Although Toyota has produced occasional sport cars over the years, much of its success has been built on designing and building inoffensive cars which do their job efficiently and without fuss. The Auris five-door hatchback is an example of this. A medium-sized family hatchback, it makes the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf seem positively glamorous, but if you expect nothing more of your car than you would of your washing machine it's a perfectly sensible option.

Aurises have a 1.3 or 1.6-litre petrol engines, a 1.4-litre diesel or, in the case of the Hybrid, a 1.8 petrol and an electric motor. Most versions have a six-speed manual gearbox, but a CVT automatic is available as an option for the 1.6 petrol and standard in the Hybrid. If you need more practicality than the hatchback provides, there's an estate alternative called the Touring Sports.

Performance

In keeping with the Auris's modest nature, no car in the range can accelerate from 0-62mph in under ten seconds, though the 1.6 manual can do so in ten exactly. The 1.6 automatic and the Hybrid are around a second slower, while the diesel and the 1.3 petrol manage 12.5 and 12.6 seconds respectively. Top speeds range from 109mph to 124mph.

The diesel has the best performance at low engine speeds, but the Hybrid moves away from rest with the least fuss. It's also the quietest, and in town you can't always tell whether the engine is running or the electric motor is doing all the work.

Ride and Handling

It corners as well as it needs to, and the ride is smooth enough, especially on cheaper versions with 15-inch wheels.

Unlike the pre-2013 Auris range, this one does not include a sports model, so if you want hot hatch-style thrills you'd better look elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you want something that will get you from A to B securely and comfortably, the Auris is well worth investigating. It corners as well as it needs to, and the ride is smooth enough, especially on cheaper versions with 15-inch wheels.

Interior and Equipment

In some markets, including Australia, Toyota calls this car the Corolla. That's the most widely used nameplate in the world - more than 40 million Corollas have been built since the mid-1960s.

Luggage capacity with the rear seats in place is 360 litres, or about the same as the Focus and the Vauxhall Astra but a bit less than the Golf. The Hybrid's battery pack does not intrude on the load space, so that car is as practical as all the others. The four trim levels are called Active, Icon, Icon Plus and Excel. All except the Active include alloy wheels, DAB digital radio and satellite navigation. Air-conditioning is standard across the whole range. Part-leather upholstery is standard on the Excel, while full leather is an option on everything other than the Active. The Excel is the only model fitted with dual-zone air-conditioning, automatic headlights and wipers, a self-dimming interior mirror, keyless entry and start and parking sensors at both ends. All versions have a tyre repair kit as standard, but a space-saver spare wheel is offered as an advisable option.

Cost

On paper, the Hybrid is the most economical Auris, with combined consumption of more than 70mpg regardless of wheel size.

Every Hybrid, and the 1.4 diesel fitted with 15-inch wheels, have CO2 emissions of less than 100g/km, so there's no Vehicle Excise Duty to pay. Diesels with larger wheels are rated at up to 107g/km (£20 annual VED). Petrol models range from 128g/km to 140g/km. On paper, the Hybrid is the most economical Auris, with combined consumption of more than 70mpg regardless of wheel size. In real life, the cheaper diesel is likely to use less fuel across a wide range of driving conditions, though in town the Hybrid has a definite advantage as it can be driven with the engine switched off.

Our Verdict

It's easy to criticise the Auris for lacking flair, but not everyone wants flair. While it lacks the practicality of some rivals, it's otherwise a perfectly decent hatchback which won't cause offence and will probably, given Toyota's only occasionally tarnished reputation for reliability, rack up a lot of miles without trouble. Our favourite engine would, by a small margin, be the 1.4 diesel, especially if we were going to spend a lot of time on motorways.