INTRODUCE a car with eight previous incarnations and a reputation for reliability and you won’t have a problem selling it. Unveil a car with a new name to succeed that one and you just might have a challenge.

Given that each of Toyota’s Corollas were obviously different their predecessors there seemed no logical reason to go for a new name this time, but the decision was duly taken, no doubt in the hope that the Toyota name would be sufficient to help it catch on pretty quickly.

The Derbyshire-built Auris is unique in various ways – it was, apparently, designed from “the inside out.” The approach was aimed at maximising the amount of usable interior space. Like Yaris Mark II, Auris is built on the premise that a small car needn’t be pinched for space. It’s as short and therefore as manoeuvrable as its competitors but it’s taller in stance than most. This is to compensate for the fact that most of us (yours truly excepted) are growing taller.

Every factor to save space has been considered, especially at the rear where the design of the exhaust system permits a flat floor. Initially, there are two petrol and three diesel engines with outputs ranging from 89 horsepower for the 1.4 litre diesel to 175 from the 2.2 litre 180 oil burner.

Specifications are called T2, TR, T3, T Spirit and T180 and prices start at £11,995 for the three door 1.4 petrol T2 and rise to £18,795 for the T180 five door. Initially I have driven a T3 five door powered by a new 123 horsepower 1.6 petrol engine – a variant that costs £13,995.

The first driving impression is enhanced by the obvious reduction in noise and the comfortable ride provided by one of the new suspension systems developed for the range. What takes a little more patience is the handbrake. It’s positioned on a central console that’s raised only for styling reasons. It doesn’t come naturally to hand and the inlaid button isn’t easy to depress.

T3, like all of the variants, has electric powered steering for first-rate response to what the driver desires. Importantly (and confirmed by the on board computer) the average fuel consumption tops 40 mpg. Safety has been accorded a high priority. Within a strong body structure nine airbags are fitted including a driver’s knee bag.

Toyota’s middleweight family hatchback will certainly be the single most significant model that will help the company to overtake General Motors and become the world’s leading car when the figures are added up at the end of this year.

By then, 100,000 of the new cars will have been assembled alongside Avensis at the company’s British plant in Burnaston in Derbyshire as well as in Turkey.

Verdict: Auris has a great deal to live up to - but it ticks all the boxes.