Used Toyota Corolla Verso review and buying guide (2002 to 2009): which one to buy and what to check

Which used Toyota Corolla Verso should you buy?

A manual 1.8 VVT-i petrol is the lesser risk, as long as it isn't burning oil. A 1.8 made before the end of July 2005 can get through oil heavily once past 40,000 miles, which you can measure and live with, unlike the faults on the alternatives. Leave the MMT automatic alone: its actuator and control unit can fail between 50,000 and 90,000 miles and drop the car into neutral while you're driving.

The diesels don't make a stronger case. The 2.2 D-4D can blow its head gasket between 60,000 and 120,000 miles because the metal around its cylinder liners corrodes, so watch for coolant loss and overheating. The 2.0 D-4D isn't part of it, but it has head gasket failures of its own on record, plus reports of engines destroyed at 80,000 to 100,000 miles.

Which Corolla Verso engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

The manual 1.8 VVT-i is the one to have, but only once you're happy with its oil use. On engines made before the end of July 2005, clogged and worn piston oil-control rings can push consumption to a litre every 600 miles past 40,000 miles, and Toyota issued a service bulletin about it in May 2006. Top it up and it's manageable; let it run dry and the engine's finished. Some 1.8 manual gearboxes have also failed at around five years old.

Don't buy the MMT, an automated manual that only came with the petrols. Its actuator and control unit can fail between 50,000 and 90,000 miles, dropping the car into neutral on the move or refusing to select a gear, and one owner's 2008 1.8 MMT revved in gear without moving at just 37,683 miles. Plenty of drivers also never get used to the way it softens each upchange.

Neither diesel is a safer bet than the petrol. Corrosion around the 2.2 D-4D's cylinder liners can break its head gasket seal between 60,000 and 120,000 miles, and Toyota counts roughly one litre per 5,000 miles of oil use as normal for it. The 2.0 D-4D escapes that fault, but head gasket failures have been reported on it too, along with engines wrecked at 80,000 to 100,000 miles, thought to be from inlet swirl flaps snapping off.

What should you check when viewing a used Corolla Verso?

On an MMT, the red cog warning light on the dashboard is the first thing to watch for. Pull away from rest several times on the test drive, and leave it if it slips into N, revs without moving, or won't come out of neutral when parked. Ask for receipts for any actuator or gearbox control unit work, and don't accept a seller's word that it's been done.

Pull the 1.8's dipstick before the engine's started, then ask how often the owner tops it up. Blue smoke from the exhaust, worst after it's been idling, and an oil warning light on a long run both point to oil burning, so ask for the build date as well: the heavy use hits engines made before the end of July 2005. One report traced jerky running on a 1.8 to a failed crankshaft position sensor.

On a 2.2 D-4D, look in the coolant expansion tank. Coolant that's dropped, been blown out or turned dark points to the head gasket fault, and so does a temperature gauge that climbs or a heater that blows cold. An engine warning light or limp mode can mean a soot-clogged EGR valve; one owner's 2.2 needed repeated EGR work from 2008 and finally a new engine.

Ask for proof the airbag recalls were done. Passenger airbags could go off with the ignition switched off on 2004 to 2006 cars, and a faulty sensor could fire them unprompted on cars built from 2002 to 2004. Passenger airbag inflators that could burst were replaced on cars built from 2001 to 2008, and driver's airbags on cars built from 2001 to 2004. On a 2.0 D-4D, ask for a receipt showing the water pump has been replaced, as one report says the original can break up.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.

Is a used Toyota Corolla Verso Mk2 (2004 to 2009) a good buy?

A Mk2 is worth buying as a manual 1.8 VVT-i, ideally with an engine built after July 2005, when Toyota revised the pistons and rings behind the heavy oil burning. Every Mk2 sits inside the years of the MMT fault, so an automatic's a gamble whatever its age, and 2.2 D-4D cars from 2006 on fall within the years of that engine's head gasket fault.

Some smaller faults have turned up on single cars. One owner found the forecourt pump kept cutting off when filling in hot weather, because frothy fuel closed a plastic flap where the filler pipe joins the tank, and taking the flap out cured it. Another owner's 2006 1.8 petrol threw up VSC and TRC warning lights, so check both go out once it's started.

The 2.2 D-4D has had trouble beyond the head gasket on single cars. One owner of a 2008 car was told the catalytic converter needed replacing. Another, on a 2006 car that Toyota had already given a new engine, was told an injector was out of tolerance and that they now come only as a full set, which the warranty didn't cover.

What does a used Toyota Corolla Verso cost to run?