First Drive: Toyota Yaris Hybrid

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid is the first full hybrid model in its class to go on sale in Ireland

Toyota has a busy 2013 planned, with the introduction of the Prius+ seven seater and the Pro Ace in the coming months.

However, yesterday the new Toyota Yaris Hybrid, as well as the new Toyota Auris range, took centre stage at their Irish launch and we were lucky enough to take them for a quick spin.

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid is the first full hybrid vehicle in the car small segment on sale in Ireland.

Toyota is touting it as ‘the ultimate urban car’ and we were pretty impressed with it during our short spin around Dublin yesterday.

It’s a good looking car, more aggressive than the current model and has hybrid-specific LED lights.

Inside, the cabin is spacious, with good legroom in the front. The trim in the five-seater Luxury model I was driving was a pleasant looking cloth and leather.

The boot is also spacious as the battery is located under the rear seats and doesn’t impinge on cargo space.

The interior isn’t as futuristic looking as its current Auris Hybrid cousin, with a more traditional-looking automatic gear stick rather than the Auris’ stubby counterpart.

The interior of the new Toyota Yaris Hybrid is bright and minimalist looking

It is comfortable though and is well specced, with stop and start, a fuel efficient system where the engine cuts out when the car is idling in traffic; hill hold assist; climate control and a touch screen infotainment unit, USB and rear view camera as standard.

Meanwhile, the Luxury model I was driving also featured Smart push button start, cruise control, front fog lamps and a cooled glove box.

It also has a brake-override safety system, whereby if the accelerator and brake are pressed at the same time, the brake takes priority.

I found it lovely to drive, with the 1.5-litre petrol hybrid engine peppy, with nice acceleration and smooth automatic gear changes.

It also had Electric Vehicle mode for speeds up to 50kph and Eco Mode for maximum efficiency.

Highlighting its city credentials, Toyota says its tests have shown that zero emissions (EV) driving accounts for 66 per cent of the average commuter journey and 58 per cent of the total journey time.

I am looking forward to putting it through its paces in a full test drive.

Top speed in the Yaris Hybrid is 165kph, with acceleration of 0-100km in 11.8seconds.

Car tax bands are predicted to change in next week’s Budget and the entry model is expected to fall into the proposed A1 tax band, with the Luxury model landing in the proposed A2 tax band.

Prices for the new Toyota Yaris Hybrid start from €18,950, with prices for the Luxury model starting from €19,950

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid is available to order now. Visit the Toyota Ireland website or its Facebook page for further details.