More spark for Yaris

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid takes some of the tech that has made the Prius such a massive hit and miniaturised it.

The Yaris Hybrid is powered by a combination of a 1.5 litre petrol engine and a small electric motor which together combine to produce a modest 100hp.

That might not sound much, but such is the torque of the motor that it feels as if it’s got the lazy flexibility of a bigger engine, which is exactly what you want around town.

You can pull away and drive just over a mile purely in electric mode if you’re light on the throttle and, when the petrol engine does kick in, it’s anything but uncouth. Drive goes to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission and the turning circle is, at 4.7 metres, just as tight as the regular Yaris.

The power pack is effectively a downsized version of that featured in the Prius, with a more compact electric motor, transaxle, inverter and battery pack. With this revised model, the engineers have tweaked things quite a lot, adding in a new subframe, as well as changing the engine mounts and front driveshafts and adding in a roll restrictor. All of this is claimed to make the car even quieter and smoother, particularly under acceleration.

Originally, it was only possible to order a Yaris Hybrid with very plush trim, but you can now specify this technology right across the range, which means prices now begin at around £16,000. “Active” is the entry point to the five-door-only line-up, but even at this level, the car comes equipped with dual-zone climate control, trip computer, power front windows and a split-folding rear seats.

With ever stricter emissions-based tax legislation, the 79g/km Hybrid future-proofs itself better than any diesel. The other thing to bear in mind is that you’re building the additional cost of auto transmission the Hybrid whereas diesel rivals often just campaign with a manual gearbox. Plus it’s hard to argue with a car that can return 85.6mpg on the combined cycle.