Review: Toyota Yaris

The latest version of Toyota’s cracking little supermini is perfect for anyone who puts fuel economy and reliability at the top of their list of essentials.

As a full hybrid, it can run on electrical power alone for a short stretch with the petrol engine kicking in as required.

The result is an mpg pushing 70, and that’s no idle boast on behalf of the manufacturers.

We got close to that figure throughout the week we had it on test - and that was without particularly trying to be frugal.

This three-cylinder 1.5-litre petrol hybrid is the only powertrain available to the Yaris, but it is so good that there is no need for any others.

There are two versions: a 114bhp and a 128bhp - we drove the more powerful of the two and were mightily impressed.

There’s no need to plug in this hybrid Yaris as the battery is recharged during regenerative braking.

In addition to frugality, the Yaris is very well specified and packs a lot of kit into a compact footprint.

The entry-level Icon comes with adaptive cruise control, air conditioning, 16in alloys, a reversing camera, front fog lights, and a nine-inch infotainment touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility.

Moving up the trims to the mid-range Design gives fancier alloys, rear privacy glass and LED lights with the option to add a safety pack.

Next up is Excel - as tested - this has a wealth of other goodies, including a wireless phone charger and front and rear parking sensors - kit that is definitely on my list of must-haves.

The most powerful hybrid system is only available with this trim and the sporty GR, which sits somewhere in the middle kit-wise and has front sports seats and a leather steering wheel and shift lever with red stitching.

As the Yaris is a supermini, don’t expect bags of room for passengers and luggage. The front seat passenger and driver fare well. Although it is feasible to get three in the back, anyone other than a child will struggle if more than two-up. Boot capacity is 286 litres and the rear seats split and fold 60:40 if you need more storage.

It’s a good-looking car and much sportier than previous models. We’ve no complaints over the drive and handling. Tested on a variety of roads, it performed well even at motorway speeds, although the CVT gearbox does get a bit noisy under harsh acceleration.

Acceleration from 0-62mph in the 128bhp model is 9.2 seconds, and it has a top speed of 109mph, which is perfectly acceptable for this kind of motor.

Around town is where the Yaris shines brightest. Turning, parking and pootling through traffic are accomplished with ease, and it doesn’t even baulk at speed humps and badly surfaced roads.

In all, a thoroughly good all-rounder and well worth considering if you’re in the market for a supermini.

Toyota Yaris Excel

Price: £28,195

Engine: Three-cylinder 1.5-litre petrol hybrid

Power: 128bhp

Torque 88.5lb/ft

Transmission: e-CVT

Top speed: 109mph

0-62mph: 9.2 seconds

Economy: 67.3mpg

CO2 emissions:96g/km