Toyota Yaris Cross review: Marathon runner

(Pocket-lint) - The marketplace for crossover SUVs is soaring, with the higher thrust and casual step-out tallness some appealing prospects. Even the traditionally smallest of vehicles are getting successful connected the enactment - arsenic tin beryllium witnessed here, successful the Toyota Yaris Cross.

There's nary shortage of contention successful this marketplace and connected its fringes, but the Yaris Cross's concealed limb is simply a hybrid motor setup, making for marathon-like efficiency, positive a suite of exertion arsenic modular connected each its trim levels.

But the summation of that artillery and exertion really makes the Toyota a small pricier than galore of its competitors, which has america - and astir apt you - asking the question "is the Yaris Cross worthy the money?".

Design & Trim

• Trim levels: Icon, Design, Excel, Dynamic, Premiere
• 16-inch alloy wheels, 17- and 18-inch options
• From 397-litre footwear capableness (up to 1097l)
• £22,515 UK starting price

Despite being physically longer and taller than a emblematic Yaris, the Cross is inactive built connected the precise aforesaid TNGA platform. It's conscionable that it looks a spot similar a 'baby RAV4', much off-road successful its ocular aesthetic, with hench assemblage panels making it look similar a Yaris that's been pumping robust astatine the gym.

There are 4 halfway trim levels: Icon arsenic the entry-level (£22,515), with 16-inch alloys; Design (£24,140), Excel (£26,745) and Dynamic (£26,465) each stepping up with assorted additions, each connected 18-inch alloys; and a time-limited 5th option, Premiere (£28,185), which is efficaciously a 'First Edition' Yaris Cross that'll merchantability for the archetypal 12 months lone and comes with each the bells and whistles extras.

You'll wage much the higher up the scope you go, arsenic highlighted above, with the much premium models adding definite ocular flourishes successful summation to tech, interior and different benefits. Those extortion rails and the shark-fin up top, for example, don't diagnostic connected the Icon (which makes it altogether little iconic, eh?).

Visually, we deliberation the plan has capable swagger astir it to entice imaginable Nissan Juke buyers, oregon if you've been eyeing-up a Fiat 500X Cross past possibly Toyota has an alluring alternate instead. Less straight comparable, but connected that fringe of this market, is an all-electric enactment specified arsenic the Mazda MX-30 - it's cheaper than the Yaris Cross's Excel trim, but its constricted artillery scope whitethorn not suit all.

Interior & Tech

• 8-inch Toyota Touch 2 multimedia strategy / 9-inch HD Toyota Smart Connect
• 4.2-inch / 7-inch multi-info driver's display
• Wireless Apple CarPlay & Android Auto
• Adaptive Cruise Control arsenic standard
• Pre-collision strategy arsenic standard
• Reversing camera arsenic standard
• Optional: City/Tech/Advanced Safety Pack

Pop unfastened the doorway and the Yaris Cross instantly shows-off its wealthiness wrong though. While the Icon gets the smaller multimedia strategy and driver's show setup, connected reappraisal present are the larger 9-inch always-connected 'floating' cardinal dash display, and 7-inch multi-info drivers show beyond the steering wheel.

Sure, galore vehicles connection these kinds of screens oregon much - but not usually arsenic modular successful immoderate of the trim levels. With our Premiere exemplary connected review, we deliberation there's a precocious level of exertion to entreaty to the mundane driver.

From the wireless Apple CarPlay oregon wireless Android Auto, easiness of transportation - well, for most, our ZTE telephone gave america immoderate quirks astatine archetypal - you'll beryllium good covered with each your most-used apps beforehand and centre. But, actually, adjacent Toyota's ain in-car outer navigation strategy is vastly improved implicit older editions, making crook by crook journeys other easy.

The touchscreen is responsive enough, whether utilizing the in-house strategy oregon your prime of Apple oregon Android, portion further important accusation shows connected the not-interactive driver's display. Here's wherever you'll beryllium capable to support an oculus connected driving mode, efficiency, speed, and truthful forth.

Some of the exertion you won't instantly announcement either: there's a reversing camera that's arsenic standard, which is truly useful for assisting with proximity to objects and giving a amended presumption from the rear. There's adjacent adaptive cruise power arsenic standard, with quick-access controls connected the steering wheel, which is truly uncommon connected immoderate entry-level car. So that's wherever you concern is going: into those mundane comforts.

Up beforehand there's ample space, too, with a bully worldly decorativeness and leather steering wheel. From Excel and beyond determination are heated seats (low oregon precocious only) which volition adhd an other hug to your backmost successful those wintertime months. It's a comfy spot to sit, with a decent thrust height, each portion ne'er feeling gargantuan successful standard - this is nary Toyota Highlander.

In the back, however, there's not a bundle of room. You'll find much successful a Skoda Kamiq, for example, and portion the Toyota does present capable genu abstraction for your kiddos, taller radical oregon adults won't privation to walk heaps of clip backmost there.

Further backmost the footwear tin grow from its 397-litre modular to a sizeable 1097-litres if you driblet the rear seats. Plenty of country for carting kit astir arsenic you need.

Drive & Economy

• Front instrumentality thrust / AWD-i all-wheel thrust enactment (Dynamic & Premiere only)
• 1.5-litre Hybrid Dynamic engine, 112PS, 0.5kWh li-ion battery
• Drive modes: Standard, Economy, Power, EV
• Economy: 54.3-64.1mpg (claimed)
• 0-62mph: 11.2 seconds
• Max speed: 105mph

What whitethorn impressment much than anything, however, is conscionable however economical the Yaris Cross tin be. We lobbed it astir state A- and B-roads for 2 hours and, without adjacent trying our champion to prevention the planet, the car was returning 57.8mpg. That's successful the mediate of Toyota's claimed efficiency. Go a small easier, activate Economy mode, and we were tickling 60mpg nary problems.

So the Yaris Cross is thing of a marathon runner, then. Sure, you wouldn't telephone it a sprint runner, but portion you whitethorn person this imaginativeness of "oh it's a Yaris" successful your head, it's really a reasonably spritely small number. The crushed for this being that hybrid motor setup: the li-ion battery, which automatically fills up done regenerative braking whenever possible, tin adhd pep to acceleration to truly assistance get the car disconnected the mark.

The artillery capableness is surely tiny - we enactment it retired to beryllium conscionable implicit 0.5kWh by our calculations (an all-electric car would beryllium 150 times that) - but there's capable output present for a low-speed electric-only mode, too, enabling greater ratio and all-electric scooting astir carparks, successful postulation jams, and truthful forth.

Furthermore, the Yaris Cross is simply a truly creaseless ride. No, it doesn't particularly emotion corners, but past it's not designed for trying to bash donuts oregon drifting. What it does love, however, are velocity bumps: is perfectly eats them up and you'll hardly consciousness important bumps and roadworthy undulations, which makes for an adjacent much comfy driving experience.

All this from a two-wheel thrust car, arsenic the all-wheel (AWD-i) is an enactment lone successful the Dynamic and Premiere models (although not connected this 1 astatine the clip of testing) and 1 that, really, we don't deliberation volition beryllium of overmuch worth to galore buyers. It'll simply adhd weight. So unless you unrecorded down a steep driveway wherever there's ever ice, prevention yourself the request for that other pack.

All successful all, though, the Yaris Cross is simply a comfortable, creaseless thrust that cares not what benignant of roadworthy aboveground you propulsion its way. As its looks pervade: this Yaris has been connected a workout (just not to Yaris GR levels, but that road-worthy rally car is simply a full different ballgame).

Writing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 31 August 2021.