Toyota’s new-look 5-door Yaris hatch is set to deliver a new style that will see it adopt new interior and exterior features and improved dynamics due to a stiffer body and retuned suspension.
The new hatch is now the only Yaris model available in Austraia after Toyota decided to streamline the range, axing a three door hatch and a sedan version of the Yaris.
Revised grade names start with the 1.3L Ascent, now fitted with 15-inch steel wheels instead of 14-inch. All the additional equipment fitted to the Ascent is valued at well over $2000, yet Toyota has kept the price at $15,690.
Mid-level SX and the top of the range ZR are both powered by 1.5L engines, and are available for $400 more than their predecessors. The SX is equipped with around $1000 of new features including reversing camera, fog lamps, rear and side privacy glass and new wheel covers.
The range is completed with the sporty ZR that comes with new auto-levelling LED headlamps, rear spoiler and diffuser, side skirts and Toyota Link connected mobility. It has at least $2000 of extra equipment for just $1300 more.
Toyota Australia executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb says the new vehicles are expected to be strong sellers.
“Demand remains at near record levels across the industry and Toyota, in particular, is geared up for sales to accelerate during the last four months of the year,” he says.
Total Yaris sales have topped 186,000 hatches and sedans since the nameplate arrived in Australia in late 2005, making it the best-selling vehicle in its segment over that period.
The upgraded hatch is designed to add to the popularity of Yaris by employing Toyota’s more emotionally appealing “family look” and also adds nine exterior colours.
The Yaris comes fitted with a reversing camera, cruise control, new 15-inch wheels and a 6.1-inch display audio screen that provides touch, drag and flick operations familiar to users of smartphones or tablets.
The two four-cylinder engines have intelligent variable valve timing (VVT-i) for maximum power and efficiency. Ascent and SX buyers have the choice of a five-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed automatic transmission. ZR is auto only.
The upgraded Yaris hatch range is covered by capped-price servicing, Toyota Service Advantage, at a maximum of $130 per service.
Yaris Hatch pricing
- Ascent $15,690
- SX $17,790
- ZR (auto only) $22,690
Join the conversation