VERSO’S VERSATILITY NETS TOP AWARD FOR TOYOTA

What Car? Best Compact MPV title for clever seven-seater

The diverse virtues of the Toyota Verso have been recognised with the Best Compact MPV title in the 2006 What Car? awards. The Verso T₃ 2.2 D-4D 140 model emerged the winner in a category representing one of the most hard-fought segments of the UK car market.

In honouring the Toyota, What Car? praised the ease with which the Verso’s interior configuration can be changed from seven down to two seats, with no need to remove any of the seats from the vehicle.

“Flexibility is the key, and that’s where the Toyota beats its rivals hands (and seats) down,” was the judges’ verdict.

With Toyota’s Easy Flat system, all that’s needed is a single, simple lever operation to fold each of the individual rear seats down and create a perfectly flat load floor. It’s such an effective concept, Toyota has included it in its new Yaris and forthcoming RAV4 models, too.

One of the clinching factors in the judges’ decision was the new 2.2-litre D-4D 140 diesel engine, introduced in the Verso last autumn. This refined and supremely efficient, all-aluminium power unit endows the Verso with nought to 62mph acceleration in 9.4 seconds, 44.8mpg combined cycle fuel consumption and 167g/km of carbon dioxide emissions.

What Car? also acknowledged the Verso’s peerless safety standards, with nine airbags as standard and a top five-star occupant protection rating from Euro NCAP; its all-round high quality; the generous T₃ specification, including digital climate control, rain-sensing wipers, heated electric door mirrors and cruise control; and its competitive cost of ownership profile, with scheduled full servicing required only every 20,000 miles.