Yaris Hybrid

[Cyker]

Be sure to report back! If it's comparable in pull to the D4D versions it should be a hoot to drive! :D

[Bob O.]

Picked up my black Yaris Hybrid Dynamic (high grade) yesterday!

[Mister MMT]

Hi Bob,

great pictures! How is it driving? What are your impressions? (Veel geluk ermee !)

Jan

[BassaJay]

Looks very nice - your opinions please. Is the 'Dynamic' grade equivalent to a UK T-Spirit or T4 ? Did you buy without a test drive, noticed you ordered some months ago ?

The Toyota GB website now has full details including configurator & brochure download.

[Bob O.]

Thanks Jan and BassaJay!

The Yaris Hybrid drives very well. Very smooth transition from electric to petrol engine. It drives in EV-mode upto speeds of 60 km/h (37 mph). Quite a bit of engine noise on (strong) acceleration, but acceptable. Low fuel consumption on low to mid-speed drives (driving at 80km/h / 50mph about 3.9 l/100km / 72 mpg), reasonable fuel consumption on highways (about 6 l/100km / 47 mpg), combined 4.4 l/100km / 64 mpg so far. I have no doubt this will improve in time, with more mileage (and experience with the car, this is my first hybrid). The high grade Yaris has wider tyres, so more fuel consumption.

@BassaJay: The dutch Dynamic version is the equivalent to the T-Spirit. And I made a test drive in the 2011 Yaris with the CVT-gearbox and a test drive in the Auris Hybrid to get a taste of hybrid driving.

[BassaJay]

Thanks for the reply, please keep us informed with your progress/findings. Is it noisier than the Auris on strong acceration, I've read a few 'hacks' comments that the CVT can get a tad vocal when pushed, although not specific to the HSD model ?

Enjoy your new car.

[Bob O.]

It's a little bit noisier than the Auris HSD on strong acceleration, but less noise than the non-hybrid Yaris CVT. Today I made a 160 mile trip, 98% highway. Fuel consumption around 5.2 l/100km / 54 mpg at speeds between 110 to 120 km/h / 68 to 74 mph.

[BassaJay]

Went to the dealer today to give the car the once over, took a 20 mile plus test drive and placed the order , that's how impressed I was with it . To me it felt like a car from at least two categories above its supermini status.The CVT is a tad noisy on foot down acceleration but I thought the fact that the car is so quiet and refined during normal use, under extreme acceleration attention is probably drawn to it more than normal - nothing too bad really. Ended up ordering a T Spirit in Sintra Blue with sat nav. panoramic roof & protection plus pack. The wait begins although hopefully not too long - eta end July/early Aug.

[Bob O.]

Congrats BassaJay! Just a month to wait, not bad...

Downloaded the Glass of water-app to the nav-system, tomorrow driving and playing at the same time.

[BassaJay]

Congrats BassaJay! Just a month to wait, not bad...

Downloaded the Glass of water-app to the nav-system, tomorrow driving and playing at the same time.

Try not to spill too much - not sure if you get that app for Android?

By the way my test drive, a mixture of non congested urban and rural, showed 62mpg which I thought was pretty good, the car only had 600 miles on it.

[Teemu]

Picked up my Yaris Hybrid! Finland models differ a bit, I have the second one "Linea Sol" with Touch&Go as standard, third model "Style" comes with bigger wheels and higher consumption so did not take that one. I got cruise control as an extra and got some alloys from different shop. Car manual was not printed yet, but the dealer will send it and gave all the info on the gadgets!

First drive 400 kilometers home with 100-120 km/h with around 52 mpg, next drive with also around city and 65 mpg, today only city driving and got to 72 mpg! Very happy and with minimal hybrid driving skills expect even better!

Very happy with Yaris, build quality, driving and looks are great! Was afraid when read about the noise from the engine, don't think it is noisy at all. Moving up from Aygo only thing I miss is some storage space inside the cabin for sun glasses, coins etc small stuff.

[Mister MMT]

Hi Teemu, nice to have somebody from Finland! I wonder whether you plan on installing an Engine Block Heater (EBH), because of the cold season, known to be bad on HSD systems. If yes, I'd be interested in its specs.

Could you please post more pictures? The color is nice, but not current.

Jan

[johalareewi]

The CVT is a tad noisy on foot down acceleration

That noise will not be the CVT - Toyota hybrids don't have one.

Although Toyota call it CVT it isn't a conventional CVT gearbox.

Toyota have a planetary gear system with fixed ratios and use a combination of electric motor/generator to vary the output to the drive shaft.

More likely to be engine noise?

[BassaJay]

Picked up my Yaris Hybrid! Finland models differ a bit, I have the second one "Linea Sol" with Touch&Go as standard, third model "Style" comes with bigger wheels and higher consumption so did not take that one. I got cruise control as an extra and got some alloys from different shop. Car manual was not printed yet, but the dealer will send it and gave all the info on the gadgets!

First drive 400 kilometers home with 100-120 km/h with around 52 mpg, next drive with also around city and 65 mpg, today only city driving and got to 72 mpg! Very happy and with minimal hybrid driving skills expect even better!

Very happy with Yaris, build quality, driving and looks are great! Was afraid when read about the noise from the engine, don't think it is noisy at all. Moving up from Aygo only thing I miss is some storage space inside the cabin for sun glasses, coins etc small stuff.

Congratulations on your new car, hope you really enjoy it, the car certainly impressed me on my test drive. Is that your one in the profile picture, if so is it Sintra Blue ? Some photos please.

[BassaJay]

The CVT is a tad noisy on foot down acceleration

That noise will not be the CVT - Toyota hybrids don't have one. Although Toyota call it CVT it isn't a conventional CVT gearbox. Toyota have a planetary gear system with fixed ratios and use a combination of electric motor/generator to vary the output to the drive shaft. More likely to be engine noise?

I would describe it as a whine of a fairly high pitch but only under very hard acceleration - to my ears it sounded transmission based but I stand to be corrected - after all it was my first experience with the HSD system. Thanks for your input.

[Teemu]

Thanks all. My colour is Reflex Turquoise my favourite from the choices and because the white one was not available yet, pictures coming soon! And yes I will be getting Engine Block Heater from manufacturer Defa, but they did not have one for Yaris Hybrid yet. For those unfamiliar with this thing, it will draw electric from outlet to heat the motor a bit and pass the electric to small heater put inside the car to warm the cabin and melt icy windows.

[Bob O.]

Congrats BassaJay! Just a month to wait, not bad...

Downloaded the Glass of water-app to the nav-system, tomorrow driving and playing at the same time.

Try not to spill too much - not sure if you get that app for Android?

By the way my test drive, a mixture of non congested urban and rural, showed 62mpg which I thought was pretty good, the car only had 600 miles on it.

I downloaded the app from the Toyota-site, copied it to the Touch and Go-system using a USB-stick, works like a charm.

Congrats on the car Teemu, nice colour indeed!

[johalareewi]

I would describe it as a whine of a fairly high pitch but only under very hard acceleration - to my ears it sounded transmission based but I stand to be corrected - after all it was my first experience with the HSD system. Thanks for your input.

It could be the planetary gear system.

For info on the HSD see Wikipedia, and also the external links at the bottom of the article. There are some very good HSD demos showing it all working.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Synergy_Drive

[BassaJay]

I would describe it as a whine of a fairly high pitch but only under very hard acceleration - to my ears it sounded transmission based but I stand to be corrected - after all it was my first experience with the HSD system. Thanks for your input.

It could be the planetary gear system.

For info on the HSD see Wikipedia, and also the external links at the bottom of the article. There are some very good HSD demos showing it all working.

http://en.wikipedia....d_Synergy_Drive

It certainly sounded more in line with that rather than engine noise but I do not want to over exaggerate this noise, really it was no big deal.

I was thinking (too much waiting time!) about how the car or any Toyota Hybrid would react to any long term storage and I believe the 12V auxillary Battery lives alongside the HSD one beneath the rear seat in the case of Yaris rather than in the conventional engine bay site. It must be covered in so I guess it would be possible to run a C-Tek Battery condioner via C- Tek's eylet ringed connecting cable (they call it a Comfort Connect cable) with the latter permanently connected to the 12V Battery ? With the cable's negative & positive eylets connected, the short cable could then potentially be routed so that its rubber protected connecter protrudes externally from the rear seat's battery cover for ease of access. It would then be a simple task to connect the C-Tek conditoner if required to the 'comfort cable's' connector negating the need of removing the battery covers each time.

http://www.ctekcharg...tek-mxs-3.6.php

Also came across this video and wondered if it was the same for all Toyota HSDs ?

.

[Bob O.]

First fill-up on the Yaris HSD: 4.7 l/100km / 60.1 mpg. Not bad, considered it was mostly highway.

[Joseph D]

First fill-up on the Yaris HSD: 4.7 l/100km / 60.1 mpg. Not bad, considered it was mostly highway.

That's very respectable, Bob. Keep up the good work. :D

[BassaJay]

First fill-up on the Yaris HSD: 4.7 l/100km / 60.1 mpg. Not bad, considered it was mostly highway.

Apart from the very good mpg, how are you finding the car overall now the initial novelty has worn off - do you feel as though you made the correct purchase decision ? Hope so since I have one on order

[Bob O.]

First fill-up on the Yaris HSD: 4.7 l/100km / 60.1 mpg. Not bad, considered it was mostly highway.

Apart from the very good mpg, how are you finding the car overall now the initial novelty has worn off - do you feel as though you made the correct purchase decision ? Hope so since I have one on order

So far, I believe I have made the correct decision indeed. I hope the fuel consumption goes down, now there's not that much difference between the HSD and the conventional Yaris. But hey, no road-taxes for 2 years...

The looks are better for sure, and this car has everything to make driving enjoyable. You'll get used to the engine-"noise" on strong acceleration and it's a lot of fun to play with the gas (or electric) pedal to keep the meter in the ECO-zone and to drive electric as much as you can. The car has a reasonable sound-system (8 speakers), although I had a better one in the Auris (JBL Premium with amp and subwoofer, a dealer-option). Maybe worth an upgrade in the future.

[BassaJay]

First fill-up on the Yaris HSD: 4.7 l/100km / 60.1 mpg. Not bad, considered it was mostly highway.

Apart from the very good mpg, how are you finding the car overall now the initial novelty has worn off - do you feel as though you made the correct purchase decision ? Hope so since I have one on order

So far, I believe I have made the correct decision indeed. I hope the fuel consumption goes down, now there's not that much difference between the HSD and the conventional Yaris. But hey, no road-taxes for 2 years...

The looks are better for sure, and this car has everything to make driving enjoyable. You'll get used to the engine-"noise" on strong acceleration and it's a lot of fun to play with the gas (or electric) pedal to keep the meter in the ECO-zone and to drive electric as much as you can. The car has a reasonable sound-system (8 speakers), although I had a better one in the Auris (JBL Premium with amp and subwoofer, a dealer-option). Maybe worth an upgrade in the future.

Thanks Bob, it's good to know you find the car enjoyable and are pleased with your purchase decision, I'm looking forward to getting mine. How are you finding it noise wise around 65/75 mph, from my short test drive it appeared to be reasonablably refined at those speeds and the car I test drove had the 16" wheels ? Of course I realise varying road surfaces have a major impact.

It appears that the owners manual cannot be downloaded for a spot of pre ownership homework (pity), perhaps you could kindly confirm the 12 volt auxillary Battery Ah rating details for me. Thanks in advance.

[Bob O.]

BassaJay, maybe you can ask for a downloadlink to the user manual (PDF) on the UK Toyota Blog. Got mine from the dutch Toyota blog, a month ago. Almost 700 pages of reading (in dutch, guess you don't need that link...) Found the emergency respond guide to the Yaris Hybrid, with all sorts of information about the vehicle and electrical systems:

http://www.toyota-te..._NHP130_erg.pdf

I can't say the road and/or wind noise at higher speeds are distractingly present. If you test drove the T-spirit, I guess it had the 16" wheels. In the Netherlands we have a reasonably maintained road-system, which is quite helpfull reducing road-noise...