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What do you want your family car to do? It obviously needs to fit you and all your stuff inside, and it should avoid depleting the household budget to the extent that the kids end up unwrapping a potato each on Christmas morning.
• Best 7-seaters on the market
That’s a given – but at a more basic level, would you rather have a family vehicle that’s exciting, or one that can blend seamlessly into your everyday life?
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This question has been brought into sharp focus in my first few weeks with the Toyota Verso. Let’s establish right off the bat that even within the utilitarian confines of the mid-sized MPV sector, this is not a particularly exciting car. What it does do is deliver a high degree of practicality in a pretty uncomplicated and tough-feeling package.
Toyota has ridden to the top of the global sales charts on models such as the Verso – sturdy, reliable and sensibly priced cars for buyers who don’t want to be bothered by all the flannel that comes bundled up with some of the alternatives. The Verso has been on sale since 2009 and is showing its age in places, but it’s still very likeable.
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It’s slotted into the family car role very well in my household. It’s a seven-seater yet, as with most owners, we’ve had cause to unfurl the two back seats on only a few occasions.
They’re OK for small kids, but the lack of legroom means you wouldn’t wish them on an adult. It’s telling that rivals such as the Ford C-MAX and Citroen C4 Picasso offer seven seats, but only in extended Grand versions of the base cars offering more space.
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When sticking to its ‘five seats and big boot’ configuration, the Verso is a very roomy car. The luggage area has a flat floor and no loading lip to speak of, while the rear seats slide to increase either carrying space or legroom. In the front, there are two gloveboxes – twice as many as you’d expect.
The plastics look a bit low-rent in places, and you don’t get the glossy or soft-touch finishes you’d find in some rivals. But all the seat mechanisms, switches, flaps and lids generally feel like they’ll last.
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Our Verso is a 110bhp 1.6-litre diesel in mid-range Icon trim. At £22,000 it’s the sweet spot in the range, yet we dipped into the options bucket for metallic paint, the Skyview panoramic roof and Touch 2 infotainment system with sat-nav. All of these seem like decent investments, but they do take the list price to £23,690.
By modern standards the sat-nav screen is too small, but the touch controls make it easy enough to move between menus and program your route. One quirk of the Verso’s spec is that you get a rear-parking camera as standard, but no sensors. The compact screen isn’t the best for judging distances without the aid of those warning bleeps.
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On the road the Toyota is reasonably comfortable – although the occasional shudder runs through the suspension over big bumps – and it resists rolling around too much through direction changes. It’s not the most thrilling drive, however, and while the diesel is smooth it’s not overly torquey and you’re often forced to drop a gear to accelerate from low speeds.
If you want to stand out from the crowd, the Verso may not be the model for you. But if your family car ambitions extend only to something efficient that doesn’t cost the earth, the Toyota looks like a very safe bet.
*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old living in Banbury, Oxon, with three penalty points.
- Model: Toyota Verso 1.6 D-4D
- On fleet since: June 2015
- Price new: £21,995
- Engine: 1.6-litre 4cyl diesel, 110bhp
- CO2/tax: 119g/km/£30
- Options: Metallic paint (£495), Toyota Touch 2 with Go sat-nav (£650), Skyview panoramic roof (£550)
- Insurance*: Group: 14, Quote: £479
- Mileage/mpg: 2,337/46.6mpg
- Any problems?: None so far