You can pick from about three power plants: a 1.0 litre petrol also present in Toyota's tiny Aygo; a 1.33-litre petrol with start-stop engineering as well as a 89bhp 1.4-litre diesel, providing a touted 68.9mpg. Though it looks somewhat fragile on paper, even the tiniest of the three functions amazingly effectively in the Yaris.
Even though the ride isn’t too uncomfortable, it’s jittery on occasion, and the Toyota Yaris hardly ever seems completely settled.
Refinement is yet another area where the Toyota is not quite as accomplished as the sector leaders – there’s plenty more road and, particularly, wind noise than you'd hit upon inside a Renault Clio’s cabin at speed. The motors – particularly the 3-cylinder 1.0 litre petrol – can also be noisy when hard pressed.
The Yaris appears to be higher-priced in comparison with quite a few of its rivals, eventhough it does keep its price much better than most, bills are small for many models: the 1.0 and 1.33 petrols give above 50 mpg, and the diesel tops 60 mpg. Insurance and maintenance charges are usually good value
The Toyota has been a byword for reliability prior to now – it finished best rated in its class in the 2010 JD Power customer satisfaction feedback survey – so that bodes well. Plus, there's the reassurance of a 5-year/100,000-mile warranty. Quality inside of it is good, even so the rough, dimpled plastics across the dash look great but lack the higher quality feel from the softer-touch plastics in many competitors.
The Yaris received a full 5-star occupant safety rating in Euro NCAP collision clinical tests, and is among a limited number of vehicles to get 3 stars for pedestrian safety. All vehicles have 2 front airbags, and all but the bottom trim provide side and curtain airbags, plus 1 to shield the driver’s knees. Stability control is an option. There’s numerous security equipment.
The Yaris’s dashboard is cool and different, but it isn't to all tastes. The centrally fitted digital controls can be difficult to read at a glance, while the heater controls are set surprisingly low on the middle console. The high-set driving position won’t go well with absolutely everyone, either, and also the base version misses out on driver's seat height adjustment. The steering wheel changes for height although not reach.
