Toyota's family cars have always been ones to buy with your head, not your heart. Take the old Carina. It was practical, reliable, roomy, good value and about as exciting to drive as a builder's van.

But Toyota hoped to change all that when, at the start of the year, they retired the 26-year-old Carina range and replaced it with Avensis - considered to be more elegant, and more aspirational. And with the new name came, or so Toyota intended, a new air of quality and driving enjoyment.

The Carina's good value remained, though prices rose to give the Corolla, Toyota's contender in the next class down, more breathing room. The cheapest Avensis, the 1.6 S liftback costs £14,020 - around £1000 more than the base Carina - but loaded with more equipment. Along with the Carina's standard dual airbags and anti-lock brakes, every Avensis also gets side airbags, power mirrors and electric front windows.

The British-built car is available as a saloon, 5dr and estate. Buyers elsewhere in Europe get just two spec levels to choose from but, to keep the fleet market happy, British customers get four. There's the base trim badged S, while the £15,265 1.8 GS 5dr with standard air-con is the top-seller. GLS and CDX versions offer extra kit, the latter pushing prices to around £20,000, making them £2000 dearer than any Carina. Secondhand values are expected to match those of rivals, while the standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty will help make the car an attractive nearly new buy once the first year-old examples reach market.

Toyota's familiar 1.6, 1.8, 2.0 and 2.0 TD remain in service. All now have electronic throttle control and have been tweaked to offer marginally more power and improved fuel economy.  Both the lean-burn 1.6- and 1.8-litre return a frugal 39.8mpg combined fuel figure (an increase of more than 2mpg), while the 2.0-litre manages 34.5mpg and the TD, a strong 44.1mpg.

And while the 1.8 model's economy/performance balance will please most buyers, the emphasis seems to be on frugality, not power. Low-end acceleration is never that frantic, but power for overtaking is there if needed. Nevertheless, gradients often demand a down-change.

The steering has been modified to provide quicker response off-centre but the wheel feels too light and doesn't offer much feedback. Keen drivers will prefer a Ford Mondeo or Nissan Primera for its sharper responses and better communication. On the plus side, though, the brakes are progressive and the gearchange is smoother than that of some rivals - notably the Peugeot 406.

Space and usability were Carina strong-points, and the Avensis excels in those areas, too.  While it's 2in shorter, it has a longer wheelbase and therefore even more cabin room.  Six-footers won't have any complaints about front head and legroom and can even fit in the back, although headroom is tight in the liftback. Rear legroom is on a par with the class-leading Passat, and all three rear seats have an adjustable headrest and a three-point belt.

The new interior looks softer, the dash is more modern and there are numerous storage spaces.  The controls are easy to find and use but some materials don't feel that good to the touch and the console is trimmed in either an unconvincing wood effect or 'stone panel', meant to look and feel like Japanese lacquerware. It doesn't.

Despite its shortcomings, the Avensis is hard to beat for practicality and equipment, although its price now pits it against more dynamically capable rivals. And Toyota can't really claim to have injected much excitement into the sector, despite the name change. If all you need is reliable and comfortable family transport, though, it hits the target dead-centre .