2022 (72) Toyota Yaris Cross 1.5 Hybrid Excel 5dr CVT

By Jonathan Crouch

Introduction

Should your next (or first) small SUV be a hybrid - a proper self-charging petrol/electric one? Back in 2021, Toyota thought it should be and wheeled out this affordable, trendy Yaris Cross as its answer to segment customers. How does it fare as a used buy?

History

Back in 2021 with this Yaris Cross, Toyota at last had a credible truly class-competitive supermini-sized SUV. This little crossover filled an important gap in the company's Crossover line-up, just below the C-HR, and worried Juke and Puma sector rivals with features like AWD and full-Hybrid power that were relatively unusual in this segment. By 2021, there were so many supermini-based crossover SUVs now on the market that you would have been forgiven for wondering whether any new entrant to this segment could possibly bring anything fresh to it. Sure enough, Toyota's description of its contender, the Yaris Cross, didn't sound too promising in terms of innovation, this car aiming to offer 'the high riding qualities of an SUV but on a scale tailored to suit urban areas'. Just like any other Juke or Puma-sized small crossover then. Except that the Yaris Cross wasn't just another small SUV. You could have it with 4WD for a start which, believe it or not, was pretty revolutionary in this normally front driven-only sector. On top of that, for our market anyway, it came only with a full-Hybrid engine. Not a token gesture mild hybrid like you'd get in, say, that rival Ford Puma or, perhaps, a Suzuki Vitara or Kia Stonic from this period, but a full-fat petrol/electric powertrain that doesn't need plugging in but could run all-electrically some of the time. In this segment, only Hyundai, Honda and Renault could also offer that - and charged quite a lot more for it. In short, Toyota seemed to have produced something really appealing here, which wasn't the case the last time the company had properly entered this segment - with the ill-fated Urban Cruiser of 2009. With the Yaris Cross, launched in early 2021, the brand's European division was determined to get it right, this little Gallic-designed and French-built Crossover part of a family of Yaris models that already included a searing hot hatch and, of course, the popular hybrid supermini. This initial Yaris Cross sold in its original form until Summer 2024, when it was lightly updated. It's the 2021-2024-era pre-update models we're going to look at here.

What You Get

Imagine a Yaris supermini with crossover pretensions and you might well be picturing something like a Yaris Cross, though this is more than just a version of Toyota's little hatch with a few SUV panels added. This Yaris Cross is actually 240mm longer and 20mm wider than its more familiar supermini Yaris showroom stablemate, sitting 95mm higher. And, we might add, looks better in the metal than it does on a screen. From the front, the look is distinct, this Cross model adopting a signature design feature for Toyota SUVs, the way the upper and lower grilles form two stacked trapezoidal shapes. The rear is defined by the wide tailgate emphasised by a full-width red reflector strip, above a square central section that's supposed to express the car's functionality. Take a seat behind the wheel and you've basically got a front-of-cabin experience lifted straight from the XP210-era Yaris supermini. The slightly raised driving position and airier interior feel though, make this seem more like a car in the class above, so it's appropriate that in most models, the 7-inch instrument binnacle screen is borrowed from a Corolla in the next segment up. It was all a product of Toyota's French design studio in Nice, but the stylists there weren't allowed to go further and create the jaunty, more expressive cabin design you might hope for in a car of this kind. At least connectivity took a step forward, or at least it did in top models that got the brand's 9-inch HD 'Toyota Smart Connect' central screen that included a built-in SIM card, over-the-air updates and connected cloud navigation. The older 8-inch monitor of lesser variants is less sophisticated, but still includes 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto' smartphone-connectivity and most of what you're likely to need. Storage provision is reasonable too, with both the door bins and the glovebox being of a decent size. In the rear, we were particularly impressed with headroom, though you might want to try before you buy in this regard if you find a car whose original owner embellished it with the optional Skyview panoramic roof. Otherwise though, a couple of six-footers would be fine in the back and if they needed to insert a child between them, that'd be OK, given the relatively small size of the central transmission tunnel. A powered hatch (which can work with a kick-action sensor) only features with top-spec trim. Once everything's raised, there's up to 397-litres of space available in a front-driven model, which is 111-litres more than you'd get in a Yaris supermini and a significant amount more than you get with this car's full-Hybrid rivals from this period in this class The big ticket item if you can stretch to top level of trim is Toyota's 'Smart Cargo' system, which isn't actually that smart - just a 60:40-split deckboard which permits part or all of the floor section to be lowered so that larger and taller items can be carried. Folding everything flat doesn't release the kind of space you'd find in obvious rivals - there's 1,097-litres of it in a front-driven model loaded to the roof. But that should be sufficient for the needs of most owners.

What to Look For

As usual with a supermini-based SUV, check for interior child damage and scratched alloy wheels. With our ownership survey, we found plenty of satisfied Yaris Cross owners, but inevitably, there were a few issues. A rattling dash was reported by one owner. We also came across issues with creaking suspension and a clunking gearbox, while we've also heard that in some cases, the eCall emergency calling system may not function when needed (something that can be resolved by a dealer software update). Check the wheels for kerbing damage that may have forced the steering out of alignment - betray by steering wheel juddering. Look out for all these things on the test drive and, as usual, prioritise models featuring a fully stamped-up service record.

Replacement Parts

(approx - based on a 2021 Yaris Cross Hybrid ex VAT - autodoc.co.uk) An air filter is priced in the £17 to £62 bracket. An oil filter costs in the £3 to £17 bracket. On to brakes. A set of pads tend to retail in the £45 to £65 bracket; brake discs tend to be in the £20-£50 bracket. Brake callipers start from around £35. You'll need in the £4-£23 bracket for a wiper blade. A pollen filter's in the £4-£11 bracket. A rear bumper is around £200.

On the Road

Under the bonnet, the 1.5-litre full-Hybrid self-charging petrol/electric powerplant is of course the same one that's fitted to the conventional Yaris supermini, combined with an e-CVT auto transmission set-up that Toyota had much improved by the time of this car's launch. The combination works brilliantly well in urban and suburban driving, where up to 80% of driving can be conducted without burning fossil fuel if you're careful with the throttle. In town, the 56kW electric motor is usually sufficient for propulsion up to about 30mph, above which the car will switch to hybrid mode, with its ECU deciding whether to use petrol, electric or a combination of both sources. There's an EV mode button if you want to use electrical energy as much as possible - you get about 4 miles of total range from the tiny 0.76kWh battery; which can be more quickly replenished if you use the gearstick's provided 'B' setting, which maximises brake energy regeneration. So, all the advantages of a Yaris supermini. Nor, in its crossover form, was this design spoiled by a bit of extra weight and ride height, as is so often the case when it comes to SUVs evolved from small hatches. You're certainly not going to find reasons to take the back way home in a Yaris Cross, but it's hard not to be impressed by the accurate, well-weighted steering, the surprisingly keen corner turn-in and the minimal body roll through the bends. It's quite well damped too - a little on the firm side perhaps, but not to the extent where you'll crash over pot holes and speed humps. You can even have a 4WD version, which gets more sophisticated rear suspension and an additional electric motor in the back axle. This communicates electronically with the electric motors up-front to provide extra grip and stability when pulling away and cornering - plus extra safety when driving on slippery surfaces. This light AWDi set-up doesn't penalise you very much in terms of WLTP-rated efficiency, which on the front-driven model sees a combined cycle return of up to 64.2mpg and a CO2 reading of up to 100g/km.

Overall

In some ways, Toyota has never really made the most of its pioneering hybrid technology, but with this Yaris Cross can really did so. You could argue - rightly - that not many folk choose a fashion-led small crossover with sensible priorities, but if you were to prioritise those in selecting this kind of car, then this one makes an incredible amount of sense, with genuine 45-55mpg regularly achievable economy. That's thanks to its full-Hybrid powertrain, the kind of engine the brand was able to offer here more affordably than you'll find in direct rivals from this period. And a trendy vibe's thrown in too. You could argue that twenty years ago, the original three-door RAV4 pioneered this class of car, but the brand never properly capitalised on that model, instead bringing us quirky but unappealing small lifestyle products like the Yaris Verso and the Urban Cruiser. The RAV4's modernday successor, the C-HR, did found favour but was too expensive for many Juke and Puma folk. When new, the Yaris Cross suited their needs more precisely. It'll do that on the used market too.