Faults:

ABS sensors.

Engine management light came on, local mechanic sorted it for much cheaper than dealer.

Seems to blow bulbs often.

Usual consumables; tyres, brake discs and pads, exhaust, oil change and belts, etc.

Handbrake still weak even after brakes had work done, common fault so I have heard. It does hold the car on steep hills well enough though; as a habit I leave the car in gear for extra safety when parked anyway.

Last service and MOT had major work on suspension (shocks and springs) and some mounts and ball joints, expensive, but at over 20 years old and now on 145K I think this is acceptable wear and tear. Cosmetically paintwork is faded in most areas, very little if any rust though, which is good for a car of this age.

General Comments:

Bought as cheap run about over a decade ago, this car has served me well. Given how reliable my previous Toyota Carina E was, the Avensis was an obvious choice for my next car.

Toyota tried to liven things up a bit with this car, but in all honesty it is still a very dull car. Outside styling is uninspiring, though the saloon is better looking than the hatchback in my opinion, certainly with alloy wheels on it.

Inside it is a typical Japanese car affair, boring grey and plastic everywhere. GLS model is mid range, some electrics but nothing fancy. The seats are very comfortable though even for long journeys. A boring drive, the 1.8 petrol manages acceptable economy and performance, but not much more than adequate.

Given I paid very little for it and had it a long time now, this has been an excellent vehicle. Maybe time to move onto the newer 2003 on-wards model, though I have heard mixed views in regards to that car's reliability not being as good as the older Avensis or even the old Carina. Think I will hang onto this one for a while longer as it is still going strong despite its age.

Faults:

Every light failed at least once.

The engine over revved itself on start up and had an irregular idle speed.

Going down the motorway a 70MPH in heavy rain the engine mysteriously cut out, but restarted on the hard shoulder 10 minutes later never occurred again, but was disconcerting.

The dashboard was little more than a joke, the "wood" wore away to reveal some nasty black plastic, it squeaked badly and is generally looking tired.

Alloy wheels corroded badly leaving bare metal on display despite being washed weekly, the paint on all sections of the car is of a generally low quality.

General Comments:

A really disappointing car this, I believed when I bought it that I was going to get something super reliable that would last forever, but instead I got a truely badly designed vehicle.

There was no headroom in the back, there were too many small buttons on the radio, the handbrake was in the wrong place - too far forward, the gearknob unscrewed itself as you went along, the magazine on the CD changer was really tricky to get out so I hardly used it and its positioning prevented me from getting to the spare wheel easily.

Faults:

Had to go back for repairs 'cos they "forgot" to put fluid in the power steering! God.

Then a recall brought it back to the garage for new brakes.

Dent against a multi-storey pillar (it's fault as it's so huge at the back you can't tell what starts where).

General Comments:

Soggy & oh-so-bland to drive.

Ugly as anything on 4 wheels.

Plastics inside gave off a revolting stench that made everyone sick (seriously).

Under-powered.

Awful for the motorway because you can't overtake anything and it wallows and bounces all over the place.

Handling is so numb it's almost impossible to control down winding country lanes.

By the way, I didn't like it.