PUTTING aside its recall woes, Toyota is launching a much improved version of the Auris hatchback.

The British-built successor to the top-selling Corolla has been given a makeover with sharper styling and better handling.

Gone is the fiddly handbrake, replaced by a conventional lever on the ‘flying buttress' centre console and the whole interior has been spruced up.

Priced from £14,463 - the same as the previous model - the Auris now undercuts the likes of the Ford Focus by almost £3,000.

The engine choice is slimmed down to three - 1.3 and 1.6-litre petrol and a torquey 1.4-litre diesel while a hybrid petrol-electric version will be on sale in July.

The 1.3 is fitted with a stop-start device resulting in average fuel consumption of 48.7mpg and emissions of 135g/km and even the more powerful 1.6-litre manages 42.8 to the gallon in manual form or 44.8 with Toyota's multi-mode auto box.

But the star of the line up is the diesel which returns an impressive 60.1mpg with CO2 of 125g/km.

It's priced from £17,195 and available only in mid-range TR trim. That's some £1,500 more than the current Auris 1.4 diesel and perversely £700 more than the new flagship 1.6-litre SR, so you have to pay up front for the long term economy.

All but the 1.6-litre manual will cost £125 a year to tax but a lower specification diesel with emissions below the 120g/km threshold will be sold only in mainland Europe and not in Britain.

Larger 2.0 and 2.2-litre diesels are being dropped from the line up.

The company is emphasising that the new Auris has a different accelerator fitting to the previous car which has led to thousands being recalled out of a total of 180,000 Toyotas in the UK which have been identified with possible defects.

The new Auris has a more angular look than the original with crease lines in the bonnet, a pronounced grille, larger bumpers and projector-style headlamps.

It is much more eye catching and not at all straight laced.

Inside the trim is better quality and the instrument cluster has been redesigned with a contemporary look combining backlit dials and digital displays. There's also a flat-bottomed steering wheel - a sporty touch which was needed to pep up the Auris image.

The greatest improvement comes in the handling. The new car has a much more precise feel and the suspension is firm but compliant - and that is across the nine model range.

The cabin is roomy in the front but three adults in the back is a squeeze and the boot at 354 litres is not quite as generous as a Focus. Maximum capacity with the rear seats folded is 761 litres.

Developing 89bhp, the diesel Auris is not only economical but also delivers a nice balance of power in town or on the motorway.

Top speed is a claimed 109mph and 0 to 60 acceleration 11.9 seconds but it definitely sounds like a diesel at cruising speeds.

The smaller petrol engine is quieter but it lacks power and takes two seconds longer to reach 60mph while the 1.6 manages it in ten seconds.

The stop-start system works well but overall the 1.3-litre struggles to impress making the diesel the better all rounder.

When it was launched in 2007 Toyota intended the Auris to appeal to a younger audience than the traditional Corolla buyer.

The newcomer lowers the bar even further and sees the introduction of some bright paint finishes and touches such as darkened privacy glass on the new Auris SR.

All models come with a full set of airbags, air conditioning (dual zone on all but the basic version), a trip computer and iPod connections in the upper of two gloveboxes.

However, electronic stability control and a Bluetooth phone system remain options across the range.

Pound for pound the Auris has a lot of kit for the money and while Toyota's reputation may have taken a bit of a knocking recently the new car feels as bombproof as ever.

Although there are 180,865 Toyotas dating back to 2005 involved in the recall, Toyota says it is aware of only a handful of cars where the accelerator operation has been found to be defective.

Arriving at such a time, the new Auris has a big role to play in re-establishing confidence in the car maker which employs some 4,000 people at its British factories at Derby and on Deeside.

The car is certainly good enough to be up to the task - and it's also going to make history as the first mainstream hybrid car to be built in Britain.

From Toyota's point of view there's a lot hanging on this one model.