Small Toyota in big league
Toyota’s smallest SUV is dropping into a segment with big sales and lots of competition. Damien O’Carroll checks to see if it will sink or swim.
You can tell a lot about a car from its top-spec and entrylevel models, which is why we were keen to sample Toyota’s new baby SUV back-toback in both those forms.
The Yaris hatch was our pick for the Top Car of 2020, so we wanted to see if a compact SUV based on the same underpinnings would keep up Toyota’s current strong run of excellent cars.
That’s a lot of big expectations to place on a little SUV. So does it measure up?
Well, in the vast majority of ways that matter, yes it certainly does. But the Yaris Cross introduces a few new twists that not only differentiate it from the Yaris hatch, but also make it not quite as good.
Most of these differences come from the added weight that making the Yaris into an SUV brings. Kudos to Toyota for not simply jacking the Yaris up a bit and adding some exterior plastic cladding, but that additional bulk shaves off a degree of the effervescence that makes the hatch such an endearing thing to drive.
While there is more body roll and less eager turn-in, the Cross is a more comfortable cross-country cruiser than the hatch in both forms, with the extra weight bringing a more substantial and more compliant feel to the ride.
But it does come with one obvious penalty over the hatch – namely in the form of fuel consumption.
As you would expect, a larger, heavier version of the Yaris uses more fuel than the miserly small hatch. This is, of course, more noticeably in the petrol GX, which hovered around the mid-to-high 6-litre per 100km mark during our week with it, while the Limited hybrid sipped fuel at around 4.5l/100km. Which is still damn good.
But the extra size means extra room, right?
Well, yes, but there’s a caveat there: while the rear legroom is good for an SUV of its size, the rear door opening is woefully small and the door doesn’t open far enough to allow particularly easy access – it’s difficult for an adult to squeeze in and out of, and we imagine getting a car seat in there would be an exercise in quite painful contortion. Not ideal, even in a compact SUV.
OK, so what about the stuff it does right?
Oh, there’s quite a bit of that. The Yaris Cross packs the same powertrains as the hatch, so the GX and Hybrid Limited both feature the characterful 1.5-litre threecylinder engine.
Sure, it has to work a bit harder and as a result sounds a bit harsher, but it remains a pleasantly eager little thing that is happy to rev and give its all.
Like the hatch, the petrol-only version remains more of a driver’s choice, while the hybrid version introduces impressive fuel economy at the expense of a touch of the lively eagerness that the petrol version possesses.
With the increased size and ride compliance comes a feeling of extra comfort and maturity on the road, with the Yaris Cross feeling more like something Corolla-sized than a compact city car out on the open road, with nicely precise steering that has a pleasantly weighted feel.
The Yaris Cross’ interior is also more mature and of a higher quality than the hatch and while 7-inch touchscreen may feel a little underwhelming in the higher-spec hybrid (the same touchscreen is standard across the entire range), it is still a nicely responsive system that packs everything you could reasonably expect.
The Cross packs the same levels of tech and driver assist as the hatch, with Toyota’s Safety Sense driver assist system standard across the range.
The Hybrid Limited adds larger 18-inch alloy wheels, embedded satellite navigation (both have Android Auto/Apple CarPlay), rear privacy glass, a power tailgate with handsfree function, LED headlights, synthetic leather upholstery, a powered and heated driver’s seat, a leather steering wheel, keyless entry and pushbutton start and climate air conditioning to the GX’s equipment, as well as the option for a black roof, like our test car.
While the Limited Hybrid is a nice thing indeed, I definitely felt more love for the GX during my time with both.
You do get more toys with the Limited, but the real appeal for spending more money is the hybrid powertrain, and while it is noticeably more economical (as it is in all Toyota hybrids – the hybrids use around 30 per cent less fuel), but the trade-off just doesn’t seem quite so worth it here.
But then the same could be said of the jump from the GX Hybrid to the Limited Hybrid, so it is probably really the jump from GX to Limited that is the issue.
While the Limited does get more tech and bling, none of it really seems all that necessary, because the GX Yaris Cross is a damn good value and wellequipped package.
Plus I reckon it looks way better on the smaller wheels too. . .
Any other cars I should consider?
Literally everyone plays in the compact SUV market these days, so there are a massive amount of options here, but the most obvious direct competitors are (deep breath. . .) the Ford Puma, Mazda CX-3 and CX-30, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Venue, Kia Stonic (or even lower-spec versions of the bigger Seltos), Skoda Kamiq, Seat Arona and Volkswagen T-Cross.
Toyota Yaris Cross GX and Hybrid Limited
Base price: $29,990 (GX) and $39,490 (Hybrid Limited with two-tone paint).
Powertrain and economy: 1.5-litre turbo-petrol inline three-cylinder, 88kW/145Nm (GX), 85kW/120Nm (Hybrid Limited), continuously variable transmission, FWD, combined economy 5.4L/100km (GX), 3.8L/100km (Hybrid Limited), CO2 124g/km (GX), 87g/km (Hybrid Limited – source: RightCar).
Vital statistics: 4180mm long, 1765mm wide, 1590mm high, 2560mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 390 litres (GX), 314 litres (Hybrid Limited), 16-inch (GX) and 18-inch (Hybrid Limited) alloy wheels.
We like: A good-looking small SUV with brilliant engines, impressively comfortable and capable open road cruiser, wellequipped.
We don’t like: Not as cheerfully fun as the hatch, rear door opening woefully inadequate.
All of which are good cars, but precisely none of which offer hybrid options.
So there’s that.