Passenger & boot space
How it copes with people and clutter
Front space
Six-footers won't exactly feel cramped in the front of the Toyota Yaris, but many rivals – including the Honda Jazz, Seat Ibiza and Volkswagen Polo – offer more head and leg room.
Storage space is average. There's a cubby in front of the gearlever 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 cubby under the front centre armrest, but the door bins are quite small.
Front passengers are treated to height adjustment for their chair as standard on GR Sport and Excel trim but that’s about it.
Boot space
Boot space is not a Yaris strength. Overall capacity is slightly worse than in the Ford Fiesta and significantly down on the comparatively cavernous Jazz, Renault Clio, Ibiza and 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.
