2012 Toyota Yaris Hybrid review
2012 Toyota Yaris Hybrid
By Ian Lynas, 21st June 2012
The choice of Hollywood film stars has been and continues to be the Prius; the hybrid vehicle which has achieved much for Toyota. However, the Yaris Hybrid has just made its entrance.
This supermini is designed to lower motoring costs and as I discovered on the press launch in the Netherlands, not only is this newcomer extremely fuel efficient but it also has lower emissions; negating road tax.
New 2012 Toyota Yaris Hybrid
Several of my fellow motoring scribes reported 70mpg-plus figures on the launch, which is extremely impressive - this alone is bound to stir buyer interest. The combination of a 1.5 litre petrol engine and an electric motor delivers 100bhp and an emission figure of just 79g/km.
Toyota already leads the field in hybrid technology, thanks to the Prius which was a hit worldwide and to date, Toyota have sold more than four million hybrid units.
New Toyota Yaris Hybrid
Throughout the course of any journey, the Hybrid Synergy System operates in a number of ways to maximise the overall efficiency of the Yaris; at rest, the engine automatically stops , whilst in low-efficiency conditions such as start up and at low mid-range speeds, the vehicle runs on its own electric motor.
Under normal driving, the electronically-controlled braking system acts as a high-output generator during deceleration and braking to effect regenerative braking. This recovers kinetic energy that would normally be lost as heat and directs it to the battery. This is located beneath the rear passenger seat, so that cabin space and luggage carrying capacity is not sacrificed.
Toyota Yaris Hybrid interior
All versions of the Yaris, T3, T4, and T-Spirit all come with an automatic transmission. Throughout the range, the standard specification is very good and in our market, the T4 should take a giant slice of the sales.
There are eight colours to choose from, low service costs, an excellent warranty and pricing is good; ranging from £14,995 to £16,995. It is only available in the five door body style.
Toyota Yaris Hybrid engine
Residual vales are predicted to be strong and the main focus will be on sales to the retail market. The Yaris Hybrid is well-engineered with excellent build quality and finish.
It is worth noting that Yaris is Toyota‘s best selling core model in the European market with more than 2.5 million sales since the first generation model was launched in 1999, 368,000 have been sold in the UK.
