Toyota Yaris 1.33 VVT-i TR 1.33 5dr

Toyota Yaris 1.33 VVT-i TR 1.33 5dr

What is it?

THE third generation of Toyota’s hitherto conservative, French-built supermini. To date, the Yaris has held little appeal to fleets and other business users, partly because Toyota has not chased such sales. Toyota’s managing director Jon Williams says 80% of the UK’s typical 20,000-a-year sales have been to private buyers, average age touching 60, for whom discounts are much less than for fleets “and which makes it a priority for us to protect residual values.”

But this latest Yaris may shift perceptions. It is harder-edged, from some aspects aggressive even, in styling; a lot more engaging than its predecessors to drive; all but the cheapest version comes packed with business-useful dashboard technology – and the range includes a Fiesta Zetec-targeting SR sports version, complete with spoilers and boy-racer seats with lurid stitching.

Williams freely acknowledges that “we want younger people in our cars and the new Yaris is much more driver focused.” A sub-100 grammes CO2 hybrid version of the Yaris is due next year, but the core models on sale from this month (September 2011) have 1.0-litre, 68bhp three-cylinder and 1.3-litre, 98bhp petrol engines, plus a 89bhp, 1.4 litre diesel.

Prices start at £11,170 for the basic 1.0-litre T2 model. But Williams expects 95% of buyers to opt for more expensive TR, SR and top-spec ‘Spirit’ versions because of their technological ace in the hole: a dashboard electronics display which a few years ago BMW or Mercedes-Benz would have trumpeted from the rooftops on a 7 Series or S-Class. The six-inch touch-screen “Touch” display has as standard a rear-view camera, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, while just £500 extra gets “Touch and Go” – full satnav, advanced Bluetooth, texting, Googling and other gems of app connectivity using your mobile as interface. The car tested here is the Toyota Yaris TR 1.33, costing £13,260 on the road.

What’s hot?

• Those “Touch and Go” electronics – a low-cost office with a steering wheel
• For the first 6 months after launch “Touch and Go” is free; £500 later
• Driving dynamics. Agile; even fun…
• …Part of a strategic Toyota shift to lure younger buyers
• Masterclass in precise, responsive electric power steering: others take note
• Competitive pricing – but daily rental companies need not apply
• Good overall build quality, as expected – and demanded – from Toyota
• Slightly wider and longer; adequate but not class-leading interior space
• 20kg lighter than predecessor
• Respectable economy – 52.3mpg on 1.3 – with standard 6-speed manual
• Company car tax band of 15% thanks to 123g/km CO2 emissions
• Silky CVT option – but budget for an extra £1,000
• Range wide enough not to upset traditional older buyers

What’s not?

• Interior fixtures, fittings and mouldings cheap-feeling…
• …A cost-cut too far
• 1.3 petrol engine coarser than some rivals
• Toyota’s proclaimed indifference to fleet deals with Yaris

What you need to Know?

Monthly contract hire (CH) and personal contract hire (PCH) rentals generated by Concept Vehicle Leasing. Based on a 36 month lease at 10,000 miles a year, 3+35 payments.

Business Car Manager Road Test Rating

There should be enough variety in the range for Toyota to get away with it. But whether the Yaris will find its way into the hands of more business users, given Toyota’s declared distaste for incentivised fleet deals, is much more open to doubt. It ticks a lot of boxes in terms of fuel economy and CO2 emissions, although only the hybrid will dip below 100g/km CO2 when it arrives next year.

But it faces fierce competition from the likes of Fiesta and Vauxhall’s Corsa, and not only on the pricing and whole-life costs front. The ‘mobile office’ dashboard package might turn up trumps – but it is likely to be touch and go for Toyota in more ways than one.