Falling in love with a hybrid

Never mind, though, hybrid technology is here to stay. To be honest, once you get used to the idea it’s not bad at all.

The three teens in our household were suitably impressed when I started the car and it didn’t make a sound all the way down the driveway.

Enter the neighbour’s Jeep SRT a short while afterwards, though, and you understand why young boys don’t have a poster of a Prius on the wall.

Even so, the Yaris remains a popular car and with the styling changes inside and outside it will probably be even more so, considering it was a little different to look at even when it was launched.

The hybrid also has a nice turn of speed from take-off and remains well behaved when asked to do narrow twist and turns.

It will, I suspect, be a purchase of the head rather than the heart – because, ask anyone the first thing that comes to mind when you mention Toyota, and it’s reliability and resale value.

In fairness, the Yaris is put together very well – as in the case of my wife’s assistant’s, which is the previous model. It has done close to 150 000km, gets attention only when really needed, and is cleaned and washed only occasionally – but when you’re in the cabin there is not a single squeak or rattle.

In a very competitive segment the Yaris does much more than is needed – but I’m afraid the hybrid version is going to take some getting used to in our market.