Faults:

Rear suspension bushes needed replacing at 40k miles.

Tailgate struts starting to fail (make a groaning noise and don't lift tailgate properly)

General Comments:

My wife inherited this car as a company vehicle when it had done 22,000 miles, it has just gone back with 96,500 miles on the clock, which was covered in 20 months, and it has been brilliant.

Initially I was unsure, as the only criticism I can level at it is the performance for a modern 2.0 litre diesel is a bit sluggish (although the engine did improve with more miles under it's belt).

However, I think this is possibly the best handling car in the class, it is possible to really throw it into a corner and it just sails through (no traction control or esp), I don't think I ever unsettled it, even with some serious driving.

The ride quality was also very good, despite riding on 17" alloys and ultra low profile tyres, the only issue being the turning circle, which is crap because of the big alloys and tyres.

I would also argue that build quality is certainly up there with German competition, perhaps even above some now, after 96,000 miles it still felt very tight and rattle free.

Just before it went back to the lease company we did a 2,400 mile round trip in it to France, Switzerland and Italy, this was the final credit to the car-it averaged 50 mpg despite lengthy autoroute journeys at up to 100mph (125mph at one point!), was extremely comfortable to travel 7 hours + in, the built in Sat Nav was superb and got us everywhere we wanted to go, and it was doing 530 miles on a tank before the warning light came on.

What a car-it will be sorely missed.

Faults:

I purchased the new Avensis in late March. I had it one day and it needed a new indicator bulb. Only a minor problem, but surely not after a day (not the number of new/old Toyota Avensis on the road with one light or another gone!!)

A few weeks ago the clip around the seat adjuster came off in my hand. Put it back together in a few minutes, but I feel this is going to happen again.

There is a rattle from behind the dashboard somewhere. This seems to be a common fault in a number of new Avensis, as a friend of mine down the county has encountered the same problem.

Otherwise, no major problems.

General Comments:

An improvement on the old one in some ways. More space for passengers. Generally more comfortable. But I wouldn't say no to my old one again, why?

A lot more road noise in this than the last one (mainly to do with the brand of tyres fitted).

Major lack of storage space compared to the last model (just for small bits and bobs).

A lot of handy features removed. i.e. rear arm rest, split rear seats (need to go for Strata model for them today).

Speedometer, clock, temperature etc. awkward to read. Too small. It was like that in the 1st series Avensis 1997-late 2000.

A fondness of juice, which is surprising for Toyotas. This has also been commented on by other owners of the car. I am averaging 33 MPG; used get 37-39 MPG average on last model. I am keeping in mind the engine is still new, but the MPG still seems low.

A big improvement in the quality of materials overall. But build quality? Time will tell.