Toyota Yaris hatchback (2006 – 2011) expert review

An entry-level Toyota Yaris is an attractive supermini and the sporty touches added to the SR model make it look even better. This is not a car which shouts about its credentials in the way a stripy MINI does. There are no twin exhausts or lurid body colours. But what you do get are deep bumpers, a subtle spoiler and very natty 16-inch Toyota Motorsport ‘Pitlane’ alloy wheels. A red ‘SR’ badge lets traffic know the car in front is a sporty Toyota.

The first time you drive a Yaris it takes a moment to adjust. Ahead of the steering wheel is nothing but black dashboard and a great view of the road. Glance to the left slightly and you will find the instruments centrally mounted in a ‘pod’. The speed is displayed in very large and clear digits while the rev gauge is represented by a coloured bar. We found them novel at first but ultimately harder to read than traditional dials during acceleration and braking when the numbers change too fast to read.

If you want a practical supermini the Yaris is hard to beat. Toyota designed it around its “Big Car Thinking” philosophy – employing careful engineering to maximise space. The Yaris is tall and its cabin can accommodate lanky occupants with ease. The exhaust has been changed to allow the floor of the car to be flat and remove the need for a ‘hump’ in the middle of the rear seats, which can also be folded flat to increase boot space from 360 litres to more than 700 litres.

Driving enthusiasts will love the sports-tuned suspension which gives the Yaris SR tenacious grip. A bonus of the smaller 1.3-litre engine over the 1.8-litre SR is its reduced weight, adding to the feeling of driving a nimble and lithe car which can slice into corners. Great handling makes this junior racer capable of getting from A to B quickly despite its lack of power, just so long as the roads aren’t too hilly. For a driver looking to climb onto the first rung on the performance car ladder, the Yaris SR is a great introduction.

With only 86bhp on tap, acceleration from 0-60mph takes 11.5 seconds there are competitors which have more power (the 1.6-litre Micra 160R and Suzuki Swift Sport have 108bhp and 123bhp respectively). But outright speed isn’t the only important factor in buying a car and the SR’s small engine comes with some real benefits including low insurance and fuel consumption. We found the engine smooth and responsive and the gearchange in the manual car light, quick and precise. The bigger-engined 1.8-litre SR is quicker – with 131bhp accelerating it from 0-60mph in 9.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 121mph.

The SR slots into the wallet and young driver friendly insurance group four (compared with six for the Micra and nine for the Swift). Toyota claims the 1.3-litre engine achieves 47.1mpg with its manual gearbox and 48.7 with its Multi Mode semi-automatic transmission, which compares well with the Suzuki Swift which is powerful but averages 39mpg. It’s also an improvement of 8mpg over the Yaris 1.8-litre SR. With emissions of 141g/km the 1.3-litre Yaris SR is in tax band C with an annual charge of £120.

Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus has one of the best reliability records in the motoring world. The Yaris should not cause its owners any issues as no major problems have been reported. Update – Feburary 2010. There have been reports of accelerator pedals becoming hard to depress, slow to return and in rare cases getting stuck half-way through their working travel. Toyota says this is rare, and can be caused by the pedals becoming worn. A total of 180,865 Toyotas have been recalled in the UK, with a reinforced pedal taking 30 minutes to fit.

All Yaris models are fitted with ABS with electronic brake distribution and brake assist to help prevent skids. Its seats are specially designed to reduce risk of whiplash injury and the Yaris was awarded a five-star rating in EuroNCAP crash testing. The Yaris SR model is fitted with front, side and driver’s knee airbags and the passenger airbag can be deactivated when the front seat is occupied.

The star piece of equipment in the SR is its stereo with integrated TomTom satellite navigation. The small TomTom slots into a space in the dashboard and once docked its alerts are heard via the car’s speaker system and it recharges automatically. It’s a great piece of functionality and our only criticism is the relatively small size of screen – it’s necessary to listen to audio instructions to avoid taking eyes off the road. Air conditioning and electric windows are standard.

A less powerful engine actually works in the Toyota Yaris SR’s favour. For most Yaris buyers the 1.3-litre SR makes more sense than the less economical 1.8-litre model. It’s a car which is fun to drive but has low running costs aimed at people who are unlikely to care about straight-line performance but who still take pride in their wheels.