Toyota Yaris review

• For: Reliability, hybrid efficiency, easy and fun to drive
• Against: Rear seat access a bit tight
• Verdict: One of the best superminis on sale

Now into its fourth generation, the Toyota Yaris has been transformed from dull to dynamic. Bold, head-turning styling is combined with a distinctive, high-quality interior and latest-generation tech.

Toyota hasn’t forgotten what made the Yaris so popular. All the inherent strengths of previous models are intact: superb space efficiency, brilliant reliability, an easy drive and long-lasting quality.

However, the latest car is far more fun to drive, with nimble handling, sharp steering and a taut ride (maybe a little too taut on models with 16-inch wheels, mind).

All latest Yaris models are hybrids. A 1.5-litre petrol engine is combined with an electric motor and powerful lithium-ion battery. It’s ‘self-charging’, so you don’t have to plug it in – yet in cities, it will run up to 80 percent of the time as an electric car, with the engine off.

The more powerful engine and electric motor mean less of the engine-roaring, ‘slipping clutch-effect’ of a CVT automatic gearbox under acceleration, too.

This is a car transformed, one that’s gone from being worthy into a sector front-runner. It’s backed up by an outstanding five-star Euro NCAP safety score.

Heading up the range is the wild GR Yaris. A road-legal version of Toyota’s stillborn WRC rally car, it boasts a unique three-door body and the world’s most powerful three-cylinder engine – good for 261hp and 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds.

What the GR loses in easygoing efficiency, it claws back in blistering speed and laser-guided agility. We named it our hot hatchback of the year 2020.

MORE ON THE TOYOTA YARIS

• Toyota GR Yaris (2020) first drive review
• Toyota Yaris (2020) first drive review

KEY INFO

• Launched: 2020
• Facelifted: TBC
• Due for replacement: TBC