Car buyers broadly fall into two distinct categories. Those who buy with their heads and those who do so with their hearts. Buyers of estate cars like this Toyota Avensis Tourer you would expect to fall into the first category. And you would be wrong.

Today's estate customer is less likely to get a tape measure or a calculator out of his or her pocket than a pair of sunglasses. They value the extra versatility and appreciate cheap running costs but both are usually less important than the fashion statement being made. After all, if space is all you want, you don't buy an estate car anyway: you buy an MPV.

Toyota found this out to its cost with the first generation Avensis, a model range boasting an estate version of such low profile that many didn't even realise it existed. No matter that it was the cheapest, most economical, easiest to repair, least expensive to insure estate car in its class: buyers didn't care - and sales suffered. This state of affairs couldn't be allowed to continue with the post-2003 MK2 line-up, given that around 2,000 Avensis Tourer station wagons roll out of the British Burnaston factory every month in search of European buyers. So we've seen a radical rethink - and a radically different car as a result, improved further with a neat facelift and the addition of some powerful diesel engines to the line-up.

"There are perhaps more exciting, more passionate estate cars but none make more sense."

It's no fashion icon, but there is a quality look and feel to the product which will please Mondeo and Vectra customers as well as possibly appealing to a few of the BMW and Audi buyers shopping in the next class up. 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 well appointed cabin make the car feel a class up. Indeed, you could put Lexus logos on the thing and, although you might not be that excited by the product, you probably wouldn't think the badge out of place in terms of quality of engineering.

With that achieved, it might now be fair for Toyota to expect that some of their more traditionally practical virtues would begin to come into their own. So what are these? Well, since despite the trendy name, this is an estate car, we'd better start at the sharp end. It's significant to point out that this Toyota is still shorter than its rivals - around 100mm shorter than a Mondeo for example. Which leads one to worry as to whether the Tourer's carrying capacity is going to be up to very much.

As it happens, it's not bad. There's 520 litres of space on offer with the rear seats in place, rising to 1500 litres when they're folded flat: good enough to get close to the class leaders in other words, if not quite to match them. A section of the load floor can be lifted to reveal a hidden storage tray, big enough to accommodate the luggage cover when not in use. An integrated partition net can be added to this cover to stop shopping bags crashing into garden centre produce and vica versa. Moreover, the luggage floor itself can be folded to create separate storage compartments, while tie-downs and shopping hooks are there to ensure that with loads both large and small, delicate items can be carried safely.

Engine-wise, there isn't the choice you will find elsewhere in the Avensis range, though all of the major bases are covered. Petrol customers can choose either a 129bhp 1.8-litre VVT-i unit or 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 124bhp 2.0-litre D-4D diesel will have particular appeal to Tourer customers. Above this, Toyota have 148 and 177bhp 2.2-litre D-4D units.

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. Better sound insulation has reduced weight and decreased noise, but 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. Instead they chose the Lexus LS430 as a benchmark and claim that even at 124mph, there is zero wind noise from the door mirrors. Ford's Mondeo was identified as a class leader in the area of steering feel, handling and ride and Toyota claim to have tuned the steering for even better feedback. 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.

Tourer prices start at £16,545 and trim levels depend on your choice between: Colour Collection, T2, TR, T Spirit and T180. All come with air conditioning, an alarm immobiliser, power windows and mirrors, ABS and an excellent quality stereo system. The plushest TR, T Spirit and T180 levels also include a colour screen satallite navigation system.

All of which leaves only a few practical points. 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.

As we said at the outset, all this may not mean much to today's more liberal estate car buyer - though maybe it should. Just as well then that the Avensis Tourer has other weapons in its armoury. There are perhaps more exciting, more passionate estate cars you can buy in this sector but there are none that make more sense.