2017 Toyota Yaris range review
What is it?
The Yaris is Toyota's smallest and most affordable car, and generally appeals to first car buyers, inner-city urbanites and older drivers.
A fresh-faced model has just arrived in local showrooms and is only available currently as a five-door hatchback whereas its predecessor was also offered as a conventional four-door sedan. While the Yaris isn't the cheapest car in its segment it is one of the most popular against the likes of the Mazda2, Honda Jazz, Hyundai Accent and Ford Fiesta.
How many models can I choose from?
There are three model grades with entry-level Ascent powered by a 63kW 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine while the mid-grade SX and range-topping ZR have a larger, more powerful 80kW 1.5-litre unit. All of them are front-wheel drive and the Ascent and SX can be had with either a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic while the ZR is offered as an auto-only proposition.
Even in its most basic configuration, the Yaris Ascent has seven airbags and a reverse camera while Toyota's Safety Sense system that comprises automated emergency braking, lane departure warning and automated high beams is an option.
Otherwise, it is a simple car with 15-inch steel wheels, cloth interior trim and a 6.1-inch colour touchscreen with Bluetooth connectivity and a six-speaker audio system.
Apart from the bigger engine, the SX adds front fog lights and a higher-grade cloth trim and steering wheel while the ZR gets alloy wheels, LED headlights, climate control, sat nav and the Safety Sense functions as standard.
What do they cost?
Yaris Ascent: $15,290
Yaris SX: $17,330
Yaris ZR: $22,470
Toyota is currently offering all Yaris models with driveaway deals that includes all on-road costs, starting with the Ascent (with a manual transmission) offered at $16,440, the SX at $21,137 and the ZR for $23,990.
Photo: 2017 Toyota Yaris Ascent.
Any options that I need to know about?
The four-speed automatic costs $1530 and the Safety Sense system costs $671 on both the Ascent and SX.
Seven of the ten paint hues within the bright colour palette offered across the range are metallic and cost an additional $462.
Is it expensive to own?
All Yaris models are covered by a three-year/100,000km warranty and come with an affordable capped price servicing scheme that limits the cost to just $140 per visit for the first three years, although the Yaris has more frequent, six-monthly intervals than rivals.
Which is the most economical model?
The smaller engine in the base-model Ascent gives it the edge over the SX and ZR variants with a claimed average of 5.8L/100km when fitted with the manual transmission.
However, the advantage is only miniscule as the SX with a manual has a claimed fuel consumption figure of 5.9L/100km.
The automatic models – no matter what the engine size – are all identical with a claimed average of 6.4L/100km.
Which is the safest model?
Considering the range-topping ZR is the only variant that comes equipped with the Safety Sense features as standard, it is the leader in this regard.
But all Yaris models have a five-star crash-test rating and are equipped with seven airbags, which is above par for the city car class.
Photo: 2017 Toyota Yaris ZR
Which is the best model to drive?
Even though Toyota has returned to the World Rally Championship after a 19-year hiatus with a pumped-up version of the Yaris, it's difficult to claim the road-going models have the same degree of sportiness.
They are more designed to be fuss-free, reliable and convenient inner-city commuter cars – for which they tick plenty of boxes.
However, the SX with a manual gearbox is the one that feels the zippiest as the 1.5-litre engine produces a healthy 80kW of power and the car tips the scales at a featherweight 1045kg.
Should I buy one now?
Toyota has just refreshed the Yaris earlier this year, so the deals that are on the table now will probably be around for a while.
Photo: 2017 Toyota Yaris Ascent
Where's the sweet spot?
The ZR has all the safety gear plus a bit more fruit, such as nav, which makes it attractive, but it is expensive for a city car and you could move into the next class up for the same sort of money.
As we've just mentioned, the SX's bigger engine makes it feel spritely to drive around town, but you don't get much more than the extra power for a couple of grand.
So, if you just want an affordable, reliable, no-frills city car then the base-level Ascent nails the brief.