Month 3: our reliable Toyota Auris

• Mileage total: 6,227
• Mileage since last report: 2,384
• MPG overall: 56mpg
• Costs: £0 so far
• On fleet since: September 2007

In pictures: life with the Toyota Auris

Where have we been?

We've been to Luton Airport long-stay car park! Exciting? Not really. But the car we parked next to was: Nissan's Qashqai. Former Auris keeper Richard was behind the wheel - who, incidentally, also did the launch of the Auris around this time last year. And then went straight on to the launch of the Qashqai. Two cars, competing in the same sector, costing the same money. Which did he prefer? Well, not the car he subsequently ran for four months... with a wry smile, he came back into the office and showed me the pictures he'd taken.

On the left is an unadventurous family hatch, conservative in the extreme. On the right is a brave, bold interpretation of the family hatch, with originality and confidence - yet which is similarly economical, similarly priced and similarly well-stocked with kit. Both possess total Japanese reliability, both are built in Britain and are thus doing their bit for the UK balance sheet. But we know which one the majority of potential buyers will be hankering after. And, alas, it's not the car we drove home in. Saying that, the Auris is not without merit.

What has impressed?

The economy continues to improve, and the gearchange is appreciably slicker than when we took delivery. We recently had a cross-country mission that we were impossibly late for, too: what else to do, but to drive our 89bhp family hatch flat-out. And, it may not be inspiring or particularly dynamic, but there's a certain reassurance to be had from thrashing the Auris. It laps it up and always comes back for more, such is the build and integrity of it. You imagine that even if you entered it for a rallycross event, it would still emerge just as rattle-free as when it started.

What’s not so impressive?

Driving another car after the Auris does highlight some of its niggles. Why, for example, do you have to press the clutch so far into the floor before it allows you to start it? Sometimes, you'll lift your foot just a fraction as you crank it, and the starter motor cuts. Sounds trivial but, like the hidden and unilluminated electric mirror switch, begins to irritate with time. The dashtop shelf is shiny plastic and, thus, useless, while the button on the handbrake is positioned as such to induce muscle cramp in your hand if you get stuck in traffic. Well, in Richard's hand, anyway.

What’s next for the Toyota Auris

A return to Toyota is looming for our (literally) trusty Auris. To be honest, we're not going to feel pangs when it does leave us, but will miss its complete dependability. In the meantime, we'll strive to find something that's fallen, broken or worked loose .

All our Toyota Auris reports

Our reliable and dependable Auris
Motorway life Auris style
Month one with our Auris
New arrival: Toyota Auris

More long-term reports

New arrival: Renault Clio Cup
Pug 308: gallic charm
Safety first: our V70
Our popular Fabia