Toyota Yaris Hybrid has amazingly low claimed fuel use
Toyota has been on a tear recently and the brand’s newest addition promises to lead all other vehicles of this type in the country.
Motoring news
Don't miss out on the headlines from Motoring news. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Toyota’s newest player has a huge claim to fame.
The Japanese brand has detailed the coming Yaris Hybrid, which is due to go on sale in Australia in May.
The pint-sized hatch is powered by a 1.5-litre engine and a small electric motor and battery. The petrol-electric combo will combine for astonishing claimed fuel use of just 3.3L/100km.
The minuscule figure will make it the most thrifty hybrid — excluding plug-in versions — in the country and a vast improvement on the current Yaris’s 6.4L/100km.
Toyota’s claim eclipses the Yaris’s bigger brother, the Corolla Hybrid, which sips 4.2L/100km, as well as the current thriftiest conventional hybrid, Hyundai’s Ioniq (3.4L).
Toyota Australia head of sales and marketing Sean Hanley says the car illustrates the brand’s intention to lower its environmental footprint.
“The all-new Toyota Yaris is a marked step up from the current car in every respect and will deliver the outstanding fuel efficiency and advanced safety technology that our customers demand,” Hanley says.
The arrival of the Yaris Hybrid will spell redundancy for the company’s current mini hybrid, the Prius C hatch.
Toyota is hoping the Yaris will help it reach this year’s sales target of 40,000 hybrids. The company sold more than 27,000 last year despite being severely hampered by supply issues of the new RAV4 Hybrid SUV.
In part, Toyota’s success in moving hybrids was in closing the price gap — the RAV4 Hybrid adds $2500 to the standard petrol versions and the Corolla Hybrid $1500.
There is a flip side — Toyota has also confirmed theYaris GR hot hatch, the polar opposite to the Yaris Hybrid, is due towards the end of this year.
The Yaris GR will be powered by a fire-cracker three-cylinder engine that makes 200kW/370Nm. It turns a six-speed manual transmission and all-wheel drive
Toyota says the Yaris GR can hit 100km/h from rest in 5.5 seconds on the way to 230km/h.
Originally published as Toyota Yaris Hybrid has amazingly low claimed fuel use
Why sales of new Toyota have skyrocketed
Fans have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first Toyota-bred performance car in 20 years, but there is a catch.
Nearly 130,000 Takata death traps still on Aussie roads
Seven leading car makers are bracing for a huge Australian legal battle over the Takata airbag scandal, as lawyers representing owners make explosive new claims.