New Yaris pushes perceptions
CARE to categorise the ‘‘typical’’ Yaris buyer?
Rather you than me — the latest range surely raises far too much of a challenge.
The rollout as explained by Toyota New Zealand totally blows apart perception that the car is still merely set to continue the role it has long held, as a frugal and costeffective small cityfirst hatchback.
Sure, you can still buy into it in that format. It’s how the new lineup has initially launched, in four 1.5litre petrols driving through CVTs, two with a hybrid drivetrain, and in GX and ZR specification grades.
That’s a solid showing for the traditional template, yet this time around it is just the base layer, to be followed by two fresh spins, here before yearend.
One, is from Gazoo Racing, a wild 192kW/360Nm fourwheeldrive turbocharged twodoor whose inspiration is, of course, Toyota’s entry in the wavering World Rally Championship, a car that would assuredly have been seen in action here at Rally NZ this month if not for Covid19.
TNZ has taken 20 firm orders for the GR; four times the count Japan had originally earmarked for NZ.
The other will be more vital in volume terms. The Yaris Cross is as the name divulges; a highset crossover, taller and with greater ground clearance than the donor — though this is for show, with no additional offseal competence claimed.
Industry conviction is that category it joins being a hot sale zone is shared by Toyota NZ. The market leader’s newly installed chief executive believes there’s high probability the Cross will ultimately become so popular as to endanger the orthodox models.
“I believe over the next 12 to 18 months that Yaris Cross will be the Yaris hatch replacement,” says Neeraj Lala, in acknowledgement of the changing trends in the light car category.
“Given the trends in the market and given that this car (the Cross) has such high appeal to a slightly older demographic, I think the Yaris Cross will be the dominant small car for us.
“What that means for Yaris hatchback moving forward we will wait and see.”
Toyota’s conviction of Yaris having a future is in itself a positive. As much as the type has traded as a solid performer across three preceding generations, registrations have diminished in the past two years, from 2002 in 2018 to 1802 last year, and while the light car sector still achieves about 10,000 to 11,000 units per year for an 11% share of new car sales, it is not as well supported by brands as it was once.
TNZ’s ongoing positivity is driven in large part because it is strengthening its private buyer business and now has a hybrid drivetrain.
The model going to a fresh platform promising better driving feel, a lift in safety equipment and the drivetrain’s promise of outstanding efficiency have been cited as factors expected to raise the car’s game and status.
Yes, the pure electric operability is as limited as on any other Toyota hybrid — basically, the batteryonly impetus avails at startup, in reverse and at very low speed, for very limited duration, moving forward. In keeping with the Toyota/Lexus hybrid culture, it of course also lacks capability for plugin replenishment, a feature required to establish connection as an electric car.
Yet it certainly stakes a strong claim for marketleading efficiency (76g/100km) and economy, sitting as the most fuelefficient car in New Zealand without the ability to run on batteries alone, with the lithium ion batteryfed 85kW drivetrain eking an official combined consumption of 3.3 litres per 100km.
That figure gives it a lead over other established sippers, albeit narrowly. For instance, it’s just a 0.1 litres/100km advantage over the claimed optimal from a fullsized Prius and a 0.6 litres/100km advantage over the Prius C, which has been around for eight years and sits in a lower tech level by having nickelhydride batteries. The closest rival outside Toyota is the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, which delivers 3.4 litres/100km. As always, all this becomes somewhat theoretical in realworld conditions anyway.
Still, Mr Lala reckons those factors will be acknowledged by the Greenminded, saying: “With the . . . hybrid, you know you will be reducing your carbon footprint.”
The 1.5litre engine also does its bit, through applying the Atkinsoncycle principles that have featured in previous fueleking Toyota petrol engines, but in a threecylinder format. Toyota claims the 1.5 has a rated thermal efficiency of 40%, which it says is greater than comparable diesel engines. Emissions are higher than the hybrid, at 114g/km, yet the standard engine is more efficient than the outgoing car’s by some margin.
This Yaris runs two kinds of CVT — the pure petrol model s coming, in ZR form, with paddle controls and an astounding, potentially bewildering 10speeds — and also breaks ground by achieving the latest Toyota Safety Sense package as standard.
Even the entrylevel car gets dynamic radar cruise control and lanetracing assist. In a Toyota first, front seat centre aisle airbags have been added to reduce the risk of the driver and front passenger colliding during a sideon collision.
The precollision system has also been updated to use a camera, radar and autonomous emergency braking to avoid or mitigate the effects of a crash and it is the first Toyota to gain two collisionavoidance systems, delivering automatic braking and steering intervention, previously restricted to some Lexus products.
Aside from detecting vehicles and pedestrians both day and night, and cyclists during the day, the full system is also said to detect and automatically brake to avoid other vehicles and pedestrians when turning at intersections. The onboard camera can also recognise speed signs and alert drivers if they’re going above the posted limits plus facilitates a lanekeep function.
The ZR variants feature blind spot monitor plus front and rear parking sensors that can trigger the brakes to avoid contact.
It is the next Toyota to adopt full smartphone integration including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Functionality is via a large, high resolution touchscreen that stands out as one of the highquality features now in a cabin in which, Toyota says, trims are now more premium.
The GX has a black interior, while the ZR has a contrasting grey and black interior with red accents, both with cloth trims. The ZR has sports style seats, climatecontrol air
conditioning, smart entry with pushbutton start, digital speedometer and a headsup display.
TNZ is promoting this fourthgeneration Yaris as being more spacious than predecessors. The front seats have been moved outwards by 10mm to create more space between the driver and front passenger, while the seats are lower in the vehicle also. More storage space has been added in the front console, under the audio unit and in front of the front passenger.
The Yaris and Yaris Cross have the same 2560mm wheelbase, but the hatch is 240mm shorter overall, the crossover adding 60mm to the front overhang and 180mm to the rear, to ensure more interior space. The ground clearance is 60mm higher with the Cross and, with 1550mm height, the hatch is 90mm lower and 20mm narrower overall.
The maker is also asking consumers to take note of the car’s “new energetic and sporty look”.
The GX features new 15inch steel wheels with cover, while the ZR has twotone machine finished 16inch alloys.
Keeping with that theme, the ZR is available in two twotone options — an ebony roof coupled with either eclectic blue or coral exterior paint options.
The combined effect of the improvements does hit the bottom line, of course. Take note that the outgoing line priced between
$23,290 and $27,490 when it launched back in 2012.
However, Lala says the impetus has not been to sell Yaris as the cheapest car but as the best; TNZ research also suggests buyers are increasingly looking for more premium features in the choices, and don’t mind paying a little extra for it.