Toyota has issued these first pictures of its new Yaris supermini. It’s the third-generation Toyota Yaris and seems to mix some of the Vauxhall Corsa creases with the proportions of a Renault Clio.
It’s a pert, very Euro piece of design, neatly incorporating the latest Toyota motifs – and you can judge for yourself when it goes on sale here in summer 2011.
They’re not saying much about the new Yaris yet, but Toyota promises it is surprisingly roomy inside despite its compact footprint.
New Toyota Yaris: a hybrid too
Toyota will play catch-up with arch rival Honda when the new Yaris Hybrid arrives in 2012 to compete with the Jazz Hybrid. At launch, UK buyers will pick from the following three engines:
• 1.0-litre VVT-i petrol
• 1.3-litre dual VVT-i petrol
• 1.4-litre D-4D diesel
Yaris: a new multimedia system
Toyota will launch its take on the multimedia touchscreens you’ll normally find in Jaguars, Land Rovers and Volkswagen group products. Toyota says 95% of Yaris minis will come equipped with the 6.5in Touch & Go system to govern entertainment and nav systems.
Judging by this cabin photo inside the new 2011 Yaris, the touchscreen protects the dashboard from button overload.
Mission Yaris, by the boss
Toyota’s European chief Didier Leroy said: ‘New Yaris represents Toyota’s strongest offer yet in the important supermini segment. With its new levels of ingenuity, efficiency and quality, we are confident it can build upon Yaris’s previous success and help Toyota rejuvenate its presence in Europe and move towards one million annual sales in the region in the medium term.’
The new 2011 Toyota Yaris was designed at ED2 in Nice, France, and will be built at Toyota’s Valenciennes, further north in France near the Belgian border.
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