2018 Toyota Yaris Review
Car Tested: 2018 Toyota Yaris; Road Test No. 931
Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 10.14 – 16.52 lakhs
Toyota’s new Yaris is a nice comfy, easy-to-drive and feature-loaded sedan
Toyota has been minting money with the Innova and Fortuner in India, but, there is 1 segment which has never had a proper offering from the Japanese automaker. Yes, I’m talking about the C-segment where Toyota has had a huge void due to the gap between the Etios and Corolla. However, things are now changing because Toyota will launch the Yaris next month and it’ll directly compete with the Honda City, Maruti Ciaz and Hyundai Verna.
Motor Quest: The Toyota Yaris made its first debut in 1999 and it is a global car. Currently, it is in its third generation and the model that will be launched in India is sold in Thailand with the Yaris ATIV badging. In other countries, the Yaris is available in a hatchback version too.
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The Yaris looks smaller than its rivals
Exteriors – The Toyota Yaris is a funky and an offbeat-looking car. The design has the Japanese flavour, especially the front end. At the front, you get a plus sized grille which houses the LED DRLs. The sweptback headlights get projector units while the fog lamps, though, are basically round shaped, the vertically-stacked black plastic housing around it gives the front end a distinctive appeal. At the sides, the design is rather plain. However, there is a prominent crease line that runs all the way from the front fender to the rear door of the car. The sedan runs on 15-inch 12-spoke alloy wheels (on the top spec V and VX trims) which make the car look under-tyred. That said, the Japanese automaker could have made the alloys look sportier and jazzier. The sweptback treatment continues on the tail-lights as well and the slightly high-set bumper with the fog lamps makes the rear look smart.
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The interiors are ergonomic and there is good all-round visibility
Interiors – The Yaris gets a dual tone black and beige colour theme which makes the cabin look airy and pleasant. The steering wheel is similar to the one on the Corolla Altis. The dashboard also has silver inlays on the centre console. The touchscreen infotainment system gets a 7-inch screen which doesn’t really have the best viewing angles especially in sunlight. You need to increase the brightness to maximum to see clearly. The touchscreen is fairly responsive but not very fluid in usage. Sound quality is just about decent from the stock speakers. The unit also gets Gesture Control to adjust volume and change tracks. Apart from that, you get the usual connectivity options like Bluetooth, USB, Aux and MirrorLink.
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The rear AC vents suck air from the front vents through a vacuum
The Yaris gets some first-in-segment features like front parking sensors
The sedan has a very long equipment list which includes features like roof-mounted air vents with ambient lighting, powered driver’s seat (only on the VX grade), automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers, automatic climate control, cruise control, rear sunshade, keyless entry, leather upholstery (only on the VX grade), reverse parking camera with front and rear parking sensors and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System.
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The rear could have been more spacious
The front seats are absolutely amazing when it comes to comfort and support and I found the cushioning to be excellent. It isn’t very soft too. There is ample amount of headroom at the front and you also get a centre armrest but unfortunately it cannot be extended. The front door pockets can hold 500 ml bottles while the cooled glovebox has a good size. At the rear, again the seats are very comfortable but knee room is satisfactory while headroom is a bit limited, especially for tall people. The boot capacity is 476-litres which is lower than some rivals and even the Etios which has a capacity of 595-litres.
