New Yaris Hybrid Review

[Cyker]

Wooo! Nice!

[coolbloke1324]

Had my Yaris hybrid since October last year, and I am currently getting real-life 73mpg (calculated by me, not the car) average over a tankful :) I'm mostly on a mix of 30/40/50mph roads though. I can take it for a little drive down the motorway tomorrow and let you know what the computer gives me mpg-wise for that trip. I have a T4 so slightly more economical that the T-Spririt

Thanks that would be very helpful. I was able to get 74.2 out of it around town on mostly 30 - 40 mph roads during a 30 min lunch break but on a dual carriage way to the office and back every day it's just not living up to the stated figures even slightly (52 is a normal figure after numerous runs I've done).

I spoke to the dealers (who are very nice people so I feel for them) and told them I want to return the car because it's not doing "what it says on the tin" so to speak. They explained that an HSD has to be driven in a certain way etc etc. I understand where they are coming from but from my point of view I shouldn't have to spend all my time checking the eco gauge to see if I'm under the mid-range just to get some extra MPG. I'm not driving fast, I'm driving naturally and with plenty of room and reasonably slow acceleration, but even that isn't making the car happy.

Ultimately I said to the dealer that I wanted to return under sale of goods act and pointed out that if you took a normal guy off the street, put him in the car and told him to drive relaxed and economical under reasonable dual carriage way conditions there is no way he'd return the MPG stated so it's false advertising.

I should be able to drive the car without unreasonable constraints on normal acceleration and be able to return the stated MPG otherwise it's basically a lie right?

They said they couldn't take a return but would buy it back for 3K less than I paid. Again I understand their position and they are actually really nice people so I'm not trying to be mean about it... gonna give Toyota a call tomorrow and explain my position because I really feel ripped off right now... am I being unreasonable to think that a product should live up to the advertising under normal usage conditions without needing to have a PhD in hybrid driving?

[coolbloke1324]

I have been in a Yaris Hybrid for a few days in this warm weather and I can get 62 MPG with A/C on etc. You have to get used to being very light on the throttle but you will get used to it. NO brand new car is going to give up its best MPG in the first few thousand miles, but it will loosen up. Get used to very gentle pull ways, try not to stop by giving plenty of room to the car in front and try to keep the car rolling, the figures are acheivable

Kingo

Gotta disagree there, I test-drove the Vauxhall Ampera and it did exactly as it was advertised to do, I drove for slightly over 40 miles on a single charge and never touched a drop of petrol the whole time, on mostly dual carriage ways and with heavy footed driving to really try to tax and test it given that my experience with the Yaris HSD has made me very sceptical of stated figures. The Ampera really does achieve it's stated numbers but the Yaris HSD does not, under normal driving conditions with a normal eco-minded driver.

[Yolina]

You're welcome - I'll let you know tomorrow what I get when including a steady 70mph in the equation. I drive my car "normally" btw - I don't really keep that close an eye on the eco gauge, neither do I pull away from lights etc particularly slowly.

[coolbloke1324]

You're welcome - I'll let you know tomorrow what I get when including a steady 70mph in the equation. I drive my car "normally" btw - I don't really keep that close an eye on the eco gauge, neither do I pull away from lights etc particularly slowly.

Cool, that is interesting to hear... I couldn't even reach 50mpg if I didn't literally "creep" from a standing still position and accelerate so slowly that some people actually beeped me! Of course I don't ultimately care all that much about being beeped, but I also do actually want to reach my destination with some modicum of reasonable speed :) - sounds like you already do that so now I'm wondering if my Yaris is duff lol.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Car manufacturers are between a rock and a hard place with mpg advertising.

Under current EU legislation they can only use the consumption figures from the official EU testing procedures for comparative purposes - and this includes advertising..

A recent Advertising Standards Authority case against Audi (http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/3/Volkswagen-Group-UK-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_210019.aspx), has stated that car manufacturers should now make it clear in advertising that these EU figures may not reflect real driving results.

This has been an ongoing issue for quite some time now - hence people like the Honest John website and What Car producing fuel consumption data (Real mpg and True mpg) based on input from actual drivers.

[coolbloke1324]

Car manufacturers are between a rock and a hard place with mpg advertising.

Under current EU legislation they can only use the consumption figures from the official EU testing procedures for comparative purposes - and this includes advertising..

A recent Advertising Standards Authority case against Audi (http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/3/Volkswagen-Group-UK-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_210019.aspx), has stated that car manufacturers should now make it clear in advertising that these EU figures may not reflect real driving results.

This has been an ongoing issue for quite some time now - hence people like the Honest John website and What Car producing fuel consumption data (Real mpg and True mpg) based on input from actual drivers.

That is really interesting, thanks for the info. Seems like the dealers (at least) could do with pointing out that the figures are not actually real though... even if the manufacturers don't, otherwise aren't they going to end up with more disappointed customers like me? Hmmm...

[FROSTYBALLS]

The dealers are equally constrained by having to use the EU testing figures for comparative purposes.

The main issue is that the EU testing procedures are laboratory based. As all the consumption tests are done under exactly prescribed conditions, they are viewed as a standard for comparing fuel consumption between manufacturers and models.

OK in the real world some drivers may well approach the official figures, and there have been times when I have achieved the official figures with my Auris (having achieved 48mpg when the official figure is 48.7), but others may not.

Exactly the same sort of issues applies to the EU labelling for white goods (washing machines, etc) and the recently introduced tyre labelling.

[Cyker]

The hybrids tend to do better in city than on long constant runs as the runs don't give them a good opportunity to recharge the Battery without expending more fuel.

I wonder if you have to drive them more like diesels for the longer runs tho'?

I find my Yaris gets much better mpg if I ignore all the guff about accelerating gently and instead accelerate 'briskly' to 4th/5th as quick as feels sensible, then just coast along in 4th/5th, giving the accelerator a nudge now and then.

I can't remember if the newer HSDs still 'fake' engine braking by regenerating when you let go of the accelerator (In the older ones, you had to accelerate to the right speed and hold your foot there to get the car to coast off-power; Releasing the accelerator would cause the regen brakes to kick in) or whether you can now just let go of the accelerator for a low-friction coast.

[Aceshigh84]

The new hsd's have supposedly got a lower friction running gear, so that when you back off the accelerator it will coast more easily and so further. However, if you come right off the accelerator, it will drop slightly into the regenerative braking zone, but in reality the speed drop over distance is no different to a normal car. You can't beat the laws of physics, gravity and drag will always prevail.

[Cyker]

No breaching of the laws of physics is required!

If you've ever disengaged the clutch at 60+mph on a flat road (DON'T DO THIS) you'd find the car will carry on at that speed for a surprisingly long time. If you were on an downward incline you'd hit 90mph really quickly (Gravity FTW).

This is because most of the drag is from the engine braking and drivetrain friction; Without that the car will roll for miles under its own momentum! (Upward hills notwithstanding!)

One reason Diesels tend to get better mpg (Well, older diesel anyway...) is that they have far less engine braking than petrols and won't slow down as rapidly when you lift off the accelerator (Plus most reasonably modern engines stop injecting fuel if it sense the engine spinning faster than idle when you lift off!). Newer ones don't do this so well due to all the crap obstructing the exhaust (EGR, DPF, turbos, etc.).

In theory, if you could find the zone to get the HSD to 'roll' like that, where the engine isn't sapping momentum from the car or wasting energy to overcome drivetrain friction (Leccy motors have far less friction than ICEs) you should be able to get some good off-power coasts out of the HSD!

Reality may have other ideas tho...

[Yolina]

Right, I'm back from my little jaunt on the motorway... The car average mpg thingy was reset for each segment

1) From home to motorway: approx. 10 miles on 30/40/50mph roads, obviously engine cold, Battery pretty much empty (2 bars) at the start. 69.6mpg

2) Motorway: approx. 22 miles at a steady 70mph. 62.4mpg

3) From motorway to home: approx. 10 miles on 30/40/50mph roads, obviously engine fully up to temp and full Battery (6 bars). 97.4mpg

Edit: so I make that roughly 76mpg average for the whole trip, which will be slightly less in reality but still not too shabby I think :D

[Parts-King]

I have been in a Yaris Hybrid for a few days in this warm weather and I can get 62 MPG with A/C on etc. You have to get used to being very light on the throttle but you will get used to it. NO brand new car is going to give up its best MPG in the first few thousand miles, but it will loosen up. Get used to very gentle pull ways, try not to stop by giving plenty of room to the car in front and try to keep the car rolling, the figures are acheivable

Kingo

Gotta disagree there, I test-drove the Vauxhall Ampera and it did exactly as it was advertised to do, I drove for slightly over 40 miles on a single charge and never touched a drop of petrol the whole time, .

On a full charge thats what a plug in does! I recently drove a Prius plug in and did over 50 miles in EV only, NO petrol used whatsoever. Your Yaris does not work like that

This "I can never get the stated MPG" issue has been around since the dawn of official figures, I've said on here before, I generally find it's the way people drive and the type of driving they do that give a huge varience in MPG's, not the fault of the car

Kingo

[Cyker]

Frankly if you can get within 10mpg of the manufacturer's figures you're doing damned well, not just Toyota but all mfgs. My Yaris has been the first (And I think and only!) car I've owned where the rated mpg matched what the car could actually do through normal driving!

[Steve_75]

Interesting to see how everyone gets on with the hybrid. I've got a diesel Yaris at the moment and could be quite tempted on a hybrid next time round (more likely the Auris though). Generally I get around 60-64 mpg on a good mix of driving and can push towards 70 on a longer run.

Yolina's journey and breakdown is an interesting experiment - the 3rd part very impressive! Would be interesting to get the three versions (petrol, diesel and hybrid) together on the same run to see which is better where.

My only real concern with the hybrids (as I understand them) is that on the motorway, you've basically got a 1.5 petrol engined car with the odd bit of electric assistance but a bit of extra weight so should never be as good as a diesel in that environment.

As far as how close you can get to official figures in the real world goes, I find that lower powered diesels struggle and any petrol engine with a turbo will struggle. Basically, on these engines, if you have to rev it enough to get the turbo spooled up to accelerate at the pace you want, the economy drops straight off. Small capacity engines are more affected as without the turbo, they have little power and therefore you have to rev them or drive very slowly!

A normally aspirated petrol (so long as its not underpowered) usually will achieve the official combined figure without too much difficulty. The couple of times I've had a 1.33 Yaris as a courtesy car, I've found they've done around 49-52 mpg on a mix of roads. My wife's new MX-5 1.8 easily achieves its official 39.8mpg unless driven with a lead foot. She usually gets 40-42 out of it and has been known to get 48mpg on a run - even with the roof down!

Pity that with the constant push for ever lower official fuel consumption and emissions, the days of a decent capacity n/a petrol engine are numbered as the small capacity turbo produces so much better results in these tests (even though in reality most people find little difference other than lower tax and issues that arise from increased complexity).

[Madasafish]

If you live in hilly country a hybrid will give really poor consumption as most of the time going down hills the Battery regen will not work as the Battery will be fully charged. And the extra weight makes a difference uphill.

[Mel and Claire]

I can get my brand new Yaris to an average consumption of 61mpg but I have had trips down motorways where I can hit 70mpg. The secret is use the cruise control as much as you can, dont limp away from lights trying not to run the engine, drive brisk but not mad, read the road ahead and if you see the lights are red or the rounabout is chokka allow the. Ar to coat towards it rather then drive full pelt into the jam.

Tonite coming home on urban and motorway driving by taking my rime, cruising at 50mph I hit 80mpg by the fuel computers reckoning. The computer could be out, most of them are, but I would settle for 70mpg considering I am getting to drive around in the lap of luxury compared to my ex Aygo which was thrifty but not the worlds most comfy car for sure :)

What I like with the Yaris is sticking it to the man, up yours government cos its no road tax for me, up yours theiving petrol companies cos its less of my money going ingo your already stuffed bank accounts and up yours Audi and BMW drivers and the Chelse tractor brigade cos you will just have to slow down behind me as I drive with max fuel economy. Seeing a line of Tarquons and Jacastas in their V6 and V8s having to cool their heels behind me gladdens my heart.

I LOVE the new Yaris Hybrid, its a bit of a sheep in wolfs clothing with its sporty looks but so so performance but its quiet, unhurried, comfy, balanced, relaxed.....drives like a dream and I am, so far, a satisfied bunny as well I might be in the T spirit model.

[coolbloke1324]

SO...

I have to eat my own words. I've now driven the Yaris Hybrid for about 1 month every day to work and back, 50 miles a day. First, check out my best record on that journey:

Also, over the weekend I did a 150 mile drive down to London... here is the result:

I am so impressed with the results I'm now getting from the car that I've started my own blog on hypermiling: http://hypermilerob.wordpress.com/

:)

[Mel and Claire]

We got an incredible 78.9 on a 25 mile journey the other day which was mixed urban and motorway and hilly too. Thr roads were quiet(ish). Really glad its working out for you too.

Its a lovely car....we just got nback from two weeks in Greece driving a Suzuki Vitara jeep which was really clapped out and nothinbg worked in it, perfect for driving over rough mountain tracks. we got back a few days back and getting in the Yaris was like having a new car all over again. Smooth and really nice and driving the Vitara with its endless gear changing and nasty transmission whine has made me realise jut how quiet the Yaris really is.

Still loving mine still, bought an iPod so I can hook up the music and its really great having all the electronics in one box,

[coolbloke1324]

We got an incredible 78.9 on a 25 mile journey the other day which was mixed urban and motorway and hilly too. Thr roads were quiet(ish). Really glad its working out for you too.

Its a lovely car....we just got nback from two weeks in Greece driving a Suzuki Vitara jeep which was really clapped out and nothinbg worked in it, perfect for driving over rough mountain tracks. we got back a few days back and getting in the Yaris was like having a new car all over again. Smooth and really nice and driving the Vitara with its endless gear changing and nasty transmission whine has made me realise jut how quiet the Yaris really is.

Still loving mine still, bought an iPod so I can hook up the music and its really great having all the electronics in one box,

Agreed, the gearbox in the Yaris is amazing, the CVT box makes it totally smooth driving and no gear change feeling at all. You just get continuous acceleration.

I also love that it has bluetooth audio so all my music on my phone just plays as soon as I start the car without any hassle. If I add new tracks they are there instantly. Could have done with a DAB radio as standard though me thinks!

[sammoj]

I have been reading through this forum and hybrid threads since i got my Yaris on 2nd Sept. Of particular interest has been this thread about mileage. my too/from work trip is 10 miles round trip, 50% urban (<= 30MPH) and 50% extra-urban (50MPH ish).

I still have less than 400 Miles on the clock and am seeing about 50-57mpg on my work trip. Now i reckon thats pretty good going for a brand new car which isn't run in. A round trip to scotland (about 140 miles) saw 61mpg which i was pleased with.

Having come from a Jaguar x-type 2.0d to the Yaris Hybrid I have a big smile on my face, twice the mpg and cheaper fuel mean I have managed to shave £70 a month of my bills and a tenner a month in road tax. What has surprised me though is how relaxing the Yaris is to drive, I can honestly say i find it more relaxing than the Jag and quieter unless you take it on the motorway where it is a bit noisy and jittery for my liking but it gets from a-b.

I did get the DAB radio fitted and tbh it's not worth it. Break up is present a lot of the time, particularly rural areas. Quality is good but not sure it was worth the £400 quid extra although I did get it almost thrown in free as a discount so not really a cost.

I love the touch n Go system, so simple and just works....and the styling on the Hybrid is great, people think I have a sports hatch and at nearly 50 it's my mid-life crisis car! :-)

I have to agree with Rob that the CVT is amazing, you just can't tell when it switches between the drive chains.

The only issue I have is that I am having to be so careful in supermarket car parks. The other night two people were talking in the middle of the road past the ATM's at the supermarket and although it was dark i drove almost right up to them and had to flash my lights to get them to move...they just didn't hear the car in EV mode at all! anyone else have this issue?

Loving it...much more than I thought I would.

John

[Mel and Claire]

Yup - the quietness is great. I cruise on motorways at 50mph to maximise fuel economy - I commute round the M25 and to be honest even if you cane it as if you were racing on Top Gear the average journey speed always works out at about 25-30mph so its not worth rushing it - I just chill and cruise along and let people overtake me - its fun to see them two cars ahead in the next jam :) Its quiet at 50 as well - can listen to piano music which is nice.

The quietness and pedestrians - if I were mean I would get massive airhorns fitted so I can creep up and then scare them :) I have had a few pedestrians just not hear the car coming and step off in front of the car plus a few cyclists who glanced round and nearly fell off their bike as a result when they see the car right behind them.

I drive with that in mind - dont want some careless pedestrian or cyclist messing up my paintwork :) When I see kids around especially I slow it right down and keep an eye on them. Had one ride right out in front of me recently - I can tell you the car brakes well :) 30mph to 0 in about 2 foot :)

Mileage continues to be good - I am averaging about 65mpg over a tank of fuel - I have done three tanks on test runs. The cars used for a lot of urban work and often stuck in jams on the M25. I have found that surpisingly if you are crawling and the car has to charge its batteries with the motor rather than getting its batteries charged while coasting, braking or going fast enough for the petrol engine to be running its quite ineffecient. I was stuck in a monster jam a few days ago - never got over 20mph for the whole 25 mile journey round the M25 and the car was running on electric almost the whole time BUT the charging it was doing resulted in a worse mpg than I would have thought - only about 50mpg. To be fair a conentional petrol only car would have come off far worse I reckon as perol is usually pretty inefficient at slow speeds. Stuff like blue motion wouldnt hep because the traffic stayed moving - just very s - l - o - w - l - y

Still loving mine - bought a half deck for it last weekend. Its the insert for the boot that gives you a level loading platform when the rear seats are folded down and brings the boot floor level with the tailgate and gives a space underneath to store all the junk. Well worth the £90 it costs so all the junk like blankets, first aid kit, etc is nicely out of the way in the boot. Its not mentioned anywhere in the brochure or accessories list - I only picked up on it as the Auris I had a look at had one and I noticed the Yaris has the same fittings to accept the half deck and asked the dealer I bought mine from. Its made out of something light but very hard. so its not too much more weight to tote around. I couldnt find it anywhere on the Toyota website - I would think they would want to flog some accessories :)

[Mel and Claire]

JUst thought I would add something to this - we have owned the Yaris now for a few months and clocked up about 7000 miles. The weather hasnt been kind to it of late and I have found the eco drops in the cold. The petrol engine almost always wants to kick in from cold and I am assuming the car wants to warm the engine up for when its needed. I have tried turning the heater off but if its really cold the car still wants the motor running almost from the off even when its got plenty of charge.

I think the motor kicking in straight off from cold plus having the headlights on almost all the time in the dark, which deprives the Battery of power, contributes to a worse fuel economy. I have taken to forcing the car into EV mode in the morning while I get to the main road when it needs the petrol engine anyway. MPG in the cold and wet has dropped to an average of about 60-65 so its still pretty fair.

I am still loving the car despite this, its so quiet and smooth and a few work colleagues who have had a ride in it were wowed by its smoothness and the fully integrated electronics for the iPhone and iPad. The nav system occasionally gets it wrong (dont they all) but its so nice to have it on tap and it gets itself sorted out super fast as well (my old clip on one was awful quite often getting lost and taken ages to get a signal from a sattelite).

I am finding myself a lot more relaxed after a journey in the car than in almost anything else I have ever driven probably because the noise level is waaaay down. Noise is a very tiring thing. You may not know this but an awful lot of bomber losses in WW2 were down to the crew getting exhausted by the noise, installing baffling in bombers reduced losses by quite some and thats where fibreglass got its start as an insulator (little bit of useless knowledge there :) ) so thats how effective noise can be at wearing you out.

Both my partner and myself though find the passenger footwell peculiarly cramped no matter how far back you push the seat - we both have longish legs but its weird that the driver seating is fine but when either of us is pushed into the car as a passneger both of us find the footwell on the passenger side weirdly cramped.

Still very happy with the car though and cant find much to fault with it so far, the big single blade wiper is a marvel at keeping the screen clear even in the hellish rain we have had of late. The stereo system is good news, really nice sound for all our music which runs from Chopin to Motorhead (yes really in a Hybrid :) )

The auto wipers are great as well as is the auto headlights - its great being able to just get in the car, press a button and everything just starts up, couresy lights gently dim and the whole car just sorts itself out. Its also great at the end of a journey to just press the button and know the car has switched everything off for you - it doesnt sound much but its one less thing to worry about.

Just love this car and would definitely buy another one.

[Chrisc100]

Hi i have had my hybrid for a month now,i agree i really love my hybrid unlike some a like the privacy glass i find it really ease to drive. like you i am only getting 58 mpg which is my only gripe. i have looked at several reviews and i too wonder why it gets so low a rating.

they say the mpg ranges from 65 to 90 mpg?

[Parts-King]

Hi i have had my hybrid for a month now,i agree i really love my hybrid unlike some a like the privacy glass i find it really ease to drive. like you i am only getting 58 mpg which is my only gripe. i have looked at several reviews and i too wonder why it gets so low a rating.

they say the mpg ranges from 65 to 90 mpg?

It is unrealistic to say up to 90 MPG, it is not going to happen

I have easily averaged 60 and your MPG is typical of mine. Depending on your type of journey and driving, you could improve on this

It comes down to the type of driving you do, the figures are an EU standard, not typical of real life driving, every manufacturer has to apply those standards in the fuel consumption test. You will always see this disclaimer on every manufacturers website

The combined figures quoted are sourced from official EU-regulated test results obtained through laboratory testing. These are provided for comparability purposes and may not reflect your actual driving experience.