If you buy cars on a criteria purely based around sensible virtues, here's one that should feature high up on your list. Toyota's Auris in entry-level 1.4-litre petrol form forsakes excitement for screwed down design excellence.

Toyota has cleverly catered to their biggest audiences and gamely keeps plugging away with small cars. The Yaris range has found some favour and the Aygo is making respectable numbers but the replacement for the Corolla, the Auris, is up against some tough contenders. The 1.4-litre petrol model is the entry-level model and offers a big car feel for not a lot of money.

The first impression you get when dropping into the Auris 1.4 VVTi is that this is a lot of car for not a lot of engine to send up the Queen's highway. And so it proves. With 96bhp on tap, performance isn't what you'd describe as vivd, but the engine is certainly game and doesn't leave you with bleeding eardrums when you rev it hard. In fact the powerplant is rather tuneful which is just as well as you'll need a heavy right boot to make respectable progress. Leather the Auris off the line and it'll get to 60mph in 12.7 seconds on the way to a maximum of 106mph.

The Auris' 1.4-litre engine features VVT-i, a system that utilises computerised timing control of the inlet valves. In theory, this promotes torque at low revs and power at high engine speeds. Ride, handling and road-holding are all marginally above class average, but the steering, while accurate, doesn't impart much in the way of feedback, robbing you of confidence when you're really pushing on. The plus side is that it makes the Auris incredibly easy to park, helped by good all round visibility.

Rather than anything extreme, the Auris' exterior shape is 'evolutionary.' A less charitable verdict would be unadventurous. If Toyota really wanted to position the Auris as a different and higher quality car than the Corolla, step one should be to ensure it doesn't look broadly similar in dimension to that car. Yet despite the neater touches, well, it does. While Toyota senior suits talk about J-factor, vibrant clarity and emotional identity, most of us think it represents a missed opportunity.

"You buy this car for its reliability and its sheer commonsense."

The cabin has been smartened up with a clearer dash design and OPTITRON instruments but materials quality is slightly hit and miss. There's also a significant lack of oddments stowage space. For a car that namechecks the Volkswagen Golf amongst its key rivals, the Auris is more than a little behind the curve here. On the plus side, longer overhangs offer significantly better luggage capacity (354 litres) than the old Corolla and despite the wheelbase being the same, some clever packaging sees rear legroom increase. Compared to the Corolla, the Auris is 40mm longer and 50mm wider. One particularly neat design detail is the low door profiles which help to reduce the visual effect of tallness.

The 1.4-litre VVT-i engine is available with either the three or five-door body style and T2, TR or T3 trim levels. As you'd expect from Toyota, standard equipment levels are excellent. The T2 trim in three-door guise opens at £12,355 which is more than an equivalent Ford Focus but less than a similarly-engined Honda Civic. Equipment at this level includes air conditioning, front electric windows, an MP3 compatible CD stereo, anti lock brakes and 15-inch steel wheels. Trade up to the T3, which starts at £13,355 and you'll also get rear electric windows, colour keyed mirrors and door handles, more speakers for your stereo, leather trim for the gearshift and steering wheel, audio controls on said wheel and 16-inch alloy rims. Toyota also offers three option packs for the Auris; Style, Protection and Tech.

Buying the Auris is made simple by an innovative internet-based approach. Prospective customers can visit www.toyota.co.uk and use a vehicle configurator to build a new Auris to their own specification. A finance calculator then allows customers to create bespoke finance quotations based on their preferred deposit or monthly payment amount, and customers can apply for finance with Toyota Financial Services at the same time. At the same time the chosen Toyota Centre is automatically emailed to arrange a demonstration of the new Toyota Auris for the customer.

Rest assured, you're not going to lose sleep at night fretting about the running costs of an Auris 1.4 VVTi. Fuel economy is extremely reasonable as long as you're not ragging the 1398cc four within an inch of its life. Driven sensibly, you'll manage a combined figure of 40.9mpg with town driving dropping it to 32.5mpg and open roads seeing a 47.9mpg return. Emissions of 163g/km might not be quite as low as you were expecting but it's still not too bad for a petrol unit, with only the diesels in the Auris range doing better in this regard.

An insurance rating of Group 4 is typically one group lower than many rivals. This low insurance rating is helped by the fact that the Auris is unlikely to attract boy racers and that features like a bolt-on structure for the front bumper reinforcement makes the consequences of a front end nudge that much less costly to your insurer. Likewise, the radiator support retracts in the event of an accident to protect the cooling units from damage. In so many small cars, a light tap to the front end will split the radiator and leave the vehicle stranded.

On paper, Toyota has created a very complete car in the Auris 1.4 VVTi. It reprises a formula which sold bazillions of Corollas with a little more style, safety, space and build quality. It's not the most exciting fashion statement you can make but this design makes no apologies for that.

The 1.4-litre model looks one of the best choices in the range. It's another £1,500-odd to trade up to the 1.6-litre Dual VVT-I car which goes a little faster but why would you want to? The Auris isn't about speed but sensibility. You buy this car for its reliability, its sheer commonsense and its excellent dealer support. Which is presumably what most family hatchback buyers on a £12,000 budget want. Isn't it?

TOP 4 AURIS DEALS

The results below show the top AURIS deals on buyacar

	Toyota Auris 1.4 VVTi T2 3dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £205	Saving £1,067	Price £11,433
	Toyota Auris 1.4 VVTi T2 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £211	Saving £1,121	Price £11,879
	Toyota Auris 1.4 VVTi T3 3dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £222	Saving £1,176	Price £12,324
	Toyota Auris 1.4 VVTi T3 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £229	Saving £1,231	Price £12,769

typical 12.48% APR

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