Toyota Yaris

Toyota hasn’t changed the cabin of the Yaris hatchback much since the third-generation version came out in 2013. It is the reason why the cabin has started to feel a bit boring and dated in today’s day and age. Nevertheless, the cabin is decently equipped with all the modern essentials and gets an all-black finish, which somehow manages to make the cabin look sporty and easier to maintain at the same time. To ensure that the cabin doesn’t feel too basic, Toyota has added a few silver-coloured inserts on the centre console and door pads, thus adding a nice contrast to the otherwise all-dark cabin.

Seats and upholstery

The Toyota Yaris is an entry-level car, and to keep the costs in check, all three variants of the hatchback – 1.5 J, 1.5 E, and 1.5 G – come with fabric upholstery for the seats as standard. All three variants also come with a 60:40 split-folding arrangement for the rear seats.

Comfort and convenience

The Toyota Yaris is not a heavily-equipped car with all the latest modern-day comfort and convenience features. However, it is not a dated car too in this front, as it comes with all the essentials one expects from a car of its price. All three variants of the Toyota Yaris come equipped with a push start-stop button, a drive mode switch with sport and eco drive modes, and scuff plates.

While the J variant of the Toyota Yaris comes with a conventional-looking instrument console and a simple three-spoke steering wheel, the E and G variants come with an Optitron instrument console with a 4.2-inch TFT MID in it and a multi-functional steering wheel with audio and Bluetooth controls mounted on it. Also, while the J and E variants of the Yaris come with a urethane steering wheel and gear lever and manual AC, the top-spec G variant has a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear lever knob and automatic climate control, along with an electrochromic rearview mirror. 

Entertainment, information, and communication

The base-spec J variant of the Toyota Yaris comes with a conventional 2-DIN audio system with a CD player and supports for AUX and USB ports and Bluetooth. On the other hand, the other two variants have a new-age 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Also, while the J and E variants come with a 4-speaker setup for the audio system, the top-spec G variant has 6-speaker audio system on offer. 

Storage

In addition to the cup holders in the lower centre console behind the transmission lever, the Toyota Yaris also comes with a standard glovebox on the co-passenger side, along with bottle holders in all four door panels. There are also map pockets in the front door panels.

The Toyota Yaris might be in the market for quite a long time now. However, that doesn’t make it a boring-looking vehicle, for the hatchback has a striking-looking design which truly makes it a head-turner even today. 

The 2022 Toyota Yaris welcomes one with its striking X-themed front fascia, comprising of a sharp-looking front grille, which extends down to the lower edge of the front bumper. While the upper part of the grille is divided in half and accentuated with a chrome garnish in the middle of it, the lower grille consists of an air dam with honeycomb inserts. The sweptback headlamps are all-LED units in all three variants, which are accompanied by daytime running LEDs in all of them. The corners of the front bumper have vertical housings for the LED fog lamps, which are also available in all the variants.

The aggressive-looking front fascia of the Toyota Yaris is complemented by smooth curves flowing on the side profile through the door panels. While the J variant comes with 15-inch alloy wheels, the E and G variants have larger and more stylish-looking 16-inch machined alloy wheels on offer. The body-coloured rear view mirrors in all three variants have turn indicators integrated into them while having the functionality of electrical adjustability and foldability. Even the C-pillar here has a blacked-out finish for a floating roof effect. 

At the rear, the Toyota Yaris has a busy-looking design with wraparound-themed two-part combination tail lamps with LED inserts. To make the rear profile look more interesting, the Yaris also has a gloss black finish between the tail lamps, while at the top, it has a body-coloured roof spoiler and a shark fin antenna. The Toyota Yaris is 4,140 mm long, 1,730 mm wide and 1,475 mm tall, while it also has a wheelbase of 2,550 mm, a kerb weight of 1,140 kg and a small turning radius of 5.1 metres. 

All three variants of the 2022 Toyota Yaris come fitted with Macpherson struts with a stabilizer at the front and a torsion beam with a stabilizer at the rear. The presence of the stabilizers at both front and rear makes the Toyota Yaris stable around corners, but it is not as enthusiastic to drive as one would expect from a premium hatchback. The steering is soft and somehow lacks the finesse and precision of an enthusiast’s friendly car, though it is comfortable to drive in city traffic conditions with its quick manoeuvrability. While the J variant comes with 185/60 R15 tyres over 15-inch alloy wheels, the E and G variants have 195/50 R16 tyres over 16-inch machined alloy wheels. 

Toyota has made only one engine option available in the Yaris hatchback, which is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol-powered engine. This engine is shared with other Toyota offerings globally, including the Vios sedan, Veloz MPV and Rush compact SUV. One of the most refined and reliable engines in its class, this 1.5-litre petrol engine produces a maximum power output of 107 PS and a peak torque output of 140 Nm. The only transmission with which this engine is paired in the Toyota Yaris is a standard CVT gearbox with a 7-speed sport sequential shift magic mode.

All the variants of the Toyota Yaris have been equipped with standard safety features like front, side, curtain and driver knee airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, vehicle stability control, traction control and hill start assist. In addition to these features, the E and G variants of the Toyota Yaris also have more features like a pre-collision system, lane departure alert, 3-D panoramic view monitor, blind spot monitor, rear cross-traffic alert, front digital video recorder and vehicle telematics system. The availability of the reverse parking sensors is restricted only in the top-spec G variant. 

 Warranty

Like its other siblings with the Toyota badge, the Yaris is also available with a standard warranty of 5 years and unlimited kilometres on all of its mechanical and electrical components, save for some exceptions. 

Toyota Yaris vs the competition

There are three prominent competitors of Toyota Yaris available in the Malaysian car market:

Honda City Hatchback – Now that the Jazz is gone, Honda has replaced it with something even more lucrative and practical, the all-new City hatchback. As the name suggests, it is the hatchback version of the City sedan, which is already one of the highest-selling cars in the country. Minus the extended boot compartment, the Honda City hatchback offers each and everything available in the City sedan, including the same front design and interior cabin with the same set of features. Even it gets the same powertrain options as the City sedan, which are a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine and a full-hybrid powertrain consisting of a 1.5-litre Atkinson petrol engine. 

Perodua Myvi – Another high-selling hatchback in the premium compact car category, the Perodua Myvi comes from the homegrown carmaker Perodua. Unlike most of the other offerings from Perodua, which are essentially rebadged versions of products from Toyota, the Myvi is a grounds-up product from Perodua with a decent amount of features and modern design cues. The only powertrain option with which the Perodua Myvi is available in Malaysia is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine. Available with a CVT gearbox as standard, this engine produces a maximum power output of 104 PS and a peak torque output of 137 Nm.

Proton Iriz – Another cheap option available in the premium compact car segment is Proton Iriz. Like the Perodua Myvi, the Proton Iriz is also a homegrown product from Malaysia. The Proton Iriz might look smaller and less premium than its direct rivals in the premium hatchback category, but for the price at which it is available, it is a great value-for-money offering. Powering the Proton Iriz is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which develops 109 PS of maximum power and 150 Nm of maximum torque, thus making it the most powerful hatchback in its segment. It is also available with a 1.3-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine in its base-spec variant, which churns out 95 PS of power and 120 Nm of torque. All the variants of the Proton Iriz come with a CV gearbox as standard. 

 Final words

Being one of the most premium, well-established and reliable offerings in the premium hatchback category, the Toyota Yaris is one name you can consider if you are out to buy a compact car. The Toyota Yaris might not be as fresh as the Honda City hatchback, which is quite evident in its interior layout and the list of features on offer. However, from the outside, it still has the appeal of a head-turner. Under the hood, the 1.5-litre petrol engine which is offered as standard in the Toyota Yaris might not be an enthusiast-pleasing powertrain. However, for the reliability and ease of driving, the Toyota Yaris scores high for an average buyer who is looking for a practical car for his daily usage.