UK NG 2020 Yaris - First Impressions

[CPN]

At last! We got the chance to have a test drive at my local dealers today as they had received a "Design" and an "Excel" late last Friday and they managed to get the Design model PDI'd and taxed late yesterday.

It seems that I was the first to take it out as it only had 13 miles on the clock and the only other person to drive it was my salesman Greg when he went to fill the tank up. Of course he was gushing about it on the phone prior to our visit but as he said, even he was impressed and that "it felt like driving a completely different car after the current Yaris".

After our 25 mile drive about town and a quick squirt on the motorway to try out all the tech, I cannot disagree with him at all! Colour me VERY impressed by our first outing in it! The handling and feel of the car is completely different from our 2017 Excel Hybrid. If I were to try and draw any similarity with any other Yaris, it would be with the way the GR Yaris felt when we went out in that. It is just so much more "planted" on the road than the previous generation car. That the centre of gravity of the whole car is lower is VERY apparent while driving.

What impressed me most was the standard tech that comes in the car and the fact that, without even reading a manual, I was able to get my head around it quite quickly and use it to good effect. In other words, after a little while, it is very intuitive and if I as a Septuagenarian can pick it up so quick, it'd be a doddle for a younger guy I'm sure. During the drive, I basically maxed it out with everything "on" (collision detection, lane departure, radar on etc etc) and heck, this car can almost drive itself! At one point through the outskirts of town, I set the cruise to match the speed limit indicated, the adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance & lane departure all on and the result was that I could almost take my hands and feet completely off of the controls and the car kept us safe. At one point we were following a car at around 28-30mph and the radar was keeping me a safe distance behind and at the same speed and he indicated to turn right. As he slowed and moved to the centre of the road, the Yaris slowed also with no intervention by me and then as he turned right and the road in front was clear, off came the brakes and we gently resumed back up to 30 again. What was equally weird was feeling the gentle tug against my hands on the wheel keeping us smack bang in the centre of our lane! I did actually do a "look, no hands and feet" at one point lol! No drama at all.

What was even more impressive was the way all that tech works on the motorway; especially when negotiating a line of slower moving commercial vehicles. Absolutely brilliant and makes for a very relaxed drive. Finally, when we got back to the dealership after 25 miles of driving, the average mpg had risen to 61.5mpg and that was achieved without being gentle with the throttle at all. Way better than my existing car can manage with the same treatment! (usually between 51-55mpg) The new drive train really makes a difference and especially the new type Battery (Li-Ion as opposed to Ni-MH) which seemed to stay in EV mode way longer than I've ever managed in our current car. At one point I noticed that the EV light was on at 50mph!

Suffice to say, that when we were made an offer we couldn't refuse (which included a part-ex price for our existing car that is £500 over what I was expecting) we ordered a new Excel at top spec and hopefully it will be here in a fortnight! 😁

[sedg]

Waste of money on it. I rather wait used car after 1 year old and the car will be £10k cheaper!

[Bemused2]

Sounds good with loads of tech, but come on Toyota. £20000 to £24000 for a small familly car.

[dave hendy]

At last! We got the chance to have a test drive at my local dealers today as they had received a "Design" and an "Excel" late last Friday and they managed to get the Design model PDI'd and taxed late yesterday.
It seems that I was the first to take it out as it only had 13 miles on the clock and the only other person to drive it was my salesman Greg when he went to fill the tank up. Of course he was gushing about it on the phone prior to our visit but as he said, even he was impressed and that "it felt like driving a completely different car after the current Yaris".
After our 25 mile drive about town and a quick squirt on the motorway to try out all the tech, I cannot disagree with him at all! Colour me VERY impressed by our first outing in it! The handling and feel of the car is completely different from our 2017 Excel Hybrid. If I were to try and draw any similarity with any other Yaris, it would be with the way the GR Yaris felt when we went out in that. It is just so much more "planted" on the road than the previous generation car. That the centre of gravity of the whole car is lower is VERY apparent while driving.
What impressed me most was the standard tech that comes in the car and the fact that, without even reading a manual, I was able to get my head around it quite quickly and use it to good effect. In other words, after a little while, it is very intuitive and if I as a Septuagenarian can pick it up so quick, it'd be a doddle for a younger guy I'm sure. During the drive, I basically maxed it out with everything "on" (collision detection, lane departure, radar on etc etc) and heck, this car can almost drive itself! At one point through the outskirts of town, I set the cruise to match the speed limit indicated, the adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance & lane departure all on and the result was that I could almost take my hands and feet completely off of the controls and the car kept us safe. At one point we were following a car at around 28-30mph and the radar was keeping me a safe distance behind and at the same speed and he indicated to turn right. As he slowed and moved to the centre of the road, the Yaris slowed also with no intervention by me and then as he turned right and the road in front was clear, off came the brakes and we gently resumed back up to 30 again. What was equally weird was feeling the gentle tug against my hands on the wheel keeping us smack bang in the centre of our lane! I did actually do a "look, no hands and feet" at one point lol! No drama at all.
What was even more impressive was the way all that tech works on the motorway; especially when negotiating a line of slower moving commercial vehicles. Absolutely brilliant and makes for a very relaxed drive. Finally, when we got back to the dealership after 25 miles of driving, the average mpg had risen to 61.5mpg and that was achieved without being gentle with the throttle at all. Way better than my existing car can manage with the same treatment! (usually between 51-55mpg) The new drive train really makes a difference and especially the new type battery (Li-Ion as opposed to Ni-MH) which seemed to stay in EV mode way longer than I've ever managed in our current car. At one point I noticed that the EV light was on at 50mph!
Suffice to say, that when we were made an offer we couldn't refuse (which included a part-ex price for our existing car that is £500 over what I was expecting) we ordered a new Excel at top spec and hopefully it will be here in a fortnight! [emoji16]

Thanks for your review [emoji106] how are you getting on with your new car and what mpg are you getting in every day use?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[CPN]

Sad to report that we haven't got it yet. We made a change to the Launch Edition model because (rather stupidly IMO) Toyota saw fit to NOT make available the darker trim inside a black Excel and neither of us liked the light coloured trim (way too easily marked!). We've been given a date of the 27th now (saw the build on MyT tracking and already have the VIN number). TBH, I don't know why it's taking so long to get from Grimsby docks (where it arrived from Zeebrugge on the 2nd September...) to here!

[dave hendy]

Sad to report that we haven't got it yet. We made a change to the Launch Edition model because (rather stupidly IMO) Toyota saw fit to NOT make available the darker trim inside a black Excel and neither of us liked the light coloured trim (way too easily marked!). We've been given a date of the 27th now (saw the build on MyT tracking and already have the VIN number). TBH, I don't know why it's taking so long to get from Grimsby docks (where it arrived from Zeebrugge on the 2nd September...) to here!

That’s a shame you are having to wait but I do like the launch edition. We ordered a Dynamic yesterday and probably won’t get it before the end of October or maybe even into November [emoji22]
We told the dealer this might be a problem as we might have moved by then from Berkshire to Shropshire [emoji15]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[TonyHSD]

 How about interior size , Toyota went down on size with Corolla, hatchback is smaller than anything in it’s class , almost impossible to seat on the rear bench? 

[Devon Aygo]

14 hours ago, CPN said:

 TBH, I don't know why it's taking so long to get from Grimsby docks (where it arrived from Zeebrugge on the 2nd September...) to here!

Cars arriving at Grimsby do not ship directly to dealer they all go to Burnaston where certain UK specific options are installed, this could be as simple as UK Book pack and Locking wheel nuts but depending on options & car more may need fitting for example on a UK launch edition the POE ( port of entry ) items include:

Carpet mats

Book pack

locking nuts

and options such as:

Essential pro pack

Protection plus pack

Chrome pack

Chrome + pack

Tokyo fusion Interior pack

 

[dave hendy]

Cars arriving at Grimsby do not ship directly to dealer they all go to Burnaston where certain UK specific options are installed, this could be as simple as UK Book pack and Locking wheel nuts but depending on options & car more may need fitting for example on a UK launch edition the POE ( port of entry ) items include:
Carpet mats
Book pack
locking nuts
and options such as:
Essential pro pack
Protection plus pack
Chrome pack
Chrome + pack
Tokyo fusion Interior pack
 

Is this still happening with any local lockdown [emoji848]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bulentcandan]

Is "Advanced Parking Assist" and "360 view camera" available on top trim level? Or is it offered as an option?

[Vinylseats]

On 8/4/2020 at 11:19 PM, CPN said:

The new drive train really makes a difference and especially the new type battery (Li-Ion as opposed to Ni-MH) which seemed to stay in EV mode way longer than I've ever managed in our current car. At one point I noticed that the EV light was on at 50mph!

Did I read somewhere that EV mode in this new model stays on until around 70mph, as opposed to more like 40 or something in the previous model?

[flash22]

6 hours ago, bulentcandan said:

Is "Advanced Parking Assist" and "360 view camera" available on top trim level? Or is it offered as an option?

Options are dependent on your county, the North American 2020/2021 yaris is a completely different car to the European one, not seen either of them items listed

[bulentcandan]

1 hour ago, flash22 said:

Options are dependent on your county, the North American 2020/2021 yaris is a completely different car to the European one, not seen either of them items listed

These features/options are only available in the Japanese version for now. 

I think Yaris Cross will include these features at European market.

Thanks,