The things that add up to the ultimate company car are very different to those of the ultimate car. Low running costs, green emissions, impressive economy and classy cruising ability take the place of power and prestige. Which means that just on company car criteria, Toyota's Avensis T180 might just be the car that business users - and their accountants - have always dreamed of. Our long term test has revealed the truth.

We've been running the car now for nearly six months, having chosen it in recognition of the increasing number of company car sales Toyota is these days achieving amongst business user-choosers. No, the Avensis isn't as quite as sharp a handler on twisting B-roads as, say, a Mondeo or a Peugeot 407. But the truth is that, by and large, most business users don't do the bulk of their mileage on twisting B roads. Endless motorways are the preferred habitat of this kind of car. And here, the Toyota has few peers.

The T180 variant is the flagship of the range and, priced from £22,055, isn't cheap. Still, if you can be satisfied with 126bhp rather than 175bhp and a slightly lower level of equipment, an otherwise pretty identical Avensis D-4D can be yours for less than £16,000. Mind you, if the company's paying, what the heck. And the T180 is a pretty impressive piece of kit. After all, how many cars can you think of that can accelerate from rest in sixty in just 8.3 seconds on the way to 136mph yet still average around 50mpg on a regular basis? Answers on a postcard please.

What really sells this car however, is its inherent quality. The doors thunk shut like a Lexus and it was to their luxury division that Toyota looked to imbue the Avensis interior with a genuinely upmarket feel. It seems to have worked. Soft touch plastics, neat metallic finishes and a huge cabin make the Avensis feel a class up.

"What really sells this is its inherent quality..."

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 LS saloon as a benchmark and, as a result, can claim that even at 124mph, there is zero wind noise from the door mirrors.

Toyota's efforts on the handling front are, as I've suggested, 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 old 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.

Despite the recent tweaks, the neat exterior styling remains a little forgettable. The nose features the Toyota family face and the bonnet is very compact. Viewed in profile, the stub nose and boot are dominated by the huge sleekly domed cabin, the high waistline giving an impression of rigid solidity. It's almost as if Toyota were overanxious to underline the Avensis' new-found gravitas.

Safety has been prioritised with all Avensis 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.

If you're convinced by all this and, like us, want an Avensis, then you're going to need a few more arguments to use with your company's fleet purchasing Manager. OK, so here goes. Like its predecessor, this car is the cheapest car in its class to run - for all kinds of reasons. Take residual values: at around 35%, they're around 7-8% better than Ford, Vauxhall or even VW. Take insurance: in some cases, you'll find you're two groups better off.

Take servicing: over 70,000 miles this car will spend only half the amount of time in the workshop that a Mondeo or a Passat would. Take accident repair: in a front-end shunt, this car will be 55% less costly to fix and 65% less costly in a rear-end shunt. Take company car tax: an Avensis driver will be between £300 and £1,000 a year better off than with any other rivals. Take fuel economy: no other car in the class can beat it. Even the tyre choice makes the rubber 23% cheaper to replace.

Does it all add up to a package you could consider as 'The Ultimate Company Car'? Many will consider that it does. On paper at least, the Avensis T180 is car the corporates can't ignore. If rival manufacturers would, like us, take the trouble to live with one, perhaps they wouldn't be so continually surprised by this model's sales figures.

TOP 3 AVENSIS DEALS

The results below show the top AVENSIS deals on buyacar

	Toyota Avensis 2.2 D-4D T180 4dr (Pre-model) Saloon
	ETR	Mthly £361	Saving £4,067	Price £18,173
	Toyota Avensis 2.2 D-4D T180 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £326	Saving £5,277	Price £16,963
	Toyota Avensis 2.2 D-4D T180 5dr Tourer (Pre-model) Estate
	ETR	Mthly £380	Saving £4,194	Price £19,196

typical 11.84% APR

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