| First Drive | Toledo, Spain | Toyota Verso-S |

Like cuffed chinos with espadrilles, small MPVs are this season's thing. So here's Toyota's, the Verso-S - so named because the S can stand for small, spacious or smart, apparently.

In the Metal

Square on, the Verso-S looks quite like the Toyota iQ. Walk around the car a little and it starts to look like an iQ with a box lumped onto the back. But keep walking and things get a lot better. This is a chunky, well-defined little MPV. Inside, a couple of the surfaces are layered with thick fabric that recoils if touched, but much of what you feel is grainy and hollow. As usual, though, you'd bank on it being in good nick in ten years time.

And it's massive in all directions, without obviously sacrificing boot space to generate legroom - a common trait in this segment. The floor of the boot, in fact, can be raised for easier access or lowered for more space. Only a slightly odd driving position gives away the Toyota Verso-S's small car roots: the taller you are, the more you'll find your arms outstretched while your knees are tucked up.

There are two reasonably sized glove boxes separated by a useful shelf, plus plenty more cubbies besides, in and on which you can place iPods, baby wipes - anything, really.

What you get for your Money

Two trim levels, TR and T Spirit, come to market in March. All get a colour touch-screen built into the dashboard, but the former spec still feels basic because of a combo of plastic wheel covers and a lack of functionality of said screen. From May buyers will be able to buy upgrade packs for the Toyota Verso-S, including satnav, phone, digital radio and internet connectivity.

It's not cheap though, with a starting price just over £15,000 and just one 1.33-litre petrol engine. Knowing this, Toyota will chop £500-600 from the list price for the first six months of sale, bringing it closer to £14,500. Still, that's over three grand more than you'll pay for a basic Honda Jazz, Kia Venga or Hyundai ix20.

Driving it

The Toyota Verso-S is very comfortable in terms of the way it stays steady on its springs both in town and on the motorway, but trying to gather any sort of speed is arduous, as is turning the (incongruously flat bottomed) steering wheel.

The petrol engine (as found in the Aston Martin Cygnet, no less) just has no interest in being revved - it screams at you if you try - but there's not much going on at the bottom end either. The car feels too heavy for it. Work it up to motorway speed and you're cruising at 4,000rpm, as well as dealing with obtrusive crosswind racket. And with the CVT the noise is worse, because it favours keeping the rev needle at about 5,500rpm.

Gentle driving is the Verso-S's thing. A proper old twist on the wheel is required to begin the turning process, and it self-centres quite obviously, but at least it's light. The brake pedal has too much travel and the clutch too little, and they're very friendly in terms of how close together they are, but they require an effortless touch.

Worth Noting

If you're wondering why there's no diesel, particularly in light of the petrol engine's general lethargy, it's a pure cost thing: a diesel engine would add about a grand to the price. It would beat the perfectly decent 51.4mpg and 127g/km CO₂ of the petrol model, but most owners wouldn't do enough miles to justify the extra outlay in a car like this.

Summary

Potential Toyota Verso-S suitors ought really to check that the places they need to go regularly are within spitting distance. As a spacious, highly versatile thing to run about in, the Verso-S is fine, but for long hauls it feels out of its depth. It doesn't feel like a car worth thousands more than the Korean equivalents. And in any case, we'd still have the Honda Jazz.