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By
MURRAY HUBBARD
4 November 2011
With
the light car segment booming, the importance of Yaris to Toyota
is very significant. Although the Yaris has previously been seen
as a 'girls' car, Toyota Australia says the all-new Yaris is also
pitched at males. With this in mind, Toyota has included a
sportier manual 1.5-litre three-door ZR in the range. The ZR comes
with a body kit consisting of new bumpers, grille, side skirts,
rear roof spoiler, tailpipe diffuser and headlamps with dark
surrounds.
In
addition to the Yaris ZR, there are three specifications levels,
YR, YRS and YRX. Most prices remain unchanged including the
entry-level car which is $14,990. Amazingly, this is the same
price as Yaris’s predecessor, Echo was in 1999. It's for pricing
like this that buyers of Japanese cars can give thanks to the
surging South Korean car industry.
Toyota
Yaris comes in three- and five-door models with 1.3 and 1.5-litre
engines and five-speed manual gearbox, as well as an automatic
transmission, however, the latter is still only a four-speed unit.
The
third generation Yaris is all-new but in style is an evolution of
the previous model Yaris. There is a Euro influence to the
exterior styling. Design changes include more prominent mudguards,
slimmer headlights, short overhangs and a single wiper for the
windscreen. The visual impact is of a flatter, wider car that has
grown in length by 100 mm with the wheelbase 50 mm longer. New
Yaris is 20 mm lower than the old.
The
interior has changed dramatically with Toyota dropping the
love-it-or-hate-it centre-dash instrument binnacle in favour of
the traditional binnacle above the steering column. The influence
behind this was to make Yaris more driver-focused, with all
instruments, handles and switches there to serve the driver, not
to trim the cost of the car. The result is a more user-friendly
vehicle.
Yaris
has an interesting dash layout with the centre console containing
the screen inside a horizontal flashing giving the impression of
width.
Three
new audio systems are available in Yaris. YR has FM radio with
radio text. YRS has a 6.1-inch, full-colour touch-screen
display,SMS/email read-out for mobiles with MAP. Yaris YRX and ZR
have touch-screen satellite navigation, SUNA traffic channel,
movie availability through USB, split screen navigation and audio,
with 3D landmarks. Map data includes fixed speed cameras,
red-light cameras, railway crossings, school zones, 4WD tracks,
green routing and trip data.
Toyota
has 'softened' the look and feel of the interior by using
graduated graining on major interior surfaces.
Away
from aesthetics, the steering column angle has been lowered to add
versatility for drivers. The front seat height adjustment is been
increased from 45 mm to 60 mm. Rear legroom has been improved by
35 mm by using a thinner back to the front seats that have a new,
lighter frame. Interior width is increased by 30 mm and luggage
length has been increased to 710 mm, a gain of 145 mm. Luggage
space is now 286 litres, with a dual space under the floor.
The
five-door version has larger front-quarter glass and the division
bar on the rear side windows has been removed. These changes make
the interior feel brighter and more open.
New
Toyota Yaris has refinements to the engines and suspension, as
well as improved body rigidity. Significantly Toyota engineers in
Australia had input into the overall chassis package plus the
calibration of the steering and accelerator pedal.
The
end result is a car with improved handling and while the
accelerator is at first touchy it’s geared to quick launches but
slower when it comes to the key area of keeping to Australia's
speed limits.
Updates
to the 1.3 and 1.5-litre four cylinder petrol engines include a
lighter fuel system, less friction, better heat management and
engine tuning. This has resulted in reduced fuel consumption by
around four-tenths of a litre per 100 km. This small gain shows
how all manufacturers are trying to squeeze the last drop from the
fuel tank.
However,
Toyota points out that the greatest fuel savings can are still
those achieved by drivers who modify their driving habits.
All
Yaris models are fitted with seven airbags including protection
for the driver's knee, as well as vehicle stability control,
traction control and ABS brakes with brake assist. Toyota Yaris
has already received a five-star NCAP safety rating in Europe and
the importer is confident of the same result when tests are done
in Australia.
The
Toyota Yaris, and the Toyota Echo before it, have always been
delightful little cars to drive. This third generation Yaris
builds on that pleasure. We were never a fan of the central
instrument binnacle and common sense has prevailed by putting it
back where the driver has less need to take their eyes off the
road. In addition the air conditioning controls are now
horizontally placed at a higher level, unlike the second
generation that had them running vertically, again diverting the
driver's attention away from the road.
We
got to drive three models, with variations of 1.3 and 1.5-litre
engines and manual and automatic transmissions. Neither engine
will break any speed records, but that's not what these cars are
about. They do accelerate smoothly even from low revs in second
gear making them easy to drive in the urban and city environments.
The turning circle is 9.4 metres, so parking and negotiating tight
turns is easy with excellent light steering that still gives the
driver good feedback.
YARIS
PRICING
YR
1.3-litre three-door: $14,990 (manual), $16,590 (automatic)
YR
1.3-litre five-door hatch: $15,690 (manual), $17,290 (automatic)
YRS
1.5-litre three-door hatch: $16,890 (manual), $18,490 (automatic)
YRS
1.5-litre five-door hatch: $17,390 (manual), $18,990 (automatic)
YRX
1.5-litre five-door hatch: $21,390 (automatic)
ZR
1.5-litre three-door hatch: $18,990 (manual)
Note:
These prices do not include government or dealer charges. Contact
any Toyota dealer for driveaway prices.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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