Price: ¯¿½18,595
On sale: Now
0-60mph: 9.4 seconds; top speed 122 mph
Average fuel: 44.8 mpg, on test 57.3mpg
Standard equipment: seven-spoke Vortex alloy wheels, dark-tinted rear privacy glass, rear roof spoiler, rear parking sensors, standard kit adds seven seats with Toyota Easy Flat-7 system, cruise control, colour keyed front and rear bumpers and door handles, electric front windows with anti-trap system, six-speaker audio system with CD and MP3 player, audio controls on steering wheel, leather-trimmed gear knob, tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment, manual air-conditioning, driver and passenger front and curtain airbags, driver's knee airbag, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution, remote central double locking and push-button start system.
Tiscali verdict: 7/10 Quietly competent, surprisingly sparing on juice and well built. A discrete MPV role model.
A friend in the Grenadier Guards once told me the secret for getting fit: buy a Concept 2 rowing machine. So I did and, after rowing my arms to the consistency of over-boiled tagliatelle, decided to give up. The Concept 2 is like cycling with your wheels nailed to the ground and your hands nailed to the pedals. Funny thing though, exercise. As my mid-forties encroach, I inevitably feel the urge to row back some of the years.
So I bought another one, via a bloke on Ebay. Only hitch was he was in Liverpool. And I'm not. Fear not, I told him on the phone: I've got a Toyota Verso SR 2.0 D4D thingy outside and I reckon it'll do the job.
I did have a Verso thingy, though I actually thought at the time it was the one based on the Yaris. That's because, encroaching senility aside, Toyota's current models seem much of a muchness to me, sporting such peas-in-pod distinguishables as Yaris, Auris, Avensis, Mavis, Hovis... clearly I needed a refresher.
Of course, the range's green halo is all gobbled up by the Prius hybrid electropetrol which claims a so-so 65mpg overall, a figure I have struggled to replicate on tarmac. There are two diesel versions of this Verso which, as a seven-seater compact MPV is a more capacious and practical alternative - a 175bhp performance T180 option and, as tested here, the 134bhp SR version. The SR badge is a special offer which packs ¯¿½950 worth of extras against the price of a mid-range T2-spec model (see spec box above).
The Verso was revised this summer. It got a fresh grille and front bumper to make it look more part of the Auris-Avensis clan and the design of the headlights and rear lamp clusters was also brushed up. On the whole, it's not a bad looker though it's not exactly a day out in Monaco. From behind the wheel, the driving position is confidence inspiring - great visibility, a good range of position adjustments and decent, clear instruments and controls.
