Made of fun Yaris family adds the Yaris Cross

With the arrival of the entirely new Yaris Cross compact SUV, the Toyota Yaris family continues to strengthen with a vehicle for all small car customer needs.

From the fun to drive Yaris Hatch, to the exhilaratingly fun GR Yaris, the Yaris Cross rounds out the comprehensive range as a compact SUV that offers urban drivers plenty of functionality wrapped up in a stylish package.

The Yaris Cross draws on Toyota’s strong heritage of SUV engineering, small car design and advanced hybrid technology.

While based on the new Yaris platform, the Yaris Cross is an entirely different looking vehicle with striking design and a more versatile interior. In addition, the Yaris Cross benefits from comprehensive safety and driver assist technologies.

“The Yaris nameplate has always been a strong model for Toyota and will continue to strengthen our range,” says Toyota New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Neeraj Lala.

“The Yaris brand will elevate excitement with the addition of the 3 strong models, that will appeal to varying customer needs while being fun to drive. Yaris is the best and safest small car, so with the addition of the Yaris Cross and GR Yaris, it is three times the fun!”

“Even better, we offer hybrid powertrain options in both the Yaris Hatch and the Yaris Cross. The hybrid options are likely to be sought after for their low carbon emissions and class-leading fuel efficiency.”

Greater rigidity, more fun

Yaris Cross follows its sister hatchback Yaris in adopting Toyota’s new GA-B vehicle platform. This ensures a high level of body rigidity and a well-balanced chassis, making the car responsive, agile and fun to drive.

With a 2,560mm wheelbase the Yaris Cross is 240mm longer overall with 50mm added to the front overhang and 180mm at the rear. The greater body length has created more interior space. Ground clearance is 30mm greater and Yaris Cross is taller at 1590mm, 90mm more than the hatch.

Two powertrains to choose from

For the new Yaris Cross and Yaris hatch, Toyota developed a new 1.5-litre three-cylinder Atkinson-cycle petrol engine and precision-engineered it to reduce friction and optimise combustion speed. Its peak output is 88kW and 145Nm of torque.

The hybrid variant uses an adaptation of the same 1.5L petrol engine and marries it with a new generation hybrid electric vehicle system. In addition to powerful, seamless driving, it achieves class-leading, combined fuel consumption of just 3.8L/100km. Total system output is 85kW.

Both the petrol and hybrid variants are front-wheel drive and have Continuously Variable Transmissions. Though a compact SUV, the Yaris Cross does have towing ability and is rated for maximum braked capacity of 1,250kg for the petrol model and 400kg for the hybrid.

The hybrid versions are available as either a standard GX model or higher specified Limited version while the GX model is also available in a petrol version.

Practical and versatile

Being a true SUV, special attention has been given to the functionality of the Yaris Cross.

The Yaris Cross is the first compact SUV from Toyota to utilise a 40/20/40 split rear seat and a 60/40 split adjustable deck board. The luggage capacity of 390 litres is exceptional for a compact SUV. Folding down the centre rear seat means even skis can be stowed comfortably in the Yaris Cross.

The Limited has additional practicality with a smart key, powered rear door with ‘kick sensor’, making life easier at the supermarket carpark.

Spacious and comfortable interior

The cabin of the Yaris Cross has a sophisticated and comfortable feel. There is use of soft padded materials on the dashboard and new felt material for the door trim.

The GX is equipped with black fabric seats featuring embossed patterns and khaki accented side bolsters. The front seats include six-way driver and four-way passenger adjustment.

The Limited features premium tweed-like fabric inserts and synthetic leather seat material. The Limited front driver seat is power-adjustable and both front seats are heated. The Limited also has a leather steering wheel, leather gear lever knob, rear privacy glass and an additional USB charging port.

The audio and entertainment system can be accessed via a 7-inch touchscreen. Sound is delivered via six speakers. The system enables both Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto®. The Limited has a colour head up display and satellite navigation with SUNA Traffic Channel.

Robust and minimalist design

Designing the Yaris Cross involved teams from Toyota design studios in Europe and Japan. At the start of the process there was a focus on customer research to determine exactly what customers were looking for in a compact urban SUV.

Customers not only wanted something that was stylish but also had a high level of practicality. The team was guided by the key words ‘Robust’ and ‘Minimalistic’, which expressed customers’ desire for both compactness and agility, as well as the robustness and strength of an SUV.

The final design emphasised higher ground clearance, a strong horizontal axis giving balance and poise, big squared wheel arches and big wheels – 16-inch alloys in the GX and 18-inch machined alloys in the Limited.

Advanced driver safety system

The foundation of the Yaris Cross’s safety performance is the TNGA-B platform, giving the car an exceptionally rigid body. The car further benefits from the latest generation of the Toyota Safety Sense active safety systems and advanced driver assistance functions. These systems help drivers avoid a wide range of common accident risks through driver information, early warnings, and, when necessary, automatic braking and steering intervention.

Standard in the Yaris Cross is a Pre-Collision System with autonomous emergency braking, Blind Spot Monitor, Lane Tracing Assist, All-Speed Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, eight airbags, and automatic high beam.

There are also two new safety features included in the Yaris Cross, Emergency Steering Assist and Crosswind Assist.

Emergency Steering Assist supports the driver when there is a possible collision risk with a pedestrian or obstacle in the car's lane of traffic and they must swerve to avoid an impact. The system provides additional steering torque to enhance vehicle stability and prevent the car from leaving its traffic lane.

Using the Vehicle’s Stability Control system, Crosswind Assist helps reduce lateral movement and unintended lane departure caused by a sudden crosswind. Based on information from the speed sensors, yaw rate sensor, acceleration sensor and steering sensor, when the system detects a significant deviation of the vehicle from its current path, it determines that it has been affected by a crosswind. The system then calculates the necessary brakeforce required according to the vehicle speed and the intensity of the deviation and operates the front and/or rear brakes on the side of the vehicle that is hit by the crosswind.

As a result, the yaw moment caused by the crosswind is reduced and the time before the driver needs to make steering corrections is extended, helping to prevent the vehicle deviating from its lane.

All Yaris Cross’ are equipped with a reversing camera featuring dynamic guidelines, while the Limited adds a Panoramic View Monitor and provides a surround view of the vehicle.

Parking Support Brake with front and rears sensors is also standard. This feature is capable of automatically controlling engine output and the brakes if it detects a possible collision with a vehicle or stationary object.

Toyota Drive Away Pricing

The Toyota Drive-away pricing includes all on road costs; WOF, registration, a full tank of fuel, the Toyota Care Service Advantage fixed price servicing package, floor mats, and three years or 100,000 kms warranty.

The 2021 Yaris Cross is priced at;

1.5 GX FWD SUV CVT $29,990
1.5 GX Hybrid FWD SUV ECVT $33,990
1.5 Limited Hybrid FWD SUV E-CVT $38,990

© Scoop Media