Cross has purpose and boosts Yaris line
I’M a big fan of the Toyota Yaris. I love its grown-up design direction, and the fact it looks unnecessarily sporty.
And the rather bonkers GR Yaris is easily the best car I’ve driven this year. But there’s another “variant”, being added into the mix, to capitalise on the demand for jacked-up versions of more terrestrial machines. It’s the Yaris Cross.
And initially, I was a bit disappointed to see that it’s almost an entirely different car to the normal Yaris. Not only is it taller, that much you would expect, but it’s 20mm wider and 240mm longer.
Its design is so rugged and purposeful, it has lost a lot of the resemblance I’d have hoped for with the conventional car.
But it looks rugged and purposeful because it is rugged and purposeful. Beneath the bonnet might lie a small three-cylinder engine and a hybrid system, but if you opt for the Dynami or Premiere trim levels, this is available with four wheel drive.
And that’s quite impressive in this sector.
In fact, supermini base models have become so large in recent years, that a mud-plugging Yaris could now be seen as a spiritual successor to the original Toyota Rav-4. And that, in my book, makes it quite cool.
We need to talk about the price, though. A basic front-wheel-drive Yaris Cross in the Design trim starts at just over £24,000 – essentially around £2,000 more than the equivalent standard Yaris and nigh-on £4,000 more than the base model standard Yaris, in Icon trim. Even the top-spec Yaris, the Excel, slips in below £24,000. So there’s a price to pay for living the “high life”.
That said, it does compare well with other crossovers in this weird and wonderful sector, especially given the standard kit Toyota throws in, along with its 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty and the 15-year hybrid battery cover.
In other good news, the Yaris’s agility isn’t lost in the Cross version. Not to any major extent, anyway. The steering still responds well, the cornering grip and body roll are better
There’s a price to pay for living the “high life” with the new Toyota Yaris Cross
than you’d think and the higher ride not only aids visibility, but it softens the suspension a touch, too.
The interior is carried over from the normal Yaris, and it’s really rather good. Comfort is up there with the best of the bunch, visibility and space is fine, and build quality is, predictably, top notch. It’s perhaps only let down by a clumsy infotainment system, but that won’t bother everyone.
The biggest bonus, however, is
Toyota’s tried and tested hybrid system. It delivers some impressive fuel economy figures at the same time as spitting out very minimal emissions. So it’d make a cracking company car.
So there’s a lot to like. If you really need the Suv-style body and you don’t mind paying the premium, you’ll be very happy with the Yaris Cross.
It moves the Yaris line-up on nicely and, importantly, it doesn’t spoil it.