THERE'S a great deal of sales hype used in today's fiercely competitive car markets.

It is all part and parcel of 21st century marketing but it is often confusing and sometimes misleading.

The word "sport" or "sports" lets the imagination run wild on potential performance, while Tourer or in this case Touring intimates an upmarket estate.

The Toyota Auris Touring Sports is a case in point, but the car maker is no more guilty of the hype than any other.

The Touring is Toyota's first venture into the compact estate market and it is a nicely sculptured body, but the term "Sports", is purely cosmetic.

Once you accept this you can look beyond the model name to find one of the most attractively-styled estate bodies around, one that flaunts sporting features and motifs to jazz it up.

Although built in Britain, it still looks attractively oriental to set it apart from rivals in the European mould.

The Touring is big on practicality.  Despite its modest measurements it can still pack a family of five and their clobber in relative comfort.

It has class-leading load space of 530 litres which expands to 1,658 litres with the rear seats dropped via the simple 'Easy Flat' system, and it really is easy to operate. In this Icon trim level and above it benefits from extra space, courtesy of a dual-level load floor.

The Touring Sports might not sound an exciting proposition, but it is extremely compact, useful and versatile and this kind of commonsense and practicality, together with respectable fuel economy are its core virtues.

The stretched Auris hatchback, shrink-wrapped in stylish metal, has certainly made the opposition sit up and take notice.

Progress in the 1.6-litre 130bhp car wasn't particularly sprite with a 0-62mph taking 10.5 seconds, although it didn't seem that slow. But you do have to work the six-speed manual transmission fairly vigorously to get a decent response.

The engine was smooth and quiet - as was the six-speed transmission - so you travel in relative peace, cushioned from road and wind noise. It is only when you put the engine under duress at top speed that it can be quite vocal. Once on course, the power unit zooms along enthusiastically.

The Touring hugs the Tarmac and handles confidently with acceptable levels of roll through bends. The steering is lovely and light and direct but disappointingly vague in terms of feedback.

The TS is a relaxing car to drive and is comfortable, too. Average fuel returns are respectable at 46.3mpg and pricing is very competitive, with the 1.6-litre Icon trim level here retailing at £18,850.

It is stacked with equipment, aids and toys. The test car with options of Touch and Go Navigation and Metallic paint pushed the price tag up to £19,995.

Value-for-money, quality and style, plus a five-year/100,000 miles warranty give the TS more than a sporting chance in this segment.