TOYOTA YARIS CROSS HYBRID

What is it?

The Yaris Cross isn’t annoyed with you, it’s simply a cross between a small hybrid and SUV, both of which Toyota design and build very well.

Toyota call the Yaris Cross an ‘authentic urban adventurer’, and with that in mind it’s a tad larger in all directions than the standard Yaris, think of it being about the same as a Nissan Juke.

On the road

T he Yaris Cross is actually quite a fun car to drive, not that that should be surprising to read - it’s a Toyota, after all.

Despite sitting on 18” tyres, around town it didn’t overly suffer any knocks or bangs from potholes, and on the open road, apart from a bit of road noise, it handled itself really quite well. Granted, it rolls a little bit around tight corners, but that’s just an observation not a moan. In fact, I liked that it felt softer than most of its rivals, it gave it a more relaxed driving experience.

With one engine option: a 1.5-litre 3-cylinder petrol that works with an electric motor to improve performance and efficiency, it will reach 60mph in 11.2 seconds, but it feels much quicker than that, and when you do push it, it becomes a little bit raucous, though in my experience most 3-cylinder engines do. It also comes complete with a CVT auto gearbox that when forced can hold onto gears a little longer than I’d like, but when you haven’t got your foot planted to the floor it’s a very responsive unit.

Being a hybrid it’ll run nicely on electric whilst meandering through cities, towns and villages. Official fuel economy (WLTP), figures suggest that you can get between 54 and 56mpg, but on a very long motorway run I saw 75mpg. Then on another trip, a bit more realistic and real world, I got 62mpg. Impressive stuff.

Off road

There is actually a four-wheel drive version of the Yaris Cross, but it wasn't on the press fleet when I put my request in, sadly. Of course, I wouldn’t expect Land Cruiser performance from it, but with decent ground clearance and approach angles, I would imagine it would be quite handy in the rough. Hopefully I’ll get my hands on one soon.

Interior

Up front the seats are a good size and supportive. Visibility is also decent as you’re sat quite high, that said, the rear pillars are quite chunky, but every version comes with a rear-view camera.

Apart from the ugly stick-on iPad style touchscreen (I still don’t like them), everything is to hand and you even get physical controls for climate control! Going back to the touchscreen, and credit where credit’s due, both Muddy Madam and I found the 9” infotainment system very intuitive and one of the easiest to use. Also standard are Apple CarPlay and Android auto.

The cheaper Icon and Design models both come with an 8” touchscreen infotainment system, but they don’t have built-in sat-nav. Up front there are plenty of cubby areas, and the cup holders actually hold proper size mugs and bottles - take note Skoda!

If you’re a six-footer you will be able to fit in the back seats, though I wouldn’t count on stretching your legs much.

Boot space is pretty good and unlike most of its rivals, the Yaris Cross comes with 40/20/40 split folding rear seatbacks in all but entry-level trim.

With the seatbacks down I’m told that it’s large enough to swallow 7 carry-on suitcases. And to make loading larger items easier, higher-spec models (Excel and Dynamic) come with a handy 2 piece height-adjustable boot floor that creates virtually no lip at all.

Although this isn’t a new feature in cars these days, I always find them incredibly useful. For a day out at the beach with Lilly, I was able to store a camp table, 2 chairs, and portable gas burner and gas, as well as some of her mucky towels in the lower section, and everything we wanted to keep clean, as well as lightweight kit, was kept above.

Overall the layout, finish and fit is well above par and really quite practical.

Conclusion

The Yaris Cross is one of a select few vehicles that Muddy Madam really enjoyed living with, and as a result would be willing to spend money on. High praise indeed as she can find genuine faults in most cars that I get to borrow.

The cost of this Dynamic version is £28,015, and despite being packed with all sorts of creature comforts and safety spec, it’s a tidy sum. That said, from the time I borrowed the car to writing about it, the Dynamic has been removed from the range, which leaves Icon, Design and Excel.

Going for the entry-level Icon spec at just over £24k still gives you plenty of kit as standard, including 16” alloy wheels, keyless entry and start, a reversing camera, climate control, adaptive cruise control, auto headlights and the 8” infotainment touchscreen. Going to the other end of the scale, and £31,855 will get you the AWD Excel trim with luxuries such as a heated steering wheel and a kick-activated tailgate.

Whichever trim you opt for you will be getting a fun, yet practical car for your money, especially especially if your top priorities are low running costs and reliability.

more at » www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/yaris-cross