IN one of the North Island’s most isolated places, there’s a ghost town.
Nestled in a peaceful Taranaki valley, Tangarakau was briefly a bustling little settlement with a resident population of at least 1200.
Even though many structures have gone, memory of its existence linger.
Read MorePEOPLE who want larger small cars, those desiring hybrid but prefer not to draw attention to themselves, folk keen on off-road styling yet have no desire for any beyond seal ability.
In a nutshell, the Yaris Cross is for you.
With small crossovers being chic, petrol-electric interest rocketing, and an increasing count of consumers looking outside of the box … well, you can see why Toyota is confident about achieving big things from a car that slots a body shape inspired by its larger sports utilities onto a platform shared with the smallest tyke it sells.
Sure, from driving the hybrid editions in base GX (the silver car) and line-topping Limited (in red) formats, some personal irks were noted.
Read MorePrice: $98,990
Powertrain and economy: 3.0-litre turbo inline six, 285kW/500Nm, 8-speed automatic, RWD, combined economy 7.7L/100km.
Vital statistics: 4379mm long, 1292mm high, 1865mm wide, 2469mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 290 litres, 19-inch alloy wheels.
We like: Improved performance and driving feel, sounds better too.
We don't like: Tight for headroom, misses out on best iDrive format.
Price range: $54,990
Powertrains: 1.6-litre petrol inline three-cylinder petrol turbo with 200kW/370Nm, six-speed manual transmission, AWD, combined economy 7.6L/100km.
Vital statistics: 3995mm long, 1455mm high, 1805mm wide, 2558mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 141 litres, 18-inch alloy wheels.
We like: The entire concept, a stupendous achievement.
We don't like: Driver’s seat set a touch too high, they can’t build it fast enough.
THE old axiom about actions speaking louder than words?
From impression gained from driving the two cars it offers in New Zealand, it’s emphatically true for Gazoo - potentially at a faster rate than those who still ask ‘Ga-who?’ might imagine.
If ever there’s ever a safe bet to be laid, it’s that Toyota’s quirkily-named, come-from-nowhere motorsports and performance road car division, Gazoo Racing, aka GR, is well on the way to become a Manga-quality mega hero.
Two cars in, GR Supra and GR Yaris, and so many more to come … next year’s GR 86 coupe, a GR Corolla rumoured to share the GR Yaris’s all-wheel-drive hardware and the pinnacle achievement, a $1 million-plus two-seater exotic hypercar based on the Le Mans-winning Toyota TS050 endurance racer, but road legal, with a race-proven twin-turbo V6 hybrid engine. That’s the GR Super Sport, built by the same people who gave the world the astounding Lexus LFA, which in development raced with Gazoo branding.
And that’s just from GR proper. In the wings are two other sub-families, each playing to an extreme.
One is GRMN; Gazoo Racing Meisters of Nurburgring. GRMN’s job is to deliver treatments reserved for track-focussed models. GRMN versions of GR Supra and GR Yaris are already in development.
At the other end of the scale, there’s ‘GR Sport’, an accreditation for cars that will adopt some of the hardcore look, none of the wallop. They’ll have sporty styling cues and modified suspension; a similar approach to that taken by Ford with its ST and ST Line cars and Hyundai with N and N-Line ranges. The C-HR is confirmed. Perhaps the RAV4, the Hilux and the next-generation, aka 300-Series, Land Cruiser might also benefit.
So there’s a lot going on; enough to suggest it’s only a matter of time before the the Gazoo name carries the same cachet with the general motoring public as AMG, BMW M and Audi’s RS.
Which brings us back to what’s here now. GR Supra, with an update that leaves it closer to being what it supposedly should always have been – in simple terms, a Toyota-designed take on the BMW Z4, specifically the range-topping M40i - and GR Yaris.
Both great for brand cred, not so good for Toyota’s bottom line; the make tacitly admits the true cost of the GR Yaris especially, through being so specialist (the only exterior parts from the ‘donor’ are headlights, tail-lights, wing mirrors, and shark-fin antenna), is way higher than what they charge customers. Don’t feel bad. Toyota doesn’t. Particularly unfussed is Toyota’s chairman, Akio Toyota. He’s a petrolhead, with a genuine passion for motorsport – expressed in hands-on fashion, notably when he raced the LFA in the daunting Nurburgring 24 Hour – he says cars like these will lift Toyota’s image. Hard to disagree.
His ‘no matter what’ resolve was tested by the GR Yaris. The tester being stickered up as a WRC works car made for an eye-catching but somewhat ironic exercise, given this car now won’t ever get to test its mettle in the World Rally Championship.
No, really, it’s true. When Toyota heads into the 2021 season, it’ll be with the same double drivers’ title (2019, 2020) winning car it’s been campaigning since 2017, not this new one which, despite being created with express intent of taking over that job for this year and next, before handing over to a new car designed for 2022’s hybrid category, now cannot. Coronavirus disruption did for the car, sadly.
Such a shame we’ll never see it compete. Such a great relief Toyota didn’t junk the spin-off road-legal model, demanded to fulfil homologation requirement, or dilute its special fundamental ingredients.
Everything demanded for competition - from the unique bodyshell with carbon fibre roof through to that complex four-wheel drive with limited-slip differentials on both axles and, far from least, the world’s most powerful three-cylinder engine - comes to the street, with reminder of what could have been provided by the plaque near the handbrake that reads 'developed for FIA World Rally Championship.
Such a delight that the good work undertaken by Toyota under guidance from its rally experts, led then by no less than four-time world champ Tommi Makinen (he’s since been elevated to be come Toyota’s global motorsport advisor), to create the first properly bespoke model from Toyota in two decades since Celica GT-Four (from which it steals the internal power-per-litre title) works brilliantly on the road.
How good is this car? Here’s an example: I drove it and the updated Supra across the same roads and found they maintained much the same pace and achieved much the same travel time.
The difference was in the conditions on their respective days. The Supra took on a favourite, and eminently challenging road, on a dry day. When the Yaris took on the same run a week later, it was in the heaviest rain I’ve experienced this year. And yet … well, it simply stunned. And, just to reinforce, while each car was driven swiftly, each exercise was with respect to safety. So, no careless crossing the centre line, little tyre-squealing, no disregard for posted speed limits.
Sure, if contest is considered, it needs to be as here; right roads, right days. In a straight line, the in-house GR fight is emphatically a one-way contest. As big-hearted as that tri-cylinder feels and sounds (though how much of that note is real, how much synthesised is fair to ask), with 0-100kmh in 5.2 seconds, the berserk baby is almost a full second behind GR Supra in a sprint to the highway limit.
It’s when A to B is reached, as it was on my days, via sinuous and continual cornering … well, that’s where the GR Yaris’s alacrity and athleticism, mostly in third gear (which it can hold from 60kmh to around 114kmh) is all the more gut-pounding. There were occasions when I had to slow to take a breath. Honestly, it’s that relentlessly rapid and rabid.
I mean, it’s not as if I wasn’t prepared. I know rally-set specials; having had wheel-time in virtually every Evo and STi, the Escort and Sierra Cosworths, even an Integrale Evo (ok, that was as a passenger). Funnily, the most memorable of those was … you guessed it, the Tommi Makinen Lancer Evo 6.5, tried in fully unrestricted form, owned then by one of several friends who hold NZ national rally titles. I wish I could have shared the GR with those guys, gauged their impressions.
It’s not just the sheer energy that leave indelible impression that this is a tangible effigy of what might have been a championship-winning racer; the sheer surgical precision of the thing is equally awe-inspiring. A chassis that exploits Toyota’s New Global Architecture platforms (TNGA) by combining an existing Yaris ‘GA-B’ platform up front, with Corolla’s ‘GA-C’ underpinnings towards the rear might sound make-do, but it does really nicely. Brakes with rotors larger than those on the Supra, top-shelf tyres – Michelin Pilot Super Sports, as per Supra, though in smaller size - speak to the quest for perfection with this exercise.
Even moreso the 'GR-four' all-wheel-drive system. The main component is a multi-plate clutch coupling unit located in the back of the car, in front of its rear differential, but further tricks include differing final-drive ratios front to rear, in order to assist in torque manipulation. The system has a theoretical torque-split range, front to rear, from 100 to 0:100, but this is not possible in reality.
What is possible is 60:40 in Regular mode, 50:50 in Track mode, or 30:70 in Sport mode, the latter often being the go-to for most of the driving I entertained, because it makes the car more tail-biased; almost like a rear-drive car, certainly better than some previous rally-ready and even some current road-tuned AWD cars.
You need work the six-speed manual, but that’s part of the joy. The pedal set also feels entirely designed around heel-toe footwork (if you’re not so flash, the car features auto-blipping) and when into the zone, it’s one of the most communicative cars I’ve met; the purity of its driver focus is something else.
On that point, bear in mind that when driven with enthusiasm somewhat of an ‘anti-passenger’ car. Rally cars need navigators because otherwise the driver wouldn’t have an edge; in the GR Yaris, anyone occupying the left-side seat might find it too overwhelming an experience if the driver treats favourite roads as special stages as the G-loadings are pretty high. Also, with such a petite frame and all-wheel-drive nature, it changes direction fiercely, turns in sharply, and puts its power down abruptly. Yes, it WILL oversteer, even with all driving aids on, but even then the car’s nature is very wham-bam.
If you wanted a fast car experience and hoped to keep your stomach contents intact, the Supra is the better choice, as it has a more ‘natural’ transition. By degree. It also stomps pretty hard, now. The Yaris adds additional hooligan edge in that tugging on the handbrake triggers the car to disconnect drive to the rear wheels, which is a cool thing for those out to finesse their inner Gigi Galli (don’t know him? Go to YouTube, all is revealed).
The YAris engine is simply epic. Incredibly strong for its capacity and cylinder count; the road tune undoubtedly dictates a greater degree of flexibility to the tune than any race engineer would want but it’s not soft. Max torque piles on in the midrange and the power curve is muscular. Heavy-footed blast-offs are happily accepted, though only when the engine is properly warmed. It’ll remind you to go easy until the temps are right.
Both GRs strike a great look. The Supra’s special edition blue brilliantly highlights the complexity of this shape; reinforcing how the rear end in particular is full of aggression and intent, with its wider high-performance tyres, big aerodynamic diffuser and outrageously shaped lights. The centrally mounted reversing light and the shape of the front bumper are specifically designed to invoke the raised nose of a modern F1 racer. A surprising tribute given how poorly Toyota did in that arena.
The Yaris doesn’t need stickers to reinforce its rally-ready aura. The aerodynamically proficient wide body treatment, the squat stance and impression of it being abnormally wider than it is tall; it’s awesome. The latter is no trick of the eye. Makinen insisted the regular Yaris roofline be lowered and lightened; hence the carbon-fibre composite roof skin. I’d love to see it with a big WRC wing. So, apparently, does GRMN. Their prototype seen testing (at the Nurburgring, of course) had this, vented front guards and a more aggressive front spoiler. Hey, why not?
Slip inside each and it’s the smaller car that feels more spacious, certainly better served for headroom. Supra’s roof design really makes it a tough car for the tall. Side visibility is also limited; you really have to be careful at intersections. With Yaris, it’s the direct ahead view that’s slightly compromised. Looking slightly left you find need to duck to see between the top of the centre infotainment screen and the bottom of the rear-view mirror. When it’s raining, you wish the right-side wiper would sweep closer to the A-pillar; as-is there’s just a sliver of dirty screen to peer around when apexing. A slightly lower seat would be brilliant.
Back in the day, WRXs and Evos had cruddy interiors because the makers knew most owners would rip ‘em out during transformation for competition. It’s not quite like that in the GR Yaris, but you can see where the effort has been made – namely, the Alcantara and faux-leather sports seats and the perfect-sized, GR-branded steering wheel – and where its been relaxed: Plain looking plastics, the infotainment system being nothing particularly flash in respect to operability (though it does have JBL internals).
Supra has higher quality trim but so it should, given the price. Even so, the iDrive is still a whole generation behind the Z4s. The very good reputations of their manufacturing bases – the old LFA line in Japan for Yaris, the Magna Steyr facility in Austria for Supra – shows in their assembly quality. The Yaris has extra kudos from being literally hand-built.
They’re patently very different cars, yet have a commonality in being cars you can truly celebrate. Simply that they exist is wonderful.
If you had to pick just one, it’d have to be the Yaris. No argument, the Supra has become a better car; the engine is much better in this new tune. Changes to the suspension and steering tune also enhance the enjoyability.
And yet, in years to come, when drinks are being shared and tall tales told, it’s less likely to be the primary subject of a ‘my best GR’ reminiscence.
That honour has to fall to the GR Yaris. It is, quite simply, a giant; the start of something really big.
Price: $33,990
Powertrain and economy: 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, 67kW/120Nm, total hybrid system output 85kW. Continuously variable automatic. Official combined economy 3.8L/100km, CO2 86g/km.
Vital statistics: 4180mm long, 1765mm wide, 1590mm high, 2560 wheelbase, 16-inch alloys and 205/65 R16 tyres.
We like: Looks distinctively different to Yaris hatch, impressive interior room, good ride and handling, hybrid economy.
We don’t like: Lane trace assist is quite touchy, rear doors don’t quite open wide enough.
TALK about perfect timing. At the very time when compact SUVs take over as the most popular model type in New Zealand, Toyota introduces its first-ever offering in that market segment.
The vehicle is the Yaris Cross, which is related to the new Yaris hatch in that it is built on essentially the same platform, has the same petrol and hybrid powertrains, and boasts pretty much the same interior.
But it is in fact a much different vehicle. It doesn’t share any body panels, it is bigger and rides on a longer wheelbase, and has the SUV-style higher ride height via 30mm greater ground clearance.
All this means that although Toyota New Zealand is happily marketing the Yaris Cross as a member of the Yaris family, just as it is with the stonking little Yaris GR hot hatch, the reality is it is a separate model.
And that places the vehicle in a perfect position to take full advantage of the booming state of the compact SUV segment.
Consider these statistics. Last year it was medium SUVs that were the most popular passenger vehicle genre with a 19 percent share, while the compact models held 15 percent. But this year to date to the end of October this gap had closed to 20 percent for mediums and 19 percent for compacts – with a feature of October’s sales being a complete reversal of fortunes, with the compacts taking 23 percent and the mediums 18 percent.
Expect that gap to become more pronounced over the last months of 2020, because since the end of October we’ve seen the arrival of Ford’s nice new Puma as well as the launch this new addition to the Toyota SUV lineup.
And something that gives the Yaris Cross a potential edge over all the competition is that it is available as a petrol-electric hybrid. In fact the majority of the Cross models on offer are hybrids. The range begins with a standard petrol-engined $29,990 GX, and then moves into the hybrids – an entry GX for $33,990, a higher-spec Limited for $38,990, and topping out with a Limited with two-tone paint scheme for $39,490.
It all impresses as a rather intelligent pricing structure. The entry GX petrol’s list price is exactly the same as several other small SUVs currently on sale here including the Honda HR-V, Hyundai Venue, Mitsubishi ASX and Suzuki S-Cross.
And then there are the hybrids, which are unique in the small SUV segment. So really, it could be said that from the powertrain technology perspective the only vehicles the Yaris Cross hybrids compete against are other Toyota hybrid SUVs – the slightly larger and more powerful C-HR which costs from $36,990, and the medium-sized RAV4 from $38,990.
In many respects it is notable that the Yaris Cross has arrived in New Zealand at roughly the same time as the Ford Puma. That’s because they have a certain similarity of looks, both of them light years away from the more traditional SUV-lite design menus of other compact SUVs currently on the market.
Maybe it’s because of their European design influences – the Puma is a Ford of Europe product and is assembled in Romania, and while the Yaris Cross comes out of Japan, it is the result of a collaboration between Toyota design studios in Europe and Japan.
Compared to the swept looks of the Yaris hatch, the Yaris Cross has more chunky and rugged styling, particularly a distinctive frontal area and big squared-off wheel arches. As I said before, it doesn’t share any body panels with other members of the Yaris family.
While the Cross shares Toyota’s new TNGA-B vehicle platform with the hatch, it has a slightly longer wheelbase, the bodyshell is 240mm longer, and the roof is 90mm higher, all of which translates to superior interior room.
Our drive has been in a GX hybrid, which being an entry model is fitted with 16-inch wheels and tyres that to my eyes don’t seem quite big enough to fill the vehicle’s very large squared-off wheel arches that are framed with protective cladding. The Limited models have 18-inch wheels which I’m sure would look better.
Yaris Cross is a nice-looking small SUV though, with a particularly distinctive frontal design. The rear opens up to reveal 390 litres of load space with all seats in use, which is among the best of the compact SUV class, and the cargo area features a rear seat that can be split 40/20/40, and a 60/40 split adjustable deck board, for better versatility of use.
Interestingly, the Cross is also rated to tow 400kg. Being a hybrid, that’s less than the 1250kg tow rating of the standard petrol model, but at least it can tow – which is something the likes of the Yaris hatch hybrid and the Corolla hybrids can’t do.
Under the bonnet is exactly the same powertrain as the hatch hybrid. The petrol engine is a de-specified 1.5-litre three-cylinder Atkinson Cycle unit that for the hybrid application delivers 67 kW of power at 5500rpm, and 120 Nm of torque from 3800 rpm to 4800 rpm. When combined with the electric motor the total system output is 85kW.
That’s sufficient to give the vehicle totally acceptable urban performance. Under accelerator load the little petrol triple can get a bit noisy in a three-cylinder raucous sort of way, but overall things are very good.
During our time with the Cross we took it on a decent road trip, and I was impressed with its open road performance, ride and handling. It really does drive like a slightly higher-riding hatch, improved visibility and all.
Obviously helping things along in this regard is the Yaris Cross’ TNGA-B platform which gives it exceptional rigidity. The vehicle also carries the latest generation of the Toyota Safety Sense active safety and drive assistance package, which features such items as a pre-collision system with autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitor, lane tracing assist, all-speed dynamic radar cruise control, automatic high beam, and eight airbags.
There are also two new safety features – emergency steering assist, and crosswind assist.
Emergency steering assist kicks into action when there is a possible collision risk in the vehicle’s lane of traffic, and the driver needs to swerve to avoid an impact. The system provides additional steering torque to help get the vehicle out of the way.
Crosswind assist uses the vehicle’s stability control system to help reduce unintended lane departure caused by a sudden crosswind gust. When it detects such a deviation, it calculates the necessary brake force required according to vehicle speed and the intensity of the deviation, and it operates the brakes on the side of the vehicle hit by the gust.
It wasn’t particularly windy during our drive, so crosswind assist wasn’t put to the test – at least I think it wasn’t, as such systems are normally so fast-acting that they have started and finished their tasks before those aboard know it.
An obvious feature of any hybrid vehicle is fuel economy. Toyota claims an average fuel consumption of 3.8 L/100km with the Yaris Cross, which I was unable to achieve. But that was because such official figures are never attained in real-world conditions anyway, particularly on New Zealand’s coarse chip highway seal. But I did achieve a 4.7 L/100km average.
The interior of the Yaris Cross is essentially the same as the Yaris hatch. At the GX level of specification the seats are black fabric with khaki-accented side bolsters. There’s also felt material used for the door trim.
Audio and entertainment is access via a 7-inch touchscreen, and the system enables both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Surprisingly, the vehicle doesn’t feature satellite navigation which I thought was just about a given in all vehicles these days. It is available in the Limited models, however.
Something else the GX doesn’t have, which also surprised me a little, is push-button start. I lost count of the number of times I chucked the keys into the centre console before realising I had to use them to start the vehicle. It wasn’t an issue – just a surprise.
Overall though, the Yaris Cross interior as spacious and comfortable. It has more room thanks to the fact the vehicle is longer, wider and taller, and it eats the hatch in terms of rear luggage space – which I should add, is close to double that of the larger Corolla hatch which is notorious for its lack of cargo room.
In fact the whole of the Yaris Cross experience is comfortable. I like the concept of a small SUV that is practical and rated to tow, offers the environmental and economic benefits of hybrid technology, and is a good drive both around town and out on the open road. This vehicle does all of that in spades.
Images: Colin Smith and supplied.
Price: $58,990
Powertrain and performance: 2.8-litre four-cylinder 16-valve turbocharged diesel engine. 150kW/3000-3400rpm, 500Nm/1600-2800rpm. Four-wheel-drive. Combined cycle fuel consumption 7.9L/100km (claim), 9.3L/100km (road test).
Vital statistics: Length 5325mm, height 1815mm, width 1900mm, wheelbase 3090mm. Wheels: 18-inch alloys with 265/60 R18 Dunlop Grand Trek PT tyres.
We like: Comprehensive safety and driver assist features and improved response from the upgraded diesel engine. Larger touchscreen and long-awaited addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
We don’t like: Unsure if the claimed fuel consumption improvements are achievable.
IT WAS a very brief reign for the 4WD SR5 Cruiser as the flagship of Toyota’s upgraded 2021 Hilux range.
From an evening press conference till afternoon tea the next day the SR5 Cruiser was king of the hill in the Hilux family.
Then the Raptor-hunting Hilux Mako arrived from out of the sky – slung below a Blackhawk helicopter – and immediately the SR5 Cruiser seemed like just another Hilux.
Only available in Double Cab configuration with an automatic transmission, the SR5 Cruiser is positioned to showcase the full extent of 2021 upgrades across the Hilux range.
It’s only in partnership with the six-speed automatic transmission where the latest 50Nm torque boost to 500Nm from the 2.8-litre diesel engine is available.
And it’s the double cab configuration which benefits from the full scope of suspension upgrades that deliver noticeably more settled medium-speed and highway ride comfort.
In spite of a $2500 price increase the MY21 SR5 Cruiser still finds an important sub-$60k price position at $58,990 (including on-road costs and the other benefits of Toyota’s Drive Happy programme).
Other aspects of the MY21 upgrade have seen the 4WD SR5 Cruiser specification boosted with the introduction of a nine-speaker JBL audio system, an auto-dimming interior mirror, stylish blue ambient lighting in the door trims, new matte and piano black interior surfaces, an upgraded instrument cluster and multi-info display and a new leather accented two-tone grey/black seat trim.
Exterior highlights include new 18-inch alloy wheels in a two-tone grey/black finish, the addition of welcome lights in the door mirrors, a unique black tailgate garnish and Cruiser-specific darkened detailing around the grille, bumper, headlight and fog lamp accents to give a much more defined front-end look to the Hilux.
It’s not just a 20kW power increase and 50Nm torque boost for the 2.8-litre diesel. It’s more refined with quieter cold start and warm-up idle characteristics.
It’s not only evident the revised engine has stronger low-rpm muscle but it also continues to deliver power toward higher revs which has benefits for highway overtaking response.
The boost in power and torque is achieved by a new cylinder block and pistons, a bigger turbo, new exhaust manifold, increased fuel injection pressure and cooling improvements.
The new output figures are 150kW and 500Nm but the big torque number only applies when the Hilux has the six-speed automatic transmission. With the manual gearbox (not relevant to the SR5 Cruiser grade but available in SR5 level) there is an unchanged 420Nm torque peak.
Improved performance is accompanied by a claimed 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption and 11 percent lower CO2 emissions.
Toyota now claims a combined cycle figure of 7.9L/100km but even with much of my driving on the highway I could only manage 9.3L/100km and was left wondering how much the number would improve with a bit more mileage.
Toyota engineers have made chassis and suspension improvements that achieve more compliance and control from the initial suspension response across bumps and corrugations.
Shock absorbers, spring rates and suspension bushes are all updated for 2021 while a new variable flow power steering pump requires reduced low speed steering effort but provides a pleasingly direct feel on the highway and back roads as the assistance level reduces.
The more settled feel of the highway ride quality also comes from an extra leaf spring being added to the rear suspension of all diesel double cab models.
The refinement focus is continued with changes to the cab mounting points for improved vibration insulation.
The overall feel of the new SR5 Cruiser is a more refined on-road performer with crisper throttle response. The driving characteristics include a more precise feel and suspension that copes better across both higher frequency corrugations as also single input bumps and broken surfaces.
The other significant MY21 Hilux changes come within the cabin with the immediately noticeable change being a larger 8.0-inch touchscreen – in place for previous 6.0- and 7.0-inch screens – for all models.
That change is accompanied by the long-awaited introduction of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality. That least when Toyota finally makes the move it is adopted as standard across the full range including the entry-level WorkMate models.
The revised 4.2-inch multi-info display now includes a digital speedo readout.
While rugged off-road capability remains a key part of the Hilux 4x4 skillset there is also the on-road benefit of the standard across-the-range Toyota Safety Sense package.
TSS content includes Dynamic Radar Cruise Control with pre-collision safety and autonomous emergency braking, lane departure alert and road sign assist on all models. There are seven airbags and the 2019 5-star ANCAP rating carries over.
Hill-Start Assist Control is standard and all 4x4 models now have Downhill Assist Control (previously the SR Double Cab 4WD manual missed out on this feature).
It’s been interesting to follow the fortunes of the eighth generation Hilux since it launched in late-2015. The Ford Ranger had taken ute market leadership the previous year as the previous generation Hilux became very long in the tooth.
Since then Hilux has sold in record numbers but has never dislodged the Ranger from No.1 spot for more than an occasional month. Yet last month, it’s first in the market, Hilux beat the Ford on count to take the top step. How many of these were old models at an attractive run-out price; how many were dealer demonstrators? Still, it outwardly seems a good start.
The MY21 is the best-looking Hilux yet and with its improved performance and refinement plus new technology features it has the best chance yet of ute market leadership.
Price: $32,990.
Powertrain and economy: 1.5-litre petrol three-cylinder, 67kW/120Nm (85kW total system output), constantly variable transmission, FWD, combined economy 3.3L/100km, CO2 76g/km.
Vital statistics: 3940mm long, 1695mm wide, 1500mm high, 2550mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 270 litres, 185/55 R16 alloy wheels.
We like: Impressive thrift, playful chassis, strong spec.
We don't like: Drum brakes, overly-fussy dash displays.
CALL it Brutus … the car that not only stabs Toyota’s Caesar in the back, but puts a knife through its heart.
Okay, so the Prius has had it coming for some years. Other Toyotas with intrinsically the same battery-fed petrol-electric drivetrain that made its world debut in a gawky hatch (internationally, the sedan was officially Japan-only) have already proven themselves to be smarter buys in respect to driveability, comfort, social awareness and cost-effectiveness (and, in the here and now, that means you, RAV4).
Yet there’s one ace card the nameplate that ‘started it all’ has always held grimly. The one constant with the nameplate that kicked everything off and has been around since 1997 has been that it’s the ‘go-to’ car if you want ultimate fuel economy. All four generations have set that pace.
On release, Toyota let it be known, but not too loudly, that the 1.5-litre Yaris hybrid, entering the scene with the first three-cylinder petrol engine it has paired to an electric motor and battery, was a thriftier car than the Prius hatch.
However, it wasn’t by much – just 0.1 litres per 100km – and with all indication being that this result came from a lab result rather than the latest WLTP testing protocol, accepted as the measuring stick for cars entering our market, my own supposition was that it probably wasn’t that relevant for real world operability.
So, anyway, with the ZR Hybrid the aim was to drive normally for a week; over a cycle that might be considered usual for an average owner. No special consideration to economy. Just driving. Air con on, going with the flow speed-wise and so on.
Before giving away how it went, a quick recap on what the brand reckons is ultimately achievable. An official combined consumption of 3.3 litres per 100km represents a 0.1L/100km advantage over the full-sized Prius, a 0.6L/100km advantage over the Prius C and also 0.1 up on the most parsimonious non-Toyota here, Hyundai’s Ioniq Hybrid. Also well up on the non-hybrid Yaris, which also has this 1.5 but in different tune. That car’s a guts in this company, with an optimal 4.9.
So, the ZR Hybrid clocked just under 300kms. Around half of that was in urban driving, the remainder dedicated to an open road drive. Sounds like something you might do?
I expected the best thrift coming up around town and, sure enough, it was certainly sipping then, dipping to as low as 2.1 litres per 100km in stop-start traffic. I also expected that the burn would increase on the open road. And, yes, that happened; just as it does with a Prius. Except not to the same degree. Not even close.
My experience with Prius is that you have to work diligently to extract a sub four litres’ per 100km average from open road driving. The Yaris?
For the first half of the trip, the car was run in its economy mode, with an average of 3.8 litres per 100km by halfway. I drove a further 20kms in a 50kmh zone, in a busy traffic stream, then retraced the open road trip, this time with the transmission in its Power mode. Sure enough, this made the car feel noticeably brisker. Yet … and here’s the kicker … the average by the end of the trip was 3.4L/100km. When the car was returned to Toyota three days on, it was up to 3.9L/100m. With no effort involved. That’s thrifty.
Will a Yaris ever be considered by a Prius purchaser? The cars are unequal in size and price, yet the prospect cannot be ignored; the cheapest Prius, the SX, is $7000 clear of the dearest Yaris but if you want specification comparability, then the gap widens by a further $6500.
It’s something of a moot point. Even though Toyota hybrid sales keep strengthening, it’s driven by interest in versions of regular cars: Camry, Corolla and, now, RAV4. Market interest in Prius, a car that was once a must-have for every one whose was anyone, has eroded to the point it barely achieves double registrations figures in any month. Now that the old hero has been outgunned on economy … well, is that the sound of a nail being hammered in?
Fratricide isn’t really what Yaris is all about, of course. As always, expectation is to continue supremacy in the supermini zone, which though eroded by those pesky crossovers is still a core business.
The brand has gone in hard in respect to maintaining profile. This is a completely fresh start – new from the tyres up, and the biggest change in philosophy and shape in 15 years.
Going big means going a touch smaller. The shift to the make’s smallest adaptable platform yet, known internally as TNGA-B, allows the car to be 5mm shorter, 50mm wider and 40mm lower than the old model, but with a 50mm longer wheelbase to generate additional interior space. It also sits closer to the asphalt and has a squarer stance, which makes it look more serious this time around.
So much of how the car is shaped reminds the small cars are a design nightmare; there’s huge impetus to deliver a sense of individuality, of course, and character is important as well, yet the abiding remit above all is to maximise the interior capaciousness without affecting exterior compactness. In short, panache is all well and good, but it has to be practical.
Toyota’s perhaps treading a fine line. The Yaris is definitely bold. It’s also … well, a bit quirky, too. A more aggressive nose is attached to a body that appears slightly inflated, with some weird creases, angles and push-outs. It’s a new look for the street, no argument, if not necessarily for Toyota – the profile is strongly reminiscent of a car we never got here, the even smaller Aygo, a co-production with PSA purely for Europe. One tip if you’re keen to be noticed: Sidestep the dull colours, including the dark metallic red on our tester, and instead plump for a vibrant primary hue, then spend the extra $500 on achieving a black roof. Doing so will really lift its kerbside character.
Being big where it counts delivers when you slip inside. The front half of the cabin is a top spot. There’s a good amount of room and, with the front chairs being set quite bit lower and a touch further apart, it not only delivers a far more natural driving position but also one less prone to shoulder-rubbing.
This revision doesn’t impinge on the rear, where a lofty driver doesn’t have to give too much consideration to allow taller passengers to achieve reasonable back seat comfort. Short distances are better than long, perhaps, but there’s foot space beneath the front seats, a sensible amount of kneeroom and decent headroom.
To optimise occupant space they’ve reduced real estate further behind, fortunately not to the cruelly detrimental effect that has really hurt the Corolla. While still better than some, in a sector where every skerrick of space counts, a 16 litre reduction in capacity, to 270 litres now, with all design accommodations – a false floor for hiding valuables, a skinny space saver, hybrid battery under the back seat - it’s coming close to marginal.
If it lightens the load there, it packs it on in another key area: Specification. When it comes to the equipment level, even cynics will have to admit Toyota has upped its game, not least in respect to safety this time around.
The Yaris has yet to undergo the ANCAP crash test that matters most here, but it is surely well-prepared. The new TNGA platform has performed well in its other representations and all models come with eight airbags in total, including twin centre airbags (on the inboard cushion of both front seats) to better protect occupants in a side-impact crash.
On top of this, it’s gone all serious about avoidance tech, with far more than has ever previously been seen in a Yaris. Now everything specifies with speed sign recognition, lane-tracing assistance, autonomous emergency braking with intersection assistance, reverse camera, and automatic high beam, while the ZR chucks in blind-zone warning, rear cross-traffic alert, and front and rear parking sensors. It’s a pity the latter only go into the optimum level, as those functions are increasingly standard on new models, but all in all it ticks a lot of boxes and it’d be churlish to criticise it for that.
All these functions require display space and the priority spot, a modest-sized panel adjacent to the speedo, can become busy. You can be facing a load of icons, all vying for your attention, spanning quite a lot of interest points, from lane keep and speed sign awareness to economy, range and the hybrid system’s operability. Oh yeah, and a few sub-menus that, realistically, shouldn’t be explored until you’re parked up.
Just too much? There’s surely some risk newbies will become bewildered to the point of simply ignoring what the car is relating. Which is surely counter-productive to all the good deeds it can perform.
The ZR has other displays. There’s a head-up projection that’s well designed and comprehensible at a glance; just as it should be. The touch sensitive head unit on the console directly ahead of the transmission lever is right-sized, well sorted in respect to finger-prodding functionality and looks swish. Arrival, at last, of Apple CarPlay integration means you needn’t use any of the in-build functionality, which is just as well, because Toyotas own displays haven’t progressed in years. The fonts, graphics, washed-out colours and slightly whiffy resolution has a staleness and operability is slow. You’d never bother with the in-built sat nav. Google maps are so much faster and better resourced. This, some hard, shiny plastics and use of old-style switches deliver unnecessary cheapness to a cabin that, on the whole, really represents as a step up in quality and style and could, with a bit more effort, have set a new bar for the category.
Given that Toyota has been making hybrids since last century and this is actually the fourth compilation of a petrol-electric drive system to go into a Yaris (though the first for our market), you might start to wonder when a petrol-electric set-up starts to be considered time-worn.
Well, not in this sector. For one, because Toyota alone presents this level of tech in the category and also because this is a fresh approach; not as technically advanced as the system implemented in the RAV4, similar in basics to those in the Corolla, Camry and … ahem .. the Prius but sharper and smarter.
What you’re getting is a three-cylinder version of the more familiar 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, utilising the Atkinson cycle and running a high compression ratio of 14:1.
It’s linked to a new electrical motor producing almost 60kW and 140Nm of torque, along with a lighter lithium-ion battery pack, still driving the front wheels via a CVT automatic gearbox, of course, though even that seems sharpened.
This Yaris is the first to use this new type of battery pack, allowing double the recharge capacity and 50 percent more output. The battery cools through the use of the cabin’s air temperature, negating the need for a stand-alone liquid system.
Impression Toyota has made another step forward increases with operability; the car still doesn’t go wholly electric for prolonged periods, but it does deliver more battery-first involvement: It’s the default when you punch the Start-Stop button at start-up – though, the colder the morning, the shorter the delay before the engine might also fire as well – but once warmed and with a light throttle from standstill you can stay on EV power for almost a kilometre if you don’t go over 40kmh. At higher pace and even under a more enthusiastic approach, the classic Toyota hybrid experience that occurs once underway seems slightly more oriented toward electric optimisation. Hence, I guess, why there’s such a clear fuel-saving benefit.
The thrum that’s a trademark of all three-cylinders is not too obvious here; yes you can hear when the engine is toiling, but it’s not overly obvious. A shame in a way, as it has quite a nice note. When both energy sources are working as one, the car feels quite sprightly and you can feel when the instant torque from the electric motor in lending to the job.
Fun to drive, I hear you say? Well, yes, I’d have to agree with that. It’s quite a world away from those earlier hybrids, where the science project approach was all too obvious.
Of course, there’s a very good reason why Yaris is stepping up for driver involvement. The TNGA was designed to deliver this and, beyond that, the mainstream model is the basis of a genuine hot hatch, the GR Yaris, that’ll be here at year end. Different body (three-door, not five), a substantially different powertrain and drive system (all-wheel-drive) and quite in another league for performance .. yet, underneath it all, the same basic car. I can’t wait.
The ZR Hybrid doesn’t ache for racing stripes, because it’s never sporty. And why should it be? Yet the ride and handling is improved and the bigger footprint is a plus point; all the previous jauntiness has been replaced by a more grown-up feel. It’s settled on surfaces that would jolt the predecessor and is a much more precise-feeling car. At same token, out on the open road, it is less wearying. There’s clearly been huge effort put into making it more refined and much quieter. The engine is rarely outright vocal and, at a steady pace, the mechanical involvement is hardly obvious. More obvious is the tyre roar over coarse chip.
I don’t particularly like CVTs, I’d have to agree this one works competently in this application; it still flares a bit and doesn’t encourage manual intervention but will probably still come across as being well-sorted and in tune with buyer expectation.
The Yaris arriving with rear drum brakes is a bit of an eyebrow raiser. The emergency stopping performance isn’t brilliant; that could also be down to the low-friction tyres as well.
Even this, the overly-complex dash displays and that it has some obviously cheap plastics inside that doesn’t keep the Yaris from winning a lot of plaudits.
It’s thoroughly executed product; the chassis delivers the road manners of cars in the next class size up; the drivetrain has verve beyond its size; the car has flair. We don’t mind the look and look forward to trying out the other family members. The Yaris Cross and the GR are clearly coming off good bones.
Why bother with a hybrid system when small cars are generally fuel-ekers by nature anyway? Fair question: It’s probable the standard Yaris will also take its time to empty a tank. Yet highly improbable it will come close to emulating the efficiency discovered here.
If not quite as technically advanced as that in the RAV4, the Yaris hybrid is a technical tour de force; it’s hard to imagine it not going into other existing cars. It’d be a good fit for the Corolla, I’d suggest. For sure, Toyota has to push on into more overly electric fare – a plug-in hybrid option for the Yaris facelift would seem only logical and, ultimately, it has to front up with a compact fully electric vehicle.
Even so, the Hybrid as it presents now is pretty decent, what adds to the allure is how easily it appears to accomplish its efficiency.
In that respect, you shouldn’t be surprised if you see a death notice for a legend. It’d be sad to see the Prius go, given its history and major impact, but unless it manages to find another ace card, it’s really surely now on borrowed time.
Prices: GX hatch (as tested) $33,490, SX sedan $35,490. An SX version of the hatch has also just been introduced, at $35,490.
Powertrains and performance: 1.8-litre four cylinder petrol engine, 72kW at 5200rpm, 142Nm at 3600. Combined with Toyota hybrid system for total system output of 90kW. Front-wheel drive. Hatch 4.2 L/100km, 97 g/km CO2, sedan 3.5 L/100km, 81 g/km CO2.
Vital statistics: Hatch: length 4370mm, width 1790mm, height 1435mm, wheelbase 2640mm. Sedan: length 4630mm, width 1780mm, height 1435mm, wheelbase 2670mm. Luggage: hatch 208 litres, sedan 470 litres.
We like: Hatch: better looks, better drive. Sedan: more interior room, superior fuel economy.
We don’t like: Hatch: That lack of interior room. Sedan: Those conservative looks.
THIS is a tale of two Toyota Corolla hybrids – one a hatch, the other a sedan. We’re comparing one model against the other because it could be said that while one body style puts form before function, the other puts function before form.
The comparison had its beginnings back in 2018 when Toyota New Zealand launched the new 12th generation Corolla hatch, which went on sale in petrol and hybrid forms.
This powertrain choice was important, because it represented the latest step in Toyota Motor Corporation’s grand plan to offer a hybrid version of every popular model by 2025. And especially important for TNZ, because it was known that the Government intended introducing a proposed Clean Car Initiative from 2022.
Remember that? The initiative, introduced in July last year, proposes a Clean Car Standard (a fuel efficiency standard) and a Clean Car Discount (a feebate scheme that would apply a rebate or penalty depending on exhaust emissions), all with a target for 2025 of exhaust emissions of no more than 105 grams per kilometre (g/km) of CO2.
Not much has been heard of a proposal since. Submissions closed in August last year and presumably are now being considered. Then in February New Zealand First took action to put the kybosh on the whole plan anyway, but the Greens countered by saying they would make it an Election issue.
MMP politics, huh? But what is a constant through all this proposal, submission and debate is the acknowledgement that something has to be done about the role transport plays in the level of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions. After all, light vehicles – which are all vehicles of 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight or less – account for almost two-thirds of our country’s transport emissions, which in turn account for 20 per cent of all emissions.
So with that background, it was good that Toyota NZ launched the 12th generation Corolla hatch with a choice of variants with petrol-electric hybrid powertrains. In hatch form the Corolla hybrid has an official average fuel consumption of just 4.2 L/100km and exhaust emissions of 97 g/km of CO2.
That’s way below the Clean Car Initiative’s 105 g/km target for 2025. Corolla has also helped Toyota NZ reduce the average CO2 emissions by close to 10 per cent across its entire vehicle fleet, because the hatch immediately became among New Zealand’s most popular passenger vehicles, with a high percentage of sales (current 68 per cent) the hybrids.
But as popular as the new Corolla hatch has been, it also has some glaring faults. It has a lovely exterior design, particularly the rear where the hatch gracefully sweeps down from the roofline. But these swept lines also translate to the car’s biggest design issue – a lack of rear space.
The rear seats are cramped for legroom, and with all seats in use there is a mere 208 litres of cargo space under the tonneau cover (300 litres in the top ZR model which carries a tyre repair kit rather than a spare).
In every other respect the new Corolla hybrid is a really good car that offers an excellent drive and which carries leading-edge technology. But the vehicle’s interior function has been compromised by its exterior form, and the end result is a Corolla hatch that is not quite as good as it should be.
So what to do about it? Toyota has come up with an obvious solution – it has released a sedan version of the Corolla that offers a lot more interior room. Even better, it includes a hybrid variant that is cleaner than even the hatch, with claimed average fuel consumption down to 3.5 L/100km and exhaust emissions a low 81 g/km of CO2.
By the way, as I wrote this article, the news broke about the UK couple who had been allowed to breach the Covid-19 lockdown requirements and had apparently driven non-stop from Auckland to Wellington to attend a funeral. This prompted the mainstream media to speculate whether it was possible to drive this 640 km distance on one tank of fuel.
Well, the Corolla sedan hybrid is so economical that despite the fact its fuel tank carries just 43 litres of petrol rather than the usual 50 litres, theoretically it could not only be driven from Auckland to Wellington on one fill – but also back to Taupo. That’s impressive. And I’ve got to admit it’s a comforting feeling when you fill up the vehicle and the onboard computer tells you your distance to empty is 1032km.
The sedan is able to achieve better fuel consumption than the hatch not only because its body design is more slippery, but also because whereas the hybrid hatch at GX and SX level has 16-inch wheels shod with conventional Dunlop 205/55 R16 tyres, the sedan (which is only available as an SX) has 15-inch wheels shod with low rolling resistance Bridgestone 195/65 R15 tyres. Overseas experts say such tyres can achieve fuel savings of as much as 15 per cent.
Mind you, I have to say that during a long trip in this sedan, I was unable to achieve an average fuel consumption that was any better than 4.0 L/100km, which is what my wife and I regularly achieve with the Corolla hybrid hatch that we own. And I tried hard, too – I was really looking forward to seeing if I could get the consumption down to at least the claimed 3.6 L/100km open road figure.
I suspect it was all because low rolling resistance tyres or not, it is impossible to achieve any vehicle’s official consumption figures when driving on coarse chip sealed roads that wind through New Zealand’s rolling landscape.
The sedan is also 260mm longer than the hatch but slightly narrower, and its wheelbase has been extended by 30mm to 2670mm. All this has allowed the load space in the boot to be 470 litres, more than double that of the hatch.
A personal test of any vehicle’s load space is to load my golf clubs into it – you’d be surprised how many vehicles, even some substantial European SUVs, can’t accommodate a bag and clubs side-on. With the Corolla hatch this task is impossible without first taking the woods out, but with the sedan there’s heaps of room.
Let’s go to the back seats. There’s more room in the sedan back there, too. In the hatch, the gap between the rear of the centre console to the front of the rear seat squab is 230mm, while in the sedan it is 300mm.
Both the hatch and the sedan are powered by the same Toyota hybrid system that combines a 1.8-litre petrol engine with an electric motor to provide a total system output of 90kW, and which is mated to what has to rate as one of the best CVT transmissions on the market.
Overall, it all presents an interesting choice. From the visual perspective, personally I feel the hatch is the more appealing of the two body styles – it has more character to it, while the sedan body shape is smooth to the point of being just a little boring. The hatch is also the more entertaining drive, because it is lighter and has the bigger wheels and tyres.
But what the hatch lacks, the sedan certainly doesn’t. The hatch doesn’t have sufficient rear legroom or rear cargo space, but the sedan does. The sedan also has the superior fuel consumption, which is saying something because the hatch is quite capable of returning figures of less than 4 L/100km when driven quietly.
So there we go. In many respects the Corolla hatch leans towards form over function, while the sedan favours function over form. And they’re both hybrids. It’s an excellent choice presented by one (or should that be two?) of the best small cars on the market.
A winning formula for Toyota’s world famous petrol-electric hardware.
Price: $39,990
Powertrain: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol hybrid, 131kW/221Nm (163kW total system output), continuously variable transmission, AWD, fuel economy 4.8L/100km, CO2 112g/km (Toyota NZ), 0-100kmh N/A.
Vital statistics: 4600mm long, 1685mm high, 2690mm wheelbase, 18-inch alloy wheels.
We like: Improved dynamics, refined powertrain, roominess.
We don't like: Austere GX trim, CVT, road noise.
TIME to give up on the Toyota that delivered pioneering technology to average suburban driveways all over the world?
Maybe. Not so much because hybrids are no longer the tip of the technology spear – yes, they’re old-hat, but there’s still a role – but more because the ground-breaking Prius is surely no longer crucial to Toyota and Lexus petrol-electric placement.
Those Corollas, Camrys and CH-Rs, RXs and UXs and so on are increasingly becoming the product that allow Japan’s No.1 to make ever more hybrid hay while the sun of environmental concern shines.
Implanting a battery-assisted drive-set into the RAV4 creates the most socially relevant petrol-electric Toyota of the moment.
The only mystery is why Toyota waited so long. Sports utilities of this size have become consumer favourites and the RAV4 has been a giant since its inception in 1994, with more than 8.5 million units sold globally.
What sells the nickel hydride battery-included model line is that it improves efficiency while pretty much maintaining all the positives of the non-hybrid line – a sharp chassis, aggressively rugged new styling, improved specification and more comfortable, roomier cabin.
Toyota build quality is superb and the car’s tech lift, notably with the Toyota Safety Sense package (that now includes an emergency braking system that can spot pedestrians and cyclists day and night) is a winning asset.
That’s not to say this is a product exempt from criticism. Even though it’s another new-age Toyota to display premium touches within, you cannot help but notice unfortunate cost constraint. A front passenger seat fixed awkwardly high, a touch screen with fiddly menu functions and utterly outdated sat nav graphics and, in this entry GX, trim hues that – notwithstanding this is often a fleet grade – from the bargain bin; all could surely be improved without significant effort.
The driving delivers more positively, save that it asks acceptance of a constantly variable transmission. Toyota’s is better than some, thanks to a smart ‘launch gear’ - a physical first gear that "changes up" to the CVT after 40kmh – which helps minimise flaring at kick-off. Yet there’s still irritating high-rev thrash and, overall, it demands an easier-going approach that is at odds with the car’s overall character.
The powertrain itself is otherwise quite pleasant. As per usual convention, it’ll reverse and crawl forward under electric impetus alone, but anything more than a feather-light prod will generally incite the four-cylinder petrol engine to kick in.
A 2.5-litre is relatively large capacity unit for this class of car nowadays and the output from it in isolation is fairly impressive. Add in the impetus from the electric motors and the combined output is all the more of a turn-on. Performance is punchy and the torque flow is solid from low to medium revs. It’s only when you really start to push that it loses its cool; but as said, the CVT will crack first.
You might like to push the envelope, though, because the vehicle dynamics this time around are impressive. The platform is rigid and hanging off it is a well-sorted MacPherson-strut front and multilink rear suspension that’s compliant enough to cope with bumps and uneven surfaces yet firm enough to provide tidy cornering. The electromechanical power steering delivers well, too. Only the brakes raise a flag; they don’t lack for ability but the feel is wooden, as it goes with regenerative braking.
The all-wheel-drive comes from using a 40kW electric motor mounted directly to the rear axle. That’s a far cry from hardcore tradition, but even though RAV spells out to ‘recreational activity vehicle’, Toyota never intended it to be a junior Land Cruiser.
It can run all four wheels or alternately divert power to the rears alone, uses the brakes to mimic the effect of a limited slip differential and can even handle towing. Just 1500kg, mind, so don’t get carried away at the garden centre.
Is 6.1 litres per 100km economy from my week worth crowing about? Not if you have any faith in the maker-claimed optimal of 4.1L/100km being even remotely achievable outside of a laboratory. A colleague burned a touch more from a long, exclusively open road run, whereas mine included a fair mix of urban tootling and I’m confident it could have improved if more gently driven.
Of course, it’s fair to argue that, with hybrid, the RAV4 is merely catching up with the Toyota norm and might have made more impact had it matched the Mitsubishi Outlander and gone to a plug-in rechargeable set-up.
Good news is that this expectation might not be far from being fulfilled. Talk is that a RAV with the same hardware that goes into the Prius Prime PHEV will be revealed at a motor show before too long. That’ll conceivably give us a RAV with capability of travelling up to 50km on battery juice alone. Game set and match, Outlander?
As for a fully electric Toyota? Well, one of those is coming as well. But probably not in this format.
MotoringNZ reviews new cars and keeps readers up-to-date with the latest developments on the auto industry. All the major brands are represented. The site is owned and edited by New Zealand motoring journalist Richard Bosselman.
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