blow your own trumpet if you drive a car like this. Whilst the Avensis doesn't stand out in a crowd, it gives off an aura of high quality, especially in its latest revised guise. It's a car that still doesn't need to try too hard. Designed in France, this car is firmly Eurocentric, being marketed solely on this continent. It's good looking and very effective without being showy. In short, it's my kind of medium range car. The model I took on loan was a 129bhp 1.8-litre VVT-i saloon. Quite a mouthful.

Three bodystyles are available - saloon, liftback and estate - while two petrol engines are also on offer. Customers can choose either a 129bhp 1.8-litre VVT-i engine and a 147bhp 2.0-litre direct injection VVT-i powerplant. The VVT-i set-up is Toyota's variable valve timing system which offers decent torque and fuel economy at low revs and a hefty slug of power at full throttle. A 126bhp 2.0-litre D-4D diesel is also available, as are more advanced 2.2-litre D-4D oil-burning units packing 148bhp and 177bhp. Safety has been prioritised with all models getting no fewer than nine airbags as standard, including a driver knee airbag. Secreted beneath the steering column, this system protects the driver's knees and lower legs from injury. All models now also come with vehicle stability control (VSC), traction control (TRC) and brake assist (BA) to boost the already impressive Avensis safety credentials.

Effective sound insulation has reduced weight and decreased noise and to give some illustration as to how seriously Toyota took refinement, they didn't choose the most refined car in the class - let's say the Vauxhall Vectra - as a comparison when developing this Avensis. Instead they chose the super-luxury Lexus LS430 saloon as a benchmark and, as a result, can claim that even at 124mph, there is zero wind noise from the door mirrors. Despite recent improvements, Toyota's efforts on the handling front remain not quite as effective. This never feels like a car that you want to drive just for the fun of it. Still, that's not what it's about. This is something you can sink back into at the end of a hard day and enjoy, the refinement and, particularly, the ride quality being highlights of the driving experience. The compact strut front suspension is similar to that of the Corolla, but the rear is a modified version of the Celica's multilink system. One advantage of this is that it reduces intrusion into the luggage bay, the saloon version featuring a 520-litre boot. It certainly looks to have the quality to succeed and Toyota have created a quality all rounder. My 1.8-litre saloon would sprint to 60mph in 10.1 seconds and return 39.2mpg, making it quicker, more powerful and more economical than equivalent 1.8-litre variants of the Mazda6, the Renault Laguna, the Ford Mondeo and the Vauxhall Vectra. Couple that with the biggest cabin in class and competitive pricing and Toyota will continue to have a strong seller on their hands.

The Avensis certainly makes a good case for itself. It's well equipped, modern, handsome in a quiet sort of way and very well built. If you're the sort of person who's secure enough not to need a bottom of the range BMW, the Avensis makes a very capable alternative.