The things that make you buy a car and the things that make you keep it can be quite different. Dazzled by the showroom lights, we'll all fawn over some pretty styling or the latest piece of technological gimmickry as demonstrated by a sharply-suited sales exec. Eventually, though, the novelty of these kinds of things tends to wear off. The mark of a good car for most people is how well it fits with their lifestyle and how little it annoys in daily use. Toyota's Auris failed to set the office alight upon its arrival but its slow burning appeal is coming to fruition nicely.

As usual, the week kicks off in inauspicious fashion with a Monday morning. The short drive into work through the thronging hordes of other road users is the one our Auris 2.0D-4D faces most regularly. You notice the engine's gruff rumblings at idle before it's warmed-up properly but a little heat helps as has a few thousand miles of running-in. Cold starts never seem a problem and the interminable process of clearing a field of vision through a foggy, iced-up windscreen is helped by the punchy heater.

On Tuesday, it's more of the same. The Auris performs well in urban traffic. The engine has a gutsy character bestowed upon it by its 300Nm torque output. It allows to access acceleration quickly for nipping though gaps in the traffic flow. You have to be on top of the gears because as quickly as it comes, the surge of propulsion tails off again. Then it's time to grab the next cog and experience the whole thing again. Fortunately, the gearbox is one of the finest aspects of the Auris driving experience. Its short accurate action means you almost welcome the engine's peak and trough power delivery.

A cross-country jaunt to meet some friends in the gathering gloom of a Wednesday evening gives the Auris a chance to stretch its legs. It isn't the most involving car to peddle along a B-road as the steering and suspension tend keep themselves to themselves and don't really let on much about the road below. Grip is in plentiful supply though and the car corners securely, never giving you the heebie-jeebies. The driving position is comfortable for this kind of driving. Even at 6ft, you're able to sit low down in the car and stretch out your legs, although you'd have to mark the Auris down as a competent rather than exhilarating driver's car.

".the Auris is confirmed as a pleasantly affordable car to run"

Back to the daily grind on Thursday and sitting at a red light, a scan of the interior underlines the core strengths of the Auris. It's really well put together in there. No gimmicky features, incongruous trim materials or gaudy colour schemes: it's simply well-built and sensible. The cascading centre console is an attempt to inject a little character into the Auris but the jury's out. It positions the gear lever at a nice height, close to the wheel but the air-con and stereo controls aren't really any more conveniently located than on a conventional dashboard. The storage space beneath does come in handy but the design divides the front of the cabin and makes the driver feel boxed in. The door pulls are a far better attempt at creativity on Toyota's part. They're really slick pieces of penmanship but it's the general resilience of the Auris's interior that stands out above any detail. As is its reputation, Toyota has built the car to last.

The rear seating doesn't tend to get over used in our Auris. A bag of shopping or a carelessly chucked jacket are the extent of its regular exertions but the boot is another matter. The rear of the car has played host to all manner of stuff and rather too much of it is still in there somewhere. A trip to the council dump before work on Friday saw the luggage area lumbered with a load of empty bottles and a box of old door handles amongst other salubrious bric-a-brac. The space is quite deep so you have to lower items in and lift them in but there's a lot of capacity to play with and the space is uniform in shape which is handy for stacking boxes.

More passengers usually come into the equation on weekends and interior space is arguably the area where the Auris excels itself most. The cabin has a flat floor, so foot room for three football team members in the back is plentiful. Even the size 12s of our 6'4" goal keeper were crammed in and that was after he drew the short straw and got the middle berth. The rear seats actually recline for a more laid-back seating position and our experience suggests that if you plan on carrying large persons in the rear seat regularly, the Auris is one of the best family hatchback choices.

We reach the service station forecourt on Sunday night with another Monday looming and the Auris presents another reason to be cheerful. Its fuel economy has been excellent over the course of our long term test and there are hints that it may even be improving as the engine loosens up. We've been managing well over 45mpg despite the mainly urban driving that the car has been put through. The 144g/km emissions aren't bad either for a car with this sort of performance, so the Auris is confirmed as a pleasantly affordable car to run.

A week in the life of Toyota's Auris confirms the opinion we'd formed over months and miles of driving. The car is a solid and practical package that gets the basics overwhelmingly right. There's no question that a generous injection of design flair, both internally and externally, would be of benefit when it comes to the car's initial courtship of potential buyers but that has never been Toyota's style. The Auris delivers the family hatchback essentials in an unfussy manner and the more you use it, the more they are appreciated.

TOP 5 AURIS DEALS

The results below show the top AURIS deals on buyacar

	Toyota Auris 2.2 D-4D SR180 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £307	Saving £1,731	Price £16,809
	Toyota Auris 1.4 D-4D T2 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £228	Saving £1,229	Price £12,721
	Toyota Auris 2.0 D-4D TR 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £260	Saving £1,415	Price £14,225
	Toyota Auris 1.4 D-4D T3 5dr MM Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £256	Saving £1,399	Price £14,101
	Toyota Auris 1.6 VVTi TR 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £237	Saving £1,233	Price £12,807

typical 12.25% APR

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