Toyota Auris Touring Sports Review and Prices

The Toyota Auris Touring Sports is a bigger, more practical version of the Auris hatchback which you can get with the same range of petrol and hybrid engines. It’s starting to feel a little old-fashioned, though, and has recently been replaced by the all-new Toyota Corolla Touring Sports.

Speaking of which, the Toyota Auris Touring Sports doesn’t have quite the same pizzazz as the funky looking Corolla. It’s more smart than sporty, and the Touring Sports’ boxy back end does little to help it stand out.

The unassuming visuals continue in the Toyota Auris Touring Sports’ cabin, where you’ll find plenty of robust plastics, but not many plush, upmarket materials. The heating and ventilation controls are sensibly laid out and easy to use, but the same can’t be said of the rather dated touchscreen infotainment system.

At least there’s plenty of room for you to stretch out if you’re tall and there’s space in the back for three adults to get reasonably comfy. Kids will have acres of space to stretch out, and the Toyota Auris Touring Sports’ raised roof and wide rear doors make it pretty easy to fit a child seat.

If you’re looking for a small estate car with a hybrid engine, the Toyota Auris Touring Sports is worth a look. But, then again, so is the newer Toyota Corolla Touring Sports…

It’s a doddle to load the Toyota Auris Touring Sports’ boot, too. And, there’s loads of space to carry a family’s suitcases or a bulky baby buggy. A set of golf clubs will also fit, and you can fold the back seats down to carry really big stuff, such as a bike with its wheel attached.

Unlike most small estate cars, you can’t get the Toyota Auris Touring Sports with a diesel engine – the sort you’d want if you do plenty of long motorway journeys. Instead, there’s a petrol version which is the cheapest to buy, and a hybrid model which is the cheapest to run, especially if you do lots of driving in town.

The latter also comes with an automatic gearbox as standard, but it causes the engine to rev loudly when you accelerate hard. Still, with a gentle touch on the accelerator, the Toyota Auris Touring Sport is quiet and fairly relaxing to drive.

Sure, you’d never call it fun, but the Toyota Auris Touring Sports doesn’t lean a great deal on twisty roads and you can get it with plenty of driver assistance systems to make parking and long journeys a doddle.

That being said, many small estate cars come with plenty of more advanced safety features, but few can be had with an economical hybrid system like the cheap-to-run Toyota. For this reason, it’s still worth a second look.