Sport 1.4 D-4D Active 5dr

Reliable workhorse

I bought this car to replace a Ford Focus hatchback with a 1.6 petrol engine. It is incredibly cheap to run compared with the Ford. Handling isn't quite as assured though, partly because it has a live rear axle on this bottom of the range model rather than fully independent rear suspension and partly because it has a lot of weight behind the rear axle too. Generally the 1.4D engine is good but it does struggle on steep inclines. Front seats are comfortable (but not as much so as the Ford's which were excellent) and the car is quiet at motorway speeds. Kit is pretty good for the money, except that it lacks DAB radio. It seems very prone to dings in its metalwork from other people opening their car doors against it as the steel on this car seems quite thin - why didn't Toyota fit a rubbing strake to help protect it? With the seats down the load capacity is huge. Has been totally reliable over the first 30k miles. Rear visibility is poor when reversing and I would recommend fitting parking sensors if not already fitted to the car (which they are on most other models)

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