As far as I'm aware, HJ personally refuses to recommend ANY DSG gearboxes, whether the 6 or 7 speed, due to the sheer volume of problems that have been reported, and VAGs attitude when confronted with problems.

The Toyota hybrid drive, on the other hand, has been around a long time (though obviously being continually advanced and tweaked), and is very highly regarded for reliability.

Despite being on my third Octavia vRS and being very happy with all of them, I haven't kept any of them (or indeed two VWs and an Audi before them) for more than 3 years.

Turbos can go wrong on any engine, and I don't think VW Group turbos are any worse than others. But there are plenty of tales of VW Group cars going wrong, often just after the warranty has expired. The troubles are often with the DSG but not confined to it.

On balance I think a manual petrol Skoda should be OK if you look after it and have it serviced regularly. A Toyota hybrid is a complex piece of machinery but the Prius has been in production for some years and seems to have a very good reputation for reliability. I'm put off a little by my sister-in-law's 3-year-old Auris hybrid which was left at Gatwick for under a week and flattened the small auxiliary battery which is for starting the engine.

But you need to try both: these two are very different cars to drive, and you may strongly prefer one over the other, depending on your particular needs and style of driving.

this raises a good question about the long term reliability of all cars with small turbocharged engines v more traditional non turbo engines ... the VAG 1.2 turbo petrol engines seem to be very popular found across the whole range of VAG branded cars, Nissan's 1.2 turbo engine is another example, so are they good for say 150k or 200k miles (assuming proper maintenance of course)

"As an Auris (but not hybrid) owner, I can say it isn't as boring to drive as testers would have you believe."

Good point, and I think it applies to most Toyotas, certainly the ones I've test-driven. As ever, most testers (HJ and his team being honourable exceptions) think the greatest virtue is the ability to tackle twisty B-roads - which is why BMWs so often win group tests.

It's fair to say that Auto Express has recently awarded wins to some Audis, showing improved objectivity with Steve Fowler as editor.

Larches, if you do end up with a Toyota, you'll probably be very happy with it: you're actually looking at two makes which consistently achieve very high customer satisfaction in surveys.

As regards the battery warranty, once the standard battery warranty expires, Toyota offers a 'hybrid health check' which extends the battery warranty for 1 year or 10,000 miles, whichever occurs first. This can be renewed up to the car's 10th birthday.

Hybrid health checks are included free with a Toyota dealer service, or, if one has servicing done elsewhere, one can just purchase the hybrid health check from a Toyota dealer for £35 each.

If one continues to have hybrid health checks done after the standard battery warranty expires, and if one has a hybrid health check done just before the car's 10th birthday, it will provide battery warranty coverage for almost 11 years.

Edited by Auristocrat on 18/12/2015 at 10:32

"My 7 year old Octavia is just starting to feel its age compared to the 11 year old Corolla in the family, which still drives faultlessly, no rattles, been through last 4 MOTs with nothing needed."

That says it all - nothing soldiers on quite like an old Toyota. We read about them all the time, and many of us can think of actual examples, like my neighbour's 15-year-old RAV-4 or my goddaughter's 20-year-old Starlet which was only changed for a bigger car this year as she'd had a baby.

Old Volvos and Mercedes uaed to have the same reputation, but I'm not so sure about newer ones with all the electronic trickery to go wrong. Toyotas have it too, especially the hybrids, but it seems to last longer. (Glad to hear that the 12v battery issue seems to have been sorted.)

I'll be interested to see what the forthcoming RAV-4 hybrid will be like: it apparently has a 2.5 litre petrol engine coupled with two electric motors.

Edited by Avant on 19/12/2015 at 17:36

From 2013 - 2015 I drove a 2010 Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSi DSG estate and loved it. It pulled really well and once I got used to the idiosyncracies of the DSG clutch I found it really easy and enjoyable to drive. It had all of the bells and whistles I could want and easily accommodated four adults and a dog in comfort. I really liked this car and would still have it now, except.......

I thought I need a people carrier - but that was a mistake.

I have just bought a 2014 Toyota Auris Sport Tourer hybrid which I really love. It again is so easy to drive and has some great features. The main dealere explained all about getting it serviced by Toyota to extend the battery warranty to 10 years and with an annual hybrid service for £219 i think it's good value. I am amazed at the MPG I'm getting. (Not as much as advertised but I'm perfectly happy with 50 - 60 MPG on most runs). I have swapped MPH for MPG and like trying to beat my previous record!!)

I wouldn't hestitate to keep either car, but on balance feel more confident that the Toyota will still be here for 10 years and fulfilling my motoring needs.

As a 2007 Prius owner (bought at 93,000 miles in 2011), I've just passed 200,000 miles without any breakdown problems. Original hybrid battery etc..

In my ownership, it's had new rear springs, a new front bearing, and one set of discs and pads all around, and two sets of tyres.

Other than some DIY oil and filter changes, it hasn't had a "proper" service since I bought it. The sparks were repaced about 70k by the previous owner.

It's flown through the past two MOT's without an advisory. the previous was an advisory on a tyre.

Granted, it's not particularly thrilling to drive, but very comfortable and _can_ be economical if you drive it without a lead foot.

I might treat it to a proper service lol.

Edited by puckdrop on 04/01/2016 at 17:44