AFTER a while away from our long-term Corolla Verso I am back behind its Toyota-badged wheel for the second time. Living apart for a while has helped identify where the car excels and its annoying glitches.

A new additional extra included a dent in the front wing, which was promptly repaired by Dent Wizard for £85 - well worth it to protect the car's residual value. After more than 7,000 miles, the car remains problem-free, has no rattles and still feels a very solid motor.

The diesel engine seems to have become quieter, although it is still quite audible at low revs, while wind noise at motorway speeds seems excessive after having tried some alternatives on our fleet.

While the front seats are supportive on long drives and finding a comfortable driving position is easy, rear seat passengers are not so full of praise.

Toyota has included a very clever system in the two outermost rear seats that raise a central panel of the seat base at the touch of a button to create an in-built child seat. While this seems like a great idea, adult backsides tend to rest on the join between the child and adult seat base and after a few miles in the back, I was ready for a break. Also, in the rear, the parcel shelf seems far too complicated to remove, to the extent that I work around it when carrying bulky items, as an alternative to a frustrating attempt at removing it.

These problems are a shame - they may be minor, but they affect areas of the car that have the heaviest use so after a couple of days, I found myself scanning our long-term list for an alternative vehicle.