Toyota has announced that the new Yaris will come with a hybrid drivetrain and cost from £19,910 before options or metallic paint. That’s a high starting point given that the outgoing car costs from £15,805. It was thought that Toyota may come out with a cheaper 1.0-litre petrol version from launch. It may still do that – especially if sales prove to be slow – but for now Toyota is pitching the car as a ‘premium hybrid’ sort of thing.
The drivetrain then. Just the one for now, a 1.5-litre petrol engine with three cylinders and 118bhp linked to a front-mounted electric motor with 59kW (79bhp), but because of the way the system works – it’s made for economy, not pace – peak power is actually pegged at the level of the petrol motor. It takes around ten seconds to hit 62mph.
The fuel economy rating is 68.9mpg which might sound unremarkable, like the sort of figure that a small capacity diesel would muster up, but don’t forget that’s using the tough WLTP test, and early reports suggest it’s achievable IRL; Toyota claims that the battery pack will handle 80% of the driving “on a typical urban journey”, whatever that might be, and it can handle speeds of up to 80mph without having to lean on the petrol engine. The outgoing Yaris hybrid can only muster 25mph on its own. CO2 emissions are 86g/km.
Four trim levels are available for the UK: Icon, Design, Dynamic and Excel, with the last of those commanding a lot of number twos: £22,220. Standard kit includes 16-inch alloys, seven-inch entertainment infotainment, automatic lights and wipers and a reversing camera. The infotainment screen gets bigger further up the range, and features like LED headlamps, dual-zone air con, leather upholstery, automatic braking and a 10-inch full colour head-up display are available as you climb up the range and spend more.
There’s a launch edition at the moment too, for those willing to part with a fiver over £24k for a Yaris. Seems like a stretch, although that car does come with two-tone paint (as featured in the pics here) and blue ambient cabin lighting.
Keyword: Toyota Yaris from £20k, hybrid only