TOYOTA's Avensis has been a hugely successful car in Europe. Now its appeal is likely to increase with the introduction of two 2.2-litre D-4D diesel engines.

These will give the Avensis one of the most comprehensive product ranges in its segment, with three diesel (2.0-litre and 2.2-litre 148bhp units and a 2.2-litre 175bhp) and four petrol (1.6-litre, 1.8-litre, 2.0-litre and 2.4-litre) units.

The engines are fully compliant with Euro IV emissions standards.

The first of the two new diesels to reach the UK market will be a 148bhp 2.2-litre D-4D unit. This uses the latest clean and economical common rail system to provide both performance and economy. The engine's preliminary performance figures from Toyota show 0-62mph acceleration in 9.3 seconds and combined cycle fuel consumption of 47.1mpg.

The second phase of the new diesel engine development will come in early next year, with the introduction here of a 175bhp version of the 2.2-litre D-4D that will launch Toyota's revolutionary new concept for diesel engines, called Clean Power.

Clean Power features some of the world's most innovative diesel technologies, some of them unique to Toyota.

Thanks to the incorporation of Toyota D-CAT (Diesel Clean Advanced Technology), Clean Power has the lowest emissions of any production diesel engine. At the same time, the engine also offers segment-leading levels of power and torque, the lowest levels of noise, vibration and harshness and on average 20 per cent lower fuel consumption than engines of equivalent power output (target combined fuel consumption for the saloon model is 46.3mpg).

Although the two engines are being introduced together in other European markets, in the UK their launch is to be staggered with the more powerful 2.2-litre D-4D Clean Power engine set to join the Avensis range at a later stage in the model's life cycle.

The Clean Power unit is lighter than most engines in its class (1.9 to 2.2-litre), thanks to its all-aluminium construction. Clever engineering measures include integration of the water and oil pump on the chain cover, reducing the oil pump's weight by five per cent and its volume by 20 per cent. This contributes to making the engine 11 per cent lighter overall than the Avensis's 2.0-litre D-4D engine.

The 2.2-litre D-4D engines match the 2.0-litre unit in terms of cumulative maintenance time after 60,000 miles at 4.2 hours - the lowest figure in the diesel D segment.

Dealers: York Toyota, Clifton Moorgate, York (01904 693388); Knaresborough Toyota, York Road, Knaresborough (01423 867456)

Updated: 11:03 Friday, April 01, 2005