On tour with an estate of grace

• ROAD TEST – TOYOTA AURIS TOURING SPORTS

TOURING SPORTS may sound like another fancy name for what we all know as an estate car, but in the case of the Toyota Auris it’s not far off the mark.

Having completed a nifty job in giving its compact hatchback line-up a fresh, more family-friendly appeal, the Japanese brand has really pushed the boat out with the Auris Touring Sports.

It is the first time an estate variant has been included in the Auris range, as well as the first model in its class to offer the option of a full hybrid powertrain.

While there are those who will appreciate the Touring Sports purely because of its low-slung style, the bottom line for many remains the ability to shift stuff with space to spare.

Short of opting for bigger, more expensive estates you won’t find anything more accommodating than the Auris, which is 285mm longer than its hatchback stablemate – all dedicated to extra loadspace.

But it’s the way that space is accessed and used that makes a difference.

For instance the Japanese brand’s Easy-Flat folding seat set-up means there’s no grappling with the rear seats – they flip down at the lightest of touches.

There’s also a dual-level boot floor, a two-way tonneau cover, roller-type luggage net, shopping bag hooks, roof rails, three 12V power outlets and a loadspace light.

And inside what’s a comfortable, well laid-out cabin there are the likes of a glovebox, door bins, sunglasses holder, coat hooks, coin box, four cup and four bottle holders, a sliding centre armrest with document holder and stowage space for small items in the dash and rear centre console.

Another, sadly rare, treat is that three rear passengers can travel in comfort – no hard, perched, centre position or transmission tunnel to hamper convenience here.

In fact the only disappointing aspect is that the dash area looks bland and some of the interior plastics feel a bit brittle.

British-built at Toyota’s Burnaston plant near Derby, the Touring Sports is available with a choice of 1.33 and 1.6-litre petrol engines and a 1.4-litre diesel plus the full hybrid.

The 1.6 unit in the tested, mid-range, Icon model offers decent performance, cruises comfortably at high speed and has an official fuel consumption figure of 47.1mpg with the CVT automatic gearbox, though my own return was below that at 37.1.

I didn’t particularly like the CVT automatic with its spindly gear lever and would prefer the six-speed manual transmission, which is cheaper anyway.

Those opting for the hybrid, which starts at £21,095 in Icon trim, get a 1.8-litre petrol engine combined with an electric motor, giving a maximum power output of 134bhp, enabling 0-62mph in 10.9 seconds and a top speed of 112mph. CO2 emissions are a class-leading 86g/km.