By Staff Reporter

Toyota has taken the covers off the fourth-generation Yaris. It is the first of the manufacture’s compact cars to roll off Toyota’s New Global Architecture. This means the body is light yet is highly rigid and has a low center of gravity.

Exterior

The Yaris has been built from the ground up with a sharp styling of the headlights that give the face a fearless expression. Judging from the pictures that have released by the Japan-based manufacture, the Yaris will be turning heads by its sharp styling of the headlights and rear window, and rear-combination taillights that have been integrated into a new three-dimensional form.

The new Yaris will be offered in 12 exterior colours that include a newly developed Ice Pink Metallic and Coral Crystal Shine. As is a common theme these days, the new Yaris will also be available in a total of six two-tone colour schemes that are paired with either black or white roof colour.

Interior

Looking at the interior of the Yaris, it reveals a bigger and clutter-free environment which will allow the driver to concentrate on the driving. It is reported that various features have been adopted to express the quality interior that will include a hood-less dual digital TFT screen with a soft instrumental panel, a wider console, and increased storage space. The trend of space has been continued with the growing of the wheelbase by 50mm. Entering the Yaris will be easier as well as it will be lower than its predecessor.

Safety

New advanced safety systems have adopted on the Yaris, these will include pre-collision assist that detects pedestrians during the night and day and cyclists during the day to help prevent collisions and mitigate damage, Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Lane Tracing Assist, Low Speed Acceleration Control, Secondary Collision Brake and Road Sign Assist.

Engine

The Yaris will adopt newly developed 1.0-litre and 1.5-litre inline three-cylinder engines. The new generation 1.5-liter Hybrid System engine (adopted by Toyota for the first time) achieves greater fuel efficiency by enhancing the efficiency of the entire system and by adopting a dedicated engine designed for the Hybrid System and the other newly developed hybrid units. The former engine adopts various improvements that include increased tumble flow, higher EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) rate, and reduced friction to achieve nimble driving and low fuel consumption.

Local launch and pricing are also yet to be confirmed. In fact, it is unclear whether South Africa will get this Yaris or the Mazda based Yaris.