Summer love-in

Toyota has tweaked the Yaris just in time for the summer but are the changes enough to make it stand out from the crowd? found out.

The third generation Yaris has been around for some time. Long enough, in fact, to have been subjected to no fewer than two facelifts since it was introduced in 2011.

With this latest refresh, Toyota has dropped its 1.33litre engine in favour of a new 1.5-litre power plant that is both more powerful and more efficient than its predecessor. Toyota has also really stepped its game up as far as standard safety equipment is concerned.

Looks and image

The new front end has been styled to imitate a catamaran with a wide, angular grille giving the Yaris a slightly more aggressive demeanour.

Round the back is where the most noticeable changes have been implemented. Toyota has redesigned the shape of the taillights, which supposedly echo those found on larger, more petrol

premium models.

Customers also have the choice of opting for the new bi-tone specification, which adds a contrasting roof and pillars for an even more striking appearance, particularly when paired with the bold new Tokyo Red and Nebula Blue exterior colours.

Space and practicality

There isn’t an abundance of room in the back, but two adults should be able to travel reasonable distances without getting too uncomfortable.

The boot offers 286 litres of storage capacity. While this figure might not be classleading by any means, it should meet the requirements of most family buyers.

Behind the wheel

The test drive was mostly limited to low-speed, urban driving, which the Yaris handled amicably.

The controls were light and easy to operate meaning the Yaris will be very much at home in the city.

I didn’t get a chance to put the Yaris’ handling abilities to the test, as the Dutch roads that made up our test route were arrow straight and silky smooth and didn’t cause the supermini to break a sweat.

Final judgement on its dynamic capabilities can’t really be passed until we’ve had a go back on British soil.

Value for money

Standard equipment is generous, with features such as satellite navigation, rear parking camera and a seveninch touchscreen multimedia system all included as standard with the mid-range Icon Tech model.

One of the key selling points, however, is the large emphasis that Toyota has placed on safety across the entire Yaris range.

All cars come with Toyota Safety Sense as standard. This includes Pre-collision System, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Alert and Automatic Highbeam. Road Sign Assist is also included on cars in Icon specification and above.