A model tweak here, a new version there — things have been pretty quiet on the Toyota front so far this year.

But watch Toyota go in 2009. The firm paraded a couple of stylish, attention-grabbing newcomers before the public at the recent British International Motor Show in London, the iQ and the Urban Cruiser, and they both hit the streets next year.

But there’s even more headline-hogging on the way from the Japanese car giant. Its all-new Toyota Avensis — built in Britain at the Burnaston plant, in Derbyshire — goes on sale here next January.

The Avensis will be unveiled on October 2 at the Paris Motor Show, where it aims to focus public attention as the star attraction.

Toyota says the sleek design of the new Avensis reflects a bid to inject the car with a stronger, more dynamic, character. It is the third generation of the model to be built at the Burnaston plant.

The new Avensis will come with engines that are both more powerful and emit less CO2, a crucial factor in today’s new car market.

Toyota says it will also retain the high quality, refinement and equipment levels that are an established Avensis hallmark.

More details of this new mid-size contender, together with full details of pricing, will be released by Toyota later this year.

But, with the current economic uncertainty and soaring motoring costs sparking a tendency in Britain to downsize on car choice, many eyes will be on the new iQ, an ultra-compact, premium city motor.

Toyota is out to prove with the iQ that small does not mean having to go without creature comforts, and at the spring 2009 UK launch it will come with a choice of three power units, two petrol and one diesel, all with kind-to-the-environment credentials and carbon dioxide emissions starting at just 99g/km.

To give an idea of the iQ’s dimensions and capabilities, it is less than three metres long, but wider, and with a longer cabin, than a Toyota Yaris. What marks the iQ out from more run-of-the-mill city car fare is the unique cabin layout, with its three adults/one child seating arrangement.

This means two adults sit comfortably up front, as does the adult at the back, who will have room alongside for a child-only seat or extra luggage space.

Production of the iQ begins this autumn and once again, exact details of the powertrains and equipment specifications will be announced later.

But we do know that the car’s dashboard will be an eye-opener, complete with a “floating” v-shaped centre console, and that quality materials will be used throughout.

The iQ equips all occupants with high levels of active and passive safety, including the world’s first curtain shield airbags installed behind the rear seats.

Completing Toyota’s new-car trio is the Urban Cruiser, an eco-friendly four-wheel drive that is built on the Yaris supermini platform with a fairly modest diesel engine under the bonnet — a 1.4-litre unit.

Both the power unit and the size of the vehicle address modern motorists’ concerns over climate-unfriendly 4x4s, with the economical engine having a CO2 emissions level of only 133g/km.

The Urban Cruiser will also be Toyota’s first off-roader in the supermini sector, and is set to bring a mix of fun and practicality to the growing urban all-roader market currently dominated by the likes of the Nissan Qashqai.