Cutting costs with a crossover

Toyota has given the Yaris a crossover version. Darren Cassey finds out if it’s a winning combination.

If you want to sell cars in the UK in 2021, you need small cars and crossovers. Toyota knows this well as its Yaris supermini sits comfortably in the 10 best-selling cars list so far this year. However, it’s planning to further capitalise on its success with a new Yarisbased crossover, imaginatively called Yaris Cross. It’s a recipe that has found Ford success – it released the Puma, a crossover based on the best-selling Fiesta, with the pair taking up two of the five best-sellers so far this year. Toyota is hoping for similar success from its effort, which brings smart styling and a hybrid powertrain to the mix.

WHAT’S NEW?

This all-new model is built on Toyota’s latest TNGA platform which gives it access to its hybrid engine and practical cabin options. The powertrain has been updated to be more efficient, it has an impressive equipment specification as well as the firm’s latest all-wheeldrive technology.

UNDER THE BONNET?

The engine is a 1.5-litre petrol unit combined with an electric motor to produce 114bhp and 120Nm of torque. It’s been updated for the Yaris Cross, with the battery capable of regenerating twice the energy under braking and supplying 50% more power during acceleration than before. The result is a promised 62mpg, which is decent on its own. However, incredibly, on our three-hour route of city driving and country lanes, we achieved 74mpg. When you consider this isn’t even a plug-in hybrid, that’s hugely impressive.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

Toyota says the Yaris Cross takes styling cues from the regular Yaris and the firm’s RAV4 SUV, and if you look closely you can spot the subtle nods. The combination brings its own unique, stylish appearance that looks great on the road. It’s tall like an SUV but narrow like a supermini, with chunky wheel arches giving it a more robust appearance alongside the sleek headlights and sharp creases in the front fenders and bonnet. At the rear it looks like a chunky off-roader, but also gets modern, narrow tail lights.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?

The Yaris Cross is a curious blend of characteristics. You sit high, which makes visibility great, with the steering nicely weighted, which makes slow moving traffic and country roads equally relaxing to drive. It’s comfortable too, with the soft suspension not translating to too much lean when cornering. However, despite this, at low speeds it rather crashes into potholes, which can become frustrating on particularly poor roads. The brakes are also difficult to modulate smoothly, occasionally grabbing as you slow to a stop. Minor irritations for the most part, but it’s worth noting because rivals such as the Ford Puma are slightly more satisfying to drive.

THE VERDICT

Toyota says it’s targeting about 18,000 sales next year in the Yaris Cross’s first full year on sale. However, having been behind the wheel, that might be understating the possibilities. Given what a hit the Ford Puma has been, there’s no reason why this Japanese contender can’t push it for sales. It looks great, has decent practicality, is comfortable to drive and has excellent equipment. And if our testing is anything to go by, running costs should be incredibly low. Safe to say Toyota has a winner on its hands here.