Toyota renews the Yaris, with a more powerful hybrid engine

Three years after the fourth-generation Yaris went on sale, Toyota today announced a series of enhancements and upgrades that further strengthen the Yaris hybrid, increasing its market appeal. The model has proved to be a huge success for the brand, with improvements in its performance, safety and appearance ensuring the model remains in the highly competitive B segment in Europe.

Starting with the technical updates made to the Yaris hybrid, Toyota says it is essential for its impressive refinement, delivering better performance and a more engaging and enjoyable driving experience. With the updated Yaris, you will now be able to choose from two hybrid systems, based on the 1.5-liter unit, Hybrid 115 and Hybrid 130.

Along with the development of the transport unit. a transmission from Toyota’s latest fifth-generation hybrid technology, the combination now offers more power, more torque and more satisfying driving. More specifically, a new transaxle unit with a larger and more powerful electric generator and revisions to the software and hardware of the power control unit (PCU), the overall system efficiency increased by 12%, and 116 horses (85 kW), now you give. 130 horses (96 kW).

In addition, there is also a significant increase in torque, with the MG2 electric motor’s peak torque increasing by 30% across the entire rev band, from 141Nm to 185Nm. This translates into quicker acceleration, not just for 0-100km/h, but more importantly for on-the-go acceleration that makes passing easier. 0-100km/h comes in 9.2 seconds, half as fast, while there is also a reduction in 80-120km/h, which comes in 7.5 seconds.

This achievement has been achieved with only a modest increase in CO2 emissions, as the Yaris remains the best in this respect at 96-116g/km. Boosting power is only part of the story, with Toyota saying that it makes the difference. it’s how the driver experiences the car’s performance. By increasing the torque delivered at all engine speeds, the result is a more powerful, responsive and powerful feel.

Moving to the interior, there is a new – fully – digital instrument panel and a faster and more powerful multimedia system, which carries screens of seven or 12.3 inches for the former and 9 or 10.5 inches for the latter (depending on the version); being best in class in terms of size. The appearance of the digital instrument panel changes to suit the driver’s mood and ride type with up to four options: Smart, Casual, Sporty and Tough.

In addition, the Yaris’ new multimedia system – Toyota Smart Connect – has a more intuitive interface and offers cloud-based navigation as standard. This “always connected” system ensures that journey planning benefits from up-to-date information on routes, traffic and delays.

Continuing, the digital transformation of the Yaris includes the first availability of a smart digital key, which gives up to five users access to the car using their smartphone. This new feature further expands the functionality of the MyT app, which includes remote locking/unlocking, climate control activation and hazard lights, for easy vehicle identification in crowded parking lots.

Finally, at the launch of the new version of Yaris there will be a special version of the Premiere Edition, which is equipped with rich equipment. This will be offered in a new exclusive Neptune Blue color with a black roof and pillars for contrast. The blue theme is repeated on the seams of the seats, dashboard and doors, while the 17-inch alloy wheels in black are new.