• Hybrid and petrol power on offer
• Neither fast but punchy enough
• Diesel previously available

Toyota Auris Touring Sports performance is smooth but not particularly fast. The line-up is made up of two engine options – a petrol and a hybrid.

Hybrid engine

Its essential make-up is a 1.8-litre petrol engine combined with an electric motor and an automatic gearbox. At slower speeds the car works in electric-only mode, while the petrol engine is on hand to provide extra power when required.

Acceleration figures are fairly good – 0-62mph is possible in 11.2 seconds and its top speed is 109mph.

The biggest drawback to the hybrid is its Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) gearbox, which is slow to react and makes the engine work extremely hard, which in turn makes an almighty grumble as it struggles to gain momentum.

We find the six-speed manual transmission available with the other engines provides a far more accomplished drive than the CVT gearbox in the hybrid.

Petrol engine

Available with a manual or automatic gearbox is a 1.2-litre petrol engine with 116hp and 185Nm of torque, good for a 0-62mph time of 10.4/10.8 seconds. It’s not the most thrilling unit in the world but it is marginally quicker than the hybrid.

Previously available

Petrol-powered 1.33-litre engine, with 99hp and 128Nm of torque, offering 0-62mph in 13.2 seconds and a top speed of 109mph.

A more powerful 1.6-litre with 131hp and 160Nm of torque, enabling the car to accelerate from 0-62mph in 10.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 121mph.

It lacks pulling power at the lower end of the rev range, which can make reaching high speeds quite a long-winded process. Once up to speed the engine is relatively quiet and smooth.

The 1.6 Valvematic engine was also available with an automatic which reduces the top speed to 118mph and lengthens the 0-62 time to 11.2 seconds.

A 1.4-litre D-4D diesel with 99hp to play with accompanied by 128Nm of torque, giving a top speed of 109mph and a slightly slow 0-62 time of 13 seconds.

• Effortless and assured but not fun
• Direct steering and minimal roll
• Safe road holding a priority

The handling is, for the most part, very smooth. The soft suspension and effortless steering make the drive easy and assured.

According to Toyota, improving the dynamic capabilities of the car played a key role in the development process to help improve the driver experience. The steering is direct and the body doesn’t roll much through corners. It clings to the road well, even on tight bends.

Overall the Auris Touring Sports handles well, although it isn’t as engaging as other cars in the sector.