Toyota Yaris City Review – The latest Toyota Yaris is a better city car than ever, with a hybrid electric drive that delivers surprisingly low real-world fuel consumption. But with so many new technologies, it is much more expensive now.
Why is the price of the new Toyota Yaris Hybrid so high? Simply put, say Toyota bosses, because this sophisticated car must be launched in 2020. At least they are honest, and they are not wrong either. Meeting the five-star ANCAP rating, which is no longer just a measure of crashworthiness but how much crash-avoidance technology is on board, is now a very expensive game. The new Yaris starts at $22,130 for the base petrol model and goes up to $32,100 for the range-topping ZR Hybrid.
Toyota Yaris City Review
Five-star safety ratings are essential if you want to sell cars to fleets, and they’re also important to many buyers – especially those looking to get their teenagers behind the wheel for the first time.
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But a five-star safety rating is now very difficult. In 2020, for the new Toyota Yaris to get five stars from ANCAP in Australia, it will need to include not only autonomous braking that detects cars, pedestrians and cyclists, but also cross-traffic braking – plus lane keeping and frontal collision prevention between the seats, a new airbag.
If you missed the revolution in crash safety ratings that prioritized onboard sensors and software, you’re not alone. Nor do we think this is a bad thing: on the contrary, ANCAP and their European counterparts, Euro NCAP, are making the biggest step forward in car safety since seat belts.
It’s a worrying issue: ANCAP requirements undoubtedly create safer cars for first-time drivers, while making new small cars cheaper for first-time buyers. You will see more in the future: the new Toyota Yaris is just the tip of the iceberg.
The behind-the-scenes price hike is most apparent in the price of the new 2021 Toyota Yaris, with some variants going up by nearly 50 percent. Of course, Toyota would prefer not to because their market share is the name of the game.
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For the 2021 Yaris launch in Australia, we drove two variants: the mid-range SX petrol ($27,020) and the top-spec ZR hybrid ($32,100). Like all variants of the Yaris, all safety technologies have been given as standard. But it is the cheapest Yaris Ascent model (petrol, from $22,130), which despite the price looks like the base model, has plastic covers and has a plastic steering wheel and gear lever.
This is no premium small hatch: while driving dynamics are a big improvement over the previous, forgettable Yaris, thanks to Toyota’s move to the modular TNGA platform, the 2021 Yaris is still primarily a basic city car with more comfort. instead of being swept away by dirt on a country road. This means that the production batch of the Yaris GR, which shares some components with the other car, will meet this short deadline. But at what cost?
The ZR Hybrid’s pricing sits right next to peppery hot hatches like the Volkswagen Polo GTI and Ford Fiesta ST. To be fair, VW and Ford don’t have to follow the five-star rules in 2020 – their prices may also increase significantly in the future. But here and now we don’t see comparable value for money in the new Yaris.
It’s a shame, because under the skin this new Yaris is a huge success. Hybrid electric drive is a triumph of true efficiency, improved ride and handling, and it’s a fun and stylish thing to do.
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Even the pure petrol Yaris, with its funky three-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine, puts out 88kW/145Nm, is great, and achieves a real-world consumption of 5.5L/100km in our hands.
However, the same engine is modified and only available on the SX and ZR grades if you opt for the $2,000 hybrid option. The combined output is stated at 85 kW, but this hides the fact that the Yaris Hybrid has a much lower torque thanks to the electric motor and small battery. This makes the Hybrid easy to drive and nimble around town – but it pays off in fuel economy.
The Yaris is almost as thirsty for gas, but the Hybrid is almost abstinent. Toyota claims 3.3L/100km, making it the most fuel-efficient car in Australia, and we were able to meet that claim without trying too hard. This actually improves the results of our long-term ownership of the RAV4 Hybrid, where we found it easy to approach the hybrid’s published economy.
Simply put, Toyota hybrids really deliver on their promise, allowing you to use less fuel – and therefore produce less CO2 – without changing your driving style or your current cable charging habits. Nowadays, we give Toyota a lot of credit for its contribution to the environment.
New Toyota Yaris 1.5 Hybrid Gr Sport 5dr Cvt [city Pack]
The lackluster handling and sluggish dynamics of the previous version are also a nod to Toyota’s past, and the Yaris joins the Corolla, C-HR, Prius, Camry and RAV4 on the company’s TNGA platform. TNGA has done wonders for the ride and handling of these cars and the Yaris delivers.
It’s perfectly suited to Sydney’s broken roads – even with the smaller torsion bar suspension setup in this cheapest Toyota, the Corolla’s independent rear suspension is even better.
There is some body roll when cornering, but it’s manageable. With good steering response, the Yaris Hybrid comes close to the Volkswagen Polo in terms of on-road sweetness – although it doesn’t beat the twin-clamp turbocharged VW for overall handling. That said, the Toyota’s three-cylinder sounds more refined than the Polo, even if it has more to do.
Outside, Toyota has put a lot of effort into the styling of the Yaris, and it works particularly well with the optional two-tone black roof on the ZR grade – our burgundy SX was also a classy car. Avoid the main highlights of the car and you end up with a nice, attractive city car.
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Entering the cabin reveals a completely different view of the old Yaris. Gone are the Toyota cutter lines of the past 20 years, replaced by funky shapes, clever technology and better software.
The Yaris’ top-of-the-line touchscreen has larger bezels than the Corolla’s – surprisingly, it measures eight by seven inches, but in the same casing. But Toyota’s navigation and media controls are simple, and there’s wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In 2020, a single USB port on every new car seems like a silly oversight.
However, considering the price of this machine, we have to be quite critical of the technology. A premium stereo, a proper digital cockpit that offers a map and a larger touchscreen are all absent – although the Volkswagen Polo offers them as optional extras. If you’re looking for wireless CarPlay projection powered by the new Kia Picanto, you won’t find it.
There’s no armrest between the seats, even in the nearly $35,000 ZR Hybrid grade, a terrible oversight that not only hurts your elbows, but also robs the cabin of enclosed storage space behind the small gloveboxes.
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At least the manually adjustable seats are comfortable enough, with good leg support and a great low riding position. Passengers in the second row will only complain about kneeling if they are a meter or more taller. After all, it is a Yaris, so those who want a bigger car will probably opt for the Toyota C-HR or another car. Behind them is a double tall luggage compartment with a volume of 270 liters and a space-saving luggage compartment in all variants.
Ease of use is the pinnacle of Toyota. The new Yaris comes with a five-year unlimited mileage warranty, and if you stick with Toyota, the five-year warranty on the hybrid system and battery will extend each year to a total of ten years – but the sum of old Camry hybrids still trading on Sydney roads , means that these cars provide good confidence. Maintenance rates have yet to be determined, but it could be one of the most affordable cars in its class.
Toyota definitely hit the nail on the head with the new Yaris. It’s designed to be the safest city car in the world – and with ANCAP’s acclaimed five-star rating, crash safety is now a top priority for this car. It is not clear whether the target audience is still able to buy or not, but we will keep a close eye on the sales results.
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