Toyota’s super hybrid

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid is a sturdy looking supermini

A hybrid engine in a supermini would seem like a no brainer and finally Toyota has got around to it in the Yaris Hybrid.

A nice sturdy looking five-door hatch, the Toyota Yaris Hybrid is a small car that thinks it’s a big car and is far more confident and commanding on the road than you would normally expect from a car of its size.

Inside, Toyota has gone for a minimalist look but it isn’t as obviously futuristic looking as its Auris Hybrid counterpart.

The Yaris still offers a very clean looking interior, though, with nice sweeping lines and a circular motif running through the two-tone gray-on-black dashboard.

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid has a very clean looking interior

The Yaris Hybrid also has a long automatic gear stick rather than the stubby one in the Auris.

I liked the blue backlighting on the instrument panel and the fact that the car has a manual handbrake.

I also liked the touch screen infotainment unit, which, as well as the normal audio options, also houses the display telling you how the car is being powered at that particular time.

The top of the range 1.5-litre Luxury model I was driving also had air conditioning, cruise control and a clear and easy to follow reversing camera.

Toyota has gone for a mono-wiper on the windscreen – this proved to be quite adequate.

While the cabin in the Toyota Yaris Hybrid is quite spacious, with good leg room both back and front, the boot is quite small. It can be made bigger by removing the boot shelf, or by lowering the rear seats though.

The test car I was driving had lovely cloth and leather upholstery and I found the driving seat to be very comfortable.

While the Toyota Yaris is ostensibly a five seater, I think for adults just two in the back would be more comfortable.

We took the Toyota Yaris Hybrid all over the country for our test route – around the city and the country and on both urban and intercity motorway.

The boot in the Toyota Yaris Hybrid is quite small but can be made bigger by removing the bottom shelf and lowering the seats

I loved driving it. I am a city driver and I expected it to be good in this sphere, but I was surprised at just how good it was on country roads. I found it a really nice, smooth, confident drive.

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid has three drive modes – Normal, Electric Vehicle and Eco. While Normal was the mode of choice most of the time, EV was very handy in the slow moving nature of city traffic.

The car performed well on all routes, handled brilliantly and was great fun on the more challenging winding country roads.

Sometimes with an automatic gearbox you can slightly feel when it changes gear – this was not the case with the Yaris Hybrid – gear changes were seamless.

It also has a great peppy little engine which makes it fast at the lights. While the city is its natural habitat, it can also hold its own on the motorway, but it takes its time getting to 120kph.

Overall, I loved the Toyota Yaris Hybrid. It’s a nice looking city car that’s excellent to drive and great fun on winding country roads.

Two specifications of the Toyota Yaris Hybrid are available in Ireland with prices starting from €18,950. The top of the range Luxury model I was driving costs from €19,950.

Tech Spec
Engine: 1.5 Hybrid 100bhp (petrol)
Acceleration: 0-100kph in 11.8seconds
Maximum Speed: 165kph
Fuel Economy: 3.5l/100km
CO2 emissions: 85g/km
Annual road tax: €180

Visit the Toyota Ireland website or its Facebook page for further details.

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