I am going to drive this car relatively slowly on congested roads most of the time. Even out of town it's rare for my average speed to make it over 50mph. You can take your sharp, dynamic handling of the Seat Ibiza and shove it, because it's meaningless in a straight line under 30 as you're queuing round Leeds.
Last year we bought a Skoda Fabia, and it's a great car. Surprisingly large in estate form, with the 110bhp one litre, three pot turbocharged petrol engine that's surprisingly quick when you need it to be and impressively frugal the rest of the time.
The Yaris is an interesting comparison because on paper it isn't much slower, but it certainly feels it. I suspect a lot of that is perception. The lack of gear shifts from Toyota's hybrid system seems to upset my perception of speed, but honestly I don't know who I'm trying to kid, the Yaris is slow.
Where it beats the Skoda is in refinement. The Yaris is smoother, quieter, feels more assured on bad road surfaces and feels like it's a bigger car (it isn't).
Hybrid Synergy Drive takes a little bit of getting used to. When one's entire driving experience has included selecting the appropriate gear, and engine revs being a key part of driving, it's initially unsettling to have a drive system where engine speed isn't necessarily linked to the road speed.
There are a lots of videos explaining how Toyota's system works and it's clever stuff but perhaps the best thing about it is you don't need to understand any of this, because once the transmission is in D you drive the car. However, understand how it actually works and this helps you get the most out of the car.
By most, I mean MPG because nobody buys one of these for the performance. You've bought one of these because you want cheaper motoring (which this doesn't really give you) or you're concerned about emissions and want them as low as possible, which is my motivation.
So far, with a mix of slow town traffic and longer distances, the trip computer reports an average of 59mpg which isn't too shabby. It's better than the Fabia, which is otherwise one of the most fuel efficient cars I can find. That's also in winter, where the engine will use that bit more fuel while it gets up to temperature.
So the Yaris is comfortable, easy to drive, reasonably frugal, feels well made and has the legendary Toyota reliability but there has to be a down side and I have four significant frustrations:
- No Carplay. This may seem trivial but we have it in the Skoda and it's brilliant. My Yaris has satnav on the clunky, sluggish infotainment system. It'll do but it's already hopelessly dated and that's exactly the problem Carplay solves.
- Battery capacity. Toyota have to strike a balance between battery cost, weight, capacity and the available charging power. I suspect they've arrived at the best compromise but I still find myself wishing they hadn't used the batteries from a 1980s camcorder and the electric only range was greater. Two or three miles would be ideal. Instead it's typically less than a mile so a congested urban drive will see the engine running to top up the battery.
- Performance. Again this is all a massive compromise but I have had a couple of occasions when I wish this efficiency focused car could give me a bit more poke.
- Economy. This is probably the biggest and goes with the previous two. I don't think the engine is very good. Toyota have used their Atkinson cycle engine design that's all about efficiency over power output, but the VW engine in my Skoda is smaller, more powerful and I reckon if you coupled that with the hybrid drive would be even more frugal. I'm a slow driver and have been very gentle with the Yaris yet I don't get close to the claimed economy figures. Yes it's better than the Skoda but perhaps not quite good enough after all the compromises. Let's see what warmer summer mornings bring.
Despite the misgivings overall I think Toyota have done a good job with this hybrid and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who spends a lot of time in traffic. For me, the bottom line is this car can never truly satisfy because it isn't the EV I want, but can't afford.
