Toyota Yaris review

Category: Small car

The Yaris has a super-economical hybrid engine but some small cars are better all-rounders

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  • Blue Toyota Yaris front right driving
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  • Toyota Yaris interior driver display
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  • Toyota Yaris interior front seats
  • Toyota Yaris interior infotainment
  • Toyota Yaris interior detail
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Introduction

What Car? says...

Looking for a small car but struggling to decide whether to stick with a petrol engine or go fully electric? The Toyota Yaris could be the model you’re searching for.

You see, as a regular hybrid car, the Yaris lets you fill up with fuel, safe in the knowledge you're never going to suffer range anxiety, but also has a battery and electric motor, so you can do short stints at low speeds on electricity alone.

Toyota was ahead of the game with hybrid tech (you've been able to get it in the Yaris for years), which perhaps explains why this latest, fourth-generation model recorded one of the best efficiency figures ever in our Real MPG testing. In fact, the only thing able to push it into second place is the closely-related Toyota Yaris Cross small SUV.

Here's the thing, though: while the Yaris has long been a frugal choice, it's struggled to push to the front of the small car pack. For example, the VW Polo has had a distinct advantage when it comes to comfort and quality, while the Renault Clio has provided better value for money.

So, can this latest version of the Toyota Yaris narrow the gap with the best small cars – or even close it completely? And how does it compare with the Honda Jazz and other small hybrids? Read on to find out...

Blue Toyota Yaris rear right driving

Overview

The Toyota Yaris has some important strengths, not least its superb fuel economy, excellent reliability and generous standard kit. However, it can’t match the VW Polo for interior quality or ride comfort, and it's pretty cramped inside, especially compared with the Honda Jazz.

  • Excellent real-world fuel economy
  • Toyota's reliability record
  • Slow predicted depreciation
  • Firm ride, especially on higher-spec models with bigger wheels
  • Poor rear passenger space
  • So-so interior quality
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Our Pick

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Toyota Yaris 1.5 Hybrid Design 5dr CVT
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Performance & drive

What it’s like to drive, and how quiet it is

Engine, 0-60mph and gearbox

Lower-specification versions of the Toyota Yaris are fitted with a 116bhp 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine plus two electric motors, while higher-spec models use a 129bhp version of the same engine. 

When you squeeze the accelerator pedal, you instantly get power off the line, thanks to the immediate reaction from the hybrid system. After that, acceleration is moderate, with the standard 116bhp car able to hit 0-60mph in 9.7 seconds. The more powerful engine shaves half a second off that time for a marginally quicker sprint to 60mph. 

There’s only one gearbox available, a CVT automatic. It’s responsive enough but has a tendency to hold the revs near the redline if you’re accelerating, especially in the more powerful models. If you want a real turn of pace, that can cause quite a lot of noise.

There's also a hot hatch version available, with quicker performance – to find out more about that, see our Toyota GR Yaris review.

Suspension and ride comfort

The Icon and Design trims are fitted with 16in alloys and regular suspension, and that combination delivers a relatively firm ride. The Yaris follows minor road contours and jostles you around in your seat more than the Honda Jazz and VW Polo. It never becomes overly fractious, though.

Toyota Yaris image
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The same can’t be said for the Excel, GR Sport and Premiere Edition models. GR Sport models ride on bigger 18in wheels, while the other two variants are fitted with 17in alloys. The increase in wheel size makes the ride even firmer, with the Yaris crashing over potholes and jostling you around more when travelling over consistent road imperfections. 

For a small car that's still fairly firm but is more comfortable, take a look at the Audi A1, which offers one of the smoothest and best-controlled rides in the class, and is priced pretty much in line with the Yaris. If you have to go hybrid, the Jazz is worth a look too.

Handling

There are more fun cars to drive of this size, but the Yaris feels reasonably comfortable when being driven briskly along a winding road, no matter which trim you've gone for.

There's a reasonable amount of grip, while body lean is well contained (the VW Polo tends to roll more through faster twists and turns).

However, while it's more fun to drive than a Jazz, it's not as entertaining as the Renault Clio or Seat Ibiza. Those rivals feel lighter on their toes and have a more direct and accurate steering response that inspires more confidence when turning in to a bend.

Noise and vibration

You'll be impressed by the Yaris’s peaceful manners around town, where the petrol engine is frequently left to slumber while the electric motor does all the work. Toyota says the Yaris can run on battery power alone for up to 80% of the time, and if you're crawling in traffic that may indeed be true.

The petrol engine in everyday driving is relatively subdued, but engine revs soar under hard acceleration and stay high until you’re up to cruising speed. It can be unpleasantly noisy. 

At a cruise on a motorway, tyre roar is the main bugbear – especially in models fitted with 17in or 18in wheels. The Skoda Fabia and VW Polo are more hushed at higher speeds.

Driving overview

Strengths Quick off the line; body lean is well controlled; firm ride

Weaknesses Quite noisy, except at low speeds; firm ride

Toyota Yaris interior dashboard

Interior

The interior layout, fit and finish

Driving position and dashboard

All versions of the Toyota Yaris have a steering wheel that adjusts for reach as well as height. What's more, the wheel is neatly aligned with the pedals and seat, and the seat is supportive – although on longer jaunts you might bemoan the absence of adjustable lumbar support.

The seating position is fairly standard for the small car class, so you do sit quite low down – you can use a lever on the right of the seat to hoist yourself up to improve your view out. If a slightly more raised view out is important to you, try the Honda Jazz or the larger Toyota Yaris Cross.

Air-con controls are within easy reach of the driver, and because they’re physical buttons and knobs, they're much easier to operate on the move than touchscreen-based adjusters.

Visibility, parking sensors and cameras

The Yaris isn't too tricky to see out of, especially if you're looking straight ahead, diagonally or to the side. However, we found that the larger (10.5in) touchscreen in higher-spec models encroached on your view forward a little. Another gripe is that we wish the rear windows were a little bigger, for better visibility when you glance over your shoulder.

Fortunately, all versions have a rear-view camera as standard to help with parking (although the resolution is quite poor). Front and rear parking sensors come as standard on Excel and Premiere Edition models and are optional on Design and GR Sport trims.

Automatic headlights with auto high-beam are standard on all trim levels, but Design trim and above get upgraded bright LED headlights. On top of that, automatic rain-sensing wipers are standard across the range.

Sat nav and infotainment

Depending on which trim level you go for, you’ll get a touchscreen infotainment system that’s one of two sizes: 9.0in with entry-level Icon and mid-level Design, or 10.5in with Excel, GR Sport and Premiere Edition.

The smaller screen has a row of physical shortcut keys down one side, while the larger one has a column of icons on the display to help you hop between functions. Meanwhile, the graphics are sharp and it's responsive to inputs. You can bypass the system using the standard Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.

Every Yaris comes with DAB radio, Bluetooth and USB-C sockets for charging up your devices. Excel, GR Sport and Premiere Edition variants get built-in sat-nav as standard, as well as wireless phone-charging, with the Premiere gaining an eight-speaker JBL audio system, and head-up display.

Go for GR Sport trim and above and a 12.3in digital instrument cluster replaces the analogue dials, which can be customised to suit the drivers own preferences.

Quality

The Yaris certainly doesn't feel low-rent inside, and it's a cut above the Hyundai i20. However, while everything feels sturdily screwed together and the stalks and switches feel well engineered, the interior lacks the upmarket feel of the Peugeot 208 and VW Polo.  

From Excel trim and up, you get a soft-touch rubberised material on the dashboard, but it’s not hard to find scratchy plastics lower down, especially on the doors. The best small cars – including the Honda Jazz and Renault Clio – either avoid that issue, or hide it better.

Interior overview

Strengths Physical air-con controls; standard rear-view camera

Weaknesses Some scratchy plastics; over-the-should view is not the best

Blue Toyota Yaris boot open

Passenger & boot space

How it copes with people and clutter

Front space

Front space in the Toyota Yaris could be better for six-footers, and many of its rivals – including the Honda Jazz, Seat Ibiza and VW Polo – offer more head and leg room. 

Storage space is average, too. There's a cubby in front of the gear lever that can easily swallow a mobile phone, wallet and keys, plus a small tray above the glovebox for pens and other loose items. Every Yaris has a pair of cupholders under the front centre armrest, but the door bins are quite small.

Rear space

How much space is enough? That’s the question you ought to be asking yourself here, because many small-car buyers consider interior space less important than other factors.

So, the Yaris might suit you just fine. It comes with five doors as standard and a couple of six-footers will fit in the back. They just won’t be very comfortable, because there is hardly any head and leg room. Rear passengers will also feel cramped because of the rising windowline, which doesn’t let much light into the back seats. 

If you're looking for a small car that can comfortably carry taller adults in the back, you'd be much better off with the Honda Jazz, Skoda Fabia or VW Polo.

Seat folding and flexibility

Every version of the Yaris comes with 60/40 split folding rear seats and the seatbacks are easy enough to fold down. There are no other clever features, such as the cinema-style flip-up seat bases you get in the Jazz.

Front passengers are treated to height adjustment for their chair as standard on Excel, GR Sport and Premiere Edition trim, but that’s about it.

Boot space

Boot space is not a Yaris strength. The over capacity is 286 litres, which is slightly less than you get in a Jazz and significantly down on the comparatively cavernous Renault Clio, Seat Ibiza and VW Polo.

We managed to fit four carry-on suitcases below the Yaris's parcel shelf, while all the rivals can swallow at least five. Ultimately, that means you’ll easily fit a decent-sized shop in there, but if you regularly need to carry more there are better choices available.

What’s more, unlike the Polo and some other cars, there's no option to have a height-adjustable boot floor, meaning there's a big (160mm) drop down to the floor of the boot from the entrance.

Practicality overview

Strengths Rear seatbacks easy to fold down

Weaknesses Limited passenger space; front seats not very adjustable; small boot

Toyota Yaris interior driver display

Buying & owning

Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is

Costs, insurance groups, MPG and CO2

The Toyota Yaris is one of the cheapest non-electric small cars to run, and also makes a low-cost company car because the low CO2 emissions (from as little as 92g/km) translate into a low BIK tax rate.

What's more, the Yaris is, for the second year running, the second most efficient car we've put through our Real MPG test (behind the Toyota Yaris Cross).

The lower-powered engine averaged a whisker under 60mpg and managed an astonishing 80mpg around town. That makes even the Honda Jazz look thirsty. The more powerful engine is equally impressive when it comes to efficiency. On a 61-mile test route, which included a mix of rural and urban driving, we saw an indicated 56.3mpg. 

That’s good, because as a cash purchase, the Yaris is pricier to buy than many other mainstream petrol rivals, including the Seat Ibiza and VW Polo, and pretty much in line with the Audi A1 and hybrid rivals such as the Jazz and Renault Clio E-Tech.

Depreciation is predicted to be slow, and Toyota PCP finance offers are usually competitive. You can find the latest offers using our new Toyota deals page.

Equipment, options and extras

Even in entry-level Icon trim, the Yaris is well-equipped, with climate control, electric front windows, 16in alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, heated door mirrors, automatic headlights and a 9.0in touchscreen infotainment system.

If you don’t mind spending a little extra, the next trim up, Design, is our pick, and adds electric rear windows, rear privacy glass and LED headlights.

Excel gives you additional kit in the form of a 10.5in infotainment touchscreen, 12.3in digital instrument cluster and more electronic driver aids and convenience features. 

GR Sport is slightly less well equipped than the Excel, but adds sports seats and sportier styling inspired by the Toyota GR Yaris hot hatch. It rides on larger 18in wheels and features black exterior trim. 

Topping the Yaris range is the Premier Edition. As the most expensive model, it gets all the same kit as the Excel, such as front and rear parking sensors, but is available with a bi-tone paint finish, with Neptune Blue offered exclusively as a colour option. It also gains an eight-speaker stereo and a head-up display.

Reliability

In the small car section of the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey, the Yaris finished in joint third place with the previous-generation Hyundai i10. As a manufacturer, Toyota finished in an excellent second place out of 32 brands in the overall league table. For some context, Honda finished sixth and Volkswagen came 22nd.

A three-year warranty comes as standard with the Yaris, but there is the option of extending it up to 10 years and 100,000 miles if you service your car at a Toyota dealership every year. That's longer than any other brand gives you (three years is the norm), but Kia and Hyundai offer seven and five years.

Safety and security

Toyota’s Safety Sense package is standard on all versions of the Yaris and brings automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assistance and a road-sign display with a warning if you go over the speed limit. 

Blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and safe exit assist come as standard on Excel and Premiere Edition models, and are available in an optional safety pack on Design and GR Sport trim.

Euro NCAP awarded the Yaris five stars (out of five) for safety, although the organisation did highlight that adult crash protection in a frontal impact could be better. The Jazz scored slightly higher marks in this part of the test.

Costs overview

Strengths Good fuel economy; excellent reliability; plenty of standard equipment

Weaknesses Quite high starting price

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FAQs

  • Every Yaris is well equipped, but the Design model balances value with a few more useful features, including LED headlights, electric rear windows, rear privacy glass and the option to add safety equipment and parking sensors as part of a pack.

  • Yes, the Yaris is well equipped and economical on fuel, especially if you spend most of your time driving in towns and cities. The hybrid technology means it costs more to buy in the first place, though, and there are rival small cars that offer more space and are more fun to drive.

  • Not a full electric car no, but it is a hybrid car. That means you get a petrol engine plus two electric motors and a battery. It can travel very short distances on electric power, and is particularly effective in stop-start city traffic.

At a glance
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RRP price range £22,630 - £29,705
Number of trims (see all)5
Number of engines (see all)2
Available fuel types (which is best for you?)hybrid
MPG range across all versions 65.7 - 68.9
Available doors options 5
Warranty 3 years / 60000 miles
Company car tax at 20% (min/max) £986 / £1,415
Company car tax at 40% (min/max) £1,973 / £2,830
Available colours