A Very Modern MPV
by Ross Finlay (13 Aug 04)

When you walk round the Corolla Verso, glancing at the exterior styling, it's easy to come to the conclusion that the design team paid as much attention to the chrome-barrelled front and rear lamp arrays as to anything else.

But there's a lot of careful aerodynamic work here, in very close panel gaps and shut lines Toyota likes to describe as "to Lexus standards", as well as in features like the A-pillar design, the door mirror placement and even the slope of the rear roof.

A main aim of all this, of course, is to improve the drag coefficient and, in the case of the roofline, provide some extra downforce, but it's also part of the package of improvements over the previous Corolla Verso which make the 2004 model unusually quiet running. Its laminated windscreen features an acoustic-film middle layer which damps down low-frequency noises, and although there was no way to test Toyota's claims about just how much of an improvement this represents, there's no doubt that the car is quieter on the cruise than many similarly high-built compact MPVs.

The 1.8-litre VVT-i petrol engine fitted to the test car helps here too. While it doesn't have anything like the mid-range torque of the alternative two-litre D-4D turbo diesel - which, however restrained of its type, can't avoid being noisier when pulling hard - its power output feels more satisfactory for a car which can carry up to seven people than the entry-level petrol 1.6. Indeed, the 1.8 is proving to be the best-selling engine in the range.

Most of the really ingenious work on the Corolla Verso has gone into the interior, not least in the fold-flat arrangement for all five rear seats, and the generous provision of airbags. It has nine of them, as the first car in its class to come with an airbag to protect the driver's knees in the event of a front-end shunt.

Together with other safety features, that has helped the Toyota to the best Euro NCAP rating in its class. It was awarded five stars for occupant protection, with a higher points score than any of its rivals, and four stars in the new child protection test.

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