The Toyota Yaris gets several major changes for its midlife facelift, with the rear and front styling, engine offering and interior all upgraded.
What Is It?
The all-new Toyota Yaris has undergone a redesign, which gives it a thoroughly redesigned interior and a significant new look. Perhaps most crucial, are enhancements to the Hybrid model, which bring emissions down to 75g/km – the lowest of any non-plug-in car. This means the Yaris Hybrid is now the first vehicle, which doesn’t need to be plugged in to be exempt from the sub-75g/km congestion charge barrier.
The updated styling brings the Toyota Yaris more into line with that of the new Aygo city car, and features a large cross design, which dominates the vehicle’s front. It also gets three new headlamp styles that are LED lights on the higher trims. The rear lights have also been redesigned. Inside, Toyota has changed almost every surface, with new materials on the dashboard, seats and centre console. The new panels are softer to the touch, and are designed to be less shiny than the outgoing car’s.
Underneath, the Yaris gets a more rigid structure, with an increased amount of welding and new materials around the windscreen. The rear suspension has been redesigned, and has a stiffer torsion beam and softer coil springs. The front suspension also gets softer springs to improve the ride comfort. The power steering has also been modified to improve responsiveness.
Finally, Toyota has also done significant work on the car’s insulation to reduce engine and road noise, and added a small spoiler to the front of the windscreen to reduce the wind noise that was caused by air hitting the windscreen wipers.
What Engines Can I Choose From?
The Toyota Yaris comes with a choice of two petrol engines, one diesel and a petrol-electric hybrid model. The 1.0-litre petrol is the new 3-cylinder engine, which will also be offered in the new Aygo. Emissions have been reduced from 110g/km to 99g/km, and the engine has been comprehensively redesigned for reducing vibration and noise levels.
The hybrid model has been tweaked to reduce CO2 emissions. It now emits 75g/km – down from 79g/km – when the car wears the smaller, 15-inch alloy wheels.
The diesel also emits just 99g/km of CO2, while the 1.33-litre petrol emits 109g/km when the car has engine stop-start fitted.
How Much Equipment Does It Come With?
Toyota is also tweaking the Yaris’ trim lineup. Final equipment levels will be confirmed when the pricing is announced that’s set to be within the next few weeks. The lineup is expected to consist of four variants, although these have yet to be confirmed. There are two new colors – a bronze and a blue. A Black Pack or a Red Pack will be optional, and will bring more colorful interiors.
How Much Will It Cost?
Prices are yet to be finalized for UK, although the automaker has said that they will remain ‘competitive’ with its rivals. They are not expected to rise significantly over the outgoing cars that start at £10,995. Although the trims are set to change slightly, the range-topping hybrid is expected to remain much the same price-wise, starting at about £17,600.
How Good Are Its Rivals?
The supermini segment is the most competitive in Europe. The Yaris’ rivals are fantastic, with the reigning supermini of the year, the Ford Fiesta, the pick of the bunch. Its interior has been revamped to compete with the likes of the recently redesigned Volkswagen Polo and the Fiesta. Shoppers will face even more choice before long, with the Vauxhall Corsa and Skoda Fabia to be replaced before long.