vehicle
Vehicle tests
First driving: Toyota Yaris Cross
The Toyota Yaris Cross will enter the hottest segment of small crossovers next month.
Just before, we went out to meet him abroad and figure out if the competitors have anything to fear
Tags
Toyota
Yaris
Crossover
Joel Schwartz
Friday, 17 September 2021, 08:30 Updated: 08:51
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For a moment I was not sure I had come to the right place.
In the distance, in the driveway, he is sunbathing in what looks like a Lexus UX.
Strange, I arrived in honor of another vehicle.
It was only as I approached that it was clear that I was making decisive strides towards the new Yaris Cross.
It looks great, tall and sturdy but not too much, with a cheeky but not extroverted face, with a black belt that wraps the bottom of the body gracefully and not as a handmade addition, and with taillights that stand out to the sides in a design that does not fall into the gimmick category.
Really knotted candy.
The Lexus can be seen as a compliment.
Ostensibly, a direct connection to a luxury brand, the question is what does this say about the luxury brand?
There is no doubt that the Toyota concern deserves all the credit for the innovation it has made in the brand concept.
A change that started with the design and continued with the various driving characteristics.
But over-imagination, in design or in all other assemblies, can be dangerous and cheapen the luxury brand.
It is a slippery slope from which to exit can be very complicated.
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The ride comfort is too stiff especially in the city, but not only.
Outside the city, too many noises (mainly engine and wind) penetrate (Photo: Joel Schwartz)
Dimensions and useful practice
So with a name like Yaris it is clear to all the family affiliation and position in the hierarchy.
Yaris Cross is an elevated version of that lovable Yaris.
This is, by the way, the first time an elevated version of the Yaris has been offered.
The two share the TNGA platform that serves Toyota's mainline (the small Miaris, up to the large Camry).
Their wheelbase is the same, the width similar, with most of the change in height.
The Yaris Cross is 90 mm higher than the "regular" Yaris, with 25 mm of them coming from the height of the ventral space to strengthen the leisure look.
The result is a 64mm high driving position that allows for slightly elevated observation relative to the Yaris.
The power unit is very efficient in urban travel.
There is a lot of power to "openness" at a traffic light.
But out of town it is not refined enough and also noisy (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
Spacing is not one of Yaris' strongest cards, and it's the situation here, too, in "Cross".
There is no lack of space in the front, and the main thing is in the back.
The door is relatively small and also its opening angle is slightly limited.
This makes it difficult to get in and out, and to harness children in safety seats.
The rear seat is high, and there is excellent space for the head, providing for the knees but relatively small for the feet because of the front seat rails.
It is interesting to note that at least according to the data sheets, the Yaris Cross has one of the largest wheelbases in the segment.
It does not feel that way in practice, and in order to make a final decision we will wait for the conclusions of a comparative test carried out in the country.
The intimate feeling in the back is also due to the black upholstery and padding that make the space a bit gloomy.
When the quality of the simple plastic does not add to the feeling.
The exterior looks muscular and elegant and slightly reminiscent of those of Lexus - the luxury arm of Toyota (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
The overall appearance of the driver environment is almost identical to that found in the Yaris, for better or worse.
Original design, with recessed central air vents, lots of storage space for small details like keys and cellphone, and sculpting of various parts like the split dashboard or the inner handle area for opening the door.
On the other hand, the desire to design comes at the expense of practice and ease of use.
Like the location of the window switches, the small glove compartment that is also not lit, and the driving mode button whose place is inconvenient to use and also close to other buttons like the stability control.
The average-sized multimedia monitor for the category, 8 inches, is a bit cumbersome to use, and the dashboard (at the high level of finish), is similar to the one found in the Corolla with a small computer display, loaded with details and mostly looking outdated.
The interior design is original and beautiful, but the quality of the finish and assembly in the cars we encountered are disappointing (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
What is most disappointing, and again similar to the Yaris, is the quality of finish and assembly.
From the outside, the finish of the black roof paint at the launch point interfered with the color of the car body, and the tightening of the rubbers around some of the openings in the doors and trunk.
In the passenger compartment, some of the plastic frames loosen, such as the one around the multimedia or in the area of the steering wheel spokes.
The price of the imperfect quality came immediately.
In some of the test vehicles, various plastic buzzes were heard, and at intercity speeds, road noises, especially wind noises, began to penetrate.
The trunk is large with 397 liters, offers a detachable and foldable top cover in the style of shading covers that the windshield has, and a split bottom tray for loading higher equipment.
It's practical, but the workmanship is a bit cheap to look at and touch.
8-inch screen for the multimedia system (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
A traffic light animal
The power unit is also the same as the one in Yaris.
There is petrol and hybrid petrol, and both versions will be brought to Israel.
As part of the launch, I only used the hybrid version, which is also expected to set the tone in the country.
So how does it function?
Excellent in urban conduct and less so when going out into space.
We will explain.
Toyota is proud to announce a 40% energy efficiency in the hybrid version.
This is a figure that makes the engine one of the most efficient in history and says that a significant portion of every drop of fuel is better utilized to generate power.
So let's tell you about the engine in two lines.
In both cases (gasoline and hybrid gasoline) it is the same 3-cylinder engine with a volume of 1.5 liters.
In the petrol version it produces 125 hp and in the hybrid version 92 hp, but the electric motor adds another 80 hp and a combined power of 116 hp.
High seating also in the back, but entry and exit are less comfortable, and it is also difficult to harness children in safety seats (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
This efficiency is felt from the first moment. Initial progress in crawling speed can be made on electricity and when you want more, the electric motor knows how to provide everything it has from the first moment. This turns the Yaris Cross into a hungry traffic light beast. Because there is only one gear and the power comes immediately, the initial jump is always determined and blends in great with the urban character of the car. The combination with the gasoline engine is not always smooth, and not always refined. But with half a pedal pressed, it doesn't really bother and even then the conduct is nimble and rewarding enough.
At long-distance speeds the combination of the motors is already less efficient, and then the pace is also less fast.
This has an effect indirectly, on a family trip when the vehicle is crowded and certainly on the ascents.
When more power is required, the petrol engine sounds too loud, and the gearbox, which maintains a high RPM, also makes sure that we hear it. To the accelerator pedal.
Over time it is an annoying monotonous tone that makes you give up on this effective braking.
It is difficult to test fuel consumption in launch conditions, but in this test route that included both vigorous driving, also congested urban conduct, also calm cruising, Yaris Cross recorded 18.5 km per liter. Fantastic figure.
A large and useful trunk with a detachable and folding top cover and a split bottom tray for loading higher equipment (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
Soft and also hard
The Yaris Cross has different and softer suspensions than the regular Yaris and a 29 mm thick stabilizer bar, designed to compensate with a bit of stiffness. In practice, the ride comfort is too stiff. But then the noise of the road and especially the engine noises penetrate in, both during exertion and when braking (in mode B in the box) and above them more wind noises. Inches that may improve ride comfort.
Real driving roads were not on the launch route, and yet it can be said that the Yaris Cross offers good road behavior, with successful turning restraints thanks to the same thick stabilizer bar, sharp and fast steering with 2.75 turns from lock to lock, and a very small dead space in the center.
The fact that it is a lightweight vehicle (1,290 kg), helps with this. The brakes are not really challenged but as members of their hybrid models, it is difficult to dose the braking power.
Mode 'B' in the gearbox raises the RPM of the gasoline engine to an annoying monotonous tone (Photo: Joel Schwartz)
A wide range that will be further expanded
Toyota has identified the influx of crossovers and has already begun unveiling people-raised "Cross" models for existing models, such as the next generation of the Aigo (which will be introduced soon), and the Corolla (which has already been unveiled). Using them, Toyota floors all the content worlds to provide every customer with a proper solution. She's not the only one doing it, but the reputation, the selection of models, sizes, designs, power units and finish levels, is just huge.
The Yaris Cross is far from being a perfect vehicle. It offers mediocre ride comfort, limited space in the rear, and most of all a disappointing finish and assembly quality, at least that was the case with the cars we encountered at launch. On the other hand, he looks excellent, very economical, and very agile in urban conduct.
It will arrive in Israel next month and with a wide range: two engine versions, gasoline and hybrid gasoline, 3 trim levels for each engine version and at a price that starts at NIS 120,000 for gasoline, NIS 135,000 for a hybrid and climbs up to NIS 147,000.
All have the same safety equipment that includes: 8 airbags (2 between the front seats), autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and two-wheeled detection, lane center maintenance, adaptive cruise control, and more.
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Will be offered in Israel in two engine versions (gasoline and hybrid), in 6 trim levels (3 per engine version), and in a wide price range (Photo: Yoel Schwartz)
On the technical side: Toyota Yaris Cross (hybrid)
Engine, propulsion:
turbo-petrol, 3 cylinders, hybrid, front
volume:
1,490 cc
Combined power (hp):
116
Torque Gasoline / electric motor (kg):
12.2 / 14.4
Transmission:
Automatic with one gear
Dimensions:
Length (cm):
418.0
Width (cm):
176.5
Height (cm):
159.5
Wheelbase (cm):
256.0
Trunk (liters):
397-1,097
Performance:
Acceleration 0-100 :
11.2 seconds
Maximum speed:
170 km / h
Competitors:
Seat Arona, Suzuki Vitara, Peugeot 2008, Renault Capture, Ford Puma, Hyundai and New, Kia Stonik
Price:
NIS 120-147 thousand
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