Yaris Hybrid - Buying question

[Zee96]

Hi guys,

Hope you're all safe! I'm new here. 

I'm thinking of buying a Yaris hybrid 1.5 2018 model. 

I've never driven a Hybrid and wanted to ask what your experience with it is compared to a petrol only engine. And also some questions:

- Is the engine really very noisy when accelerating? Does it depend on how hard you accelerate? 

- Can you choose whether to drive the vehicle on petrol only vs electric only vs a mix of the two? Is there an option that allows you to choose? 

- If you choose to use petrol only, does the engine revs go to max when you accelerate similar to when driving on a mix of electric/petrol? 

- How are the noise levels in the cabin, do you experience a lot of wind noise? 

 

I've only ever driven a DSG automatic whcih was extremely smooth when accelerating and you could hardly feel the car switching gears and there was almost no nosie (Kia car). 

Any feedback would be great 🙂

Apologies if some questions seem silly. 

[Yugguy1970]

Howdo.  There are no gears in the Yaris as it is a CVT.  You cant run on only petrol but you can make it run EV for a limited time.  This isn't meant for a long distance though.  The best way to drive these is to just let the car do what it needs to do.  You will then find you're doing 50mph with the engine just idling, enough to keep the Battery charged.

On acceleration the engine runs higher as the Battery is draining more electric so it can run high for the whole of the acceleration period, then drop to idle or even off when you are cruising.  It's odd at first and can be a bit drony on hard acceleration but you get used to it.

[flash22]

4 hours ago, Zee96 said:

- Is the engine really very noisy when accelerating? Does it depend on how hard you accelerate? 

 

- Can you choose whether to drive the vehicle on petrol only vs electric only vs a mix of the two? Is there an option that allows you to choose? 

- If you choose to use petrol only, does the engine revs go to max when you accelerate similar to when driving on a mix of electric/petrol? 

- How are the noise levels in the cabin, do you experience a lot of wind noise? 

 

 

1. yes it can be, especially at higher speeds

2. its fully automated, eco mode reduces throttle response, there is an ev mode button that put the car in EV upto 20-25 mph as soon as you hit the throttle it will drop out of ev mode

3. its like driving a petrol, engine revs will build as you build speed once at speed you can back off the throttle and use the top 1/4 of the pedal to maintain speed, the motor is mainly used under 30 mph and/ or no more than 1/4 throttle, but that depends on the Battery charge

4. its not as bad as some i have driven, the climair wind deflectors help

 

It's a different style of driving you let the car build speed, and coast up to junctions and down hills, Mpg takes a hit in the cooler months - high 40's to mid 50's if it's below 5-6ºc Mid 50's to low 60's in the summer - i have seen mid 70's on a few runs

 

Make sure it has decent tyres all round 15" are £40-50 fitted for the mid range, tyres 16" are £10-20 more each the 16" with lower profile tyres can make the ride harsh especially on rough roads

All in all, the Mk3 is best suited for around town, a space saver spare is a must

ps. be careful around carparks at low speed as people don't hear the car

[Bos]

The best thing you can do is to test drive one.    Mine is the first automatic I have ever owned and I would never go back to a manual car again.

I'm sure that when you have driven one you will like it.

[Cyker]

The engine just kinda does its own thing, but if you e.g. floor the accelerator it just pins it at the redline instead of rising through the rev range like a 'normal' car, and most people dislike that as you don't get any audio feedback on how the car is accelerating.

If you're accelerating gently tho' it's reasonably well behaved and fairly quiet unless you're going up a hill or carrying a lot of weight. It's pretty capable around town, but has the world's most gutless petrol engine so it tends to rev up a lot if you put any sort of load on it.

That's partly why I skipped it and got a Mk4 - If you can stretch to a Mk4 instead of a Mk3, I'd recommend it as the Mk4 is a much nicer car to drive. Despite loosing one cylinder the ICE seems to have much better torque than the 4-pot in the Mk3, and when it does rev up the car really shifts! The electric motor can also run the car alone at motorway speeds, which the Mk3's can't. The car's also a lot more efficient - I reckon you'd easily get +20mpg more than what you'd get in a Mk3 driving the same way.

The only downsides that persistently annoy me are the rear doors don't open up very wide and the seats (At least the ones in the higher spec ones) are cripplingly uncomfortable!

 

[flash22]

Sadly the price gap is massive, the Mk4 is £6-8K more, used their going for £18-19K+ at a year old, used prices are silly at the mo, there are plenty of the lunch edition cars about

[Cyker]

Yeah, they are really expensive... still can't believe I bought one new (Well, financed...)! If I hadn't been so angry with Jemca that they knocked a chunk off I probably wouldn't have, and maybe waited 3 years or so (Or just carried on saving for an EV, as was my original plan before getting KHAAAAN'd). But I honestly believe they are worth holding off and saving for over the Mk3!

 

[Zee96]

Great thank you everyone for the comments. Seems like it might not be the right car for me 😭 really wanted it to be though. I do a lot of motorway travel and was hoping the acceleration would be punchy but the more I read into it the less convinced I become, unless I go for the better version but that's too pricey tbh. 

I read somewhere that the petrol only version of the car is even worse in terms of performance compared to the hybrid. 

[Yugguy1970]

You really need to drive one to be honest.  They can feel slower than they really are because the speed is achieved without the fuss of a normal ice engine.

[flash22]

If you want the extra power, look at the 1.8 hybrid Corolla or Prius tbh if your looking for performance the hybrid isn't it ihmo

[Cyker]

Another option if a) You are going to be on the motorway a lot and b) Are unlikely to visit a city centre, is to get a Mk1 or Mk2 diesel Yaris.

They are as cheap on fuel as the hybrids (They actually get better mpg than the Mk3 hybrids, but not as good as the Mk4), they are very reliable, and they have spades of torque through the whole rev range.

I used to have a Mk1 diesel before stupid Khan and his ULEZ extension forced me to trade it in for the awful 1.3 petrol Mk2 I had before getting the Mk4, and it was honestly the best car I have ever owned - Dirt cheap to buy (esp. now as city-folk are desperately trying to sell them ahead of the ULEZpocalypse), 600+ miles out of 40L of diesel, £30 to tax, gobs of torque all the time, incredibly reliable, tyres were dead cheap, even had a sunroof AND AC! And you could use the AC without the fuel gauge dropping like a stone!

The only problem is diesels have gone from being the green eco choice to the devil's own fuel, so not a great long-term vehicle, as more and more city centres start 'fining' you for driving them, and no doubt the government will try and squeeze more money out of diesel owners in the future (Where I work the local council has levied a diesel surcharge to park in public roadside bays!), but at least for the next few years if you don't need to goto a city centre often it might work for you - They're hard to beat for motorway torque and mpg!

I really miss that car - Just being able to plant the accelerator in any gear and hear the turbo spool as you feel the torque give a firm but persistent shove never got old   My brother had a Corolla 2.0 D4D and that had even more ridiculous torque!

 

Edit: I've not driven a petrol-only Mk3, but my Mk2 had the same 1.33 engine and it really needed to be revved, esp. on the motorway - I usually had to downshift 2 cogs if I wanted to pull a quick overtake (Whereas in the Mk1 D4D I'd just floor the accelerator and it'd go!), otherwise would have to take a long run-up. The later 1.5 that replaced it is supposed to be a bit better as it can switch between Otto and Atkinson-cycle modes, and has more mid-range torque than the 1.33, but don't know for sure as haven't driven one.

 

[TonyHSD]

Yaris is a city car all models all years. Too small for a frequent long motorway journeys, it’s not just engine power or performance but generally speaking everything. Minimum golf or Jetta class which means Prius or Auris or Corolla if you would like to be a Toyota hybrid, which actually are the best automatic petrol cars available to date. I am using an Auris hybrid for that job covering 200+ miles per day every day 5+ days a week and it’s just fine, anything below would not be comfortable enough IMO, bigger would be better but since I pay my own money for fuel and maintenance I made my choice. My next car eventually will be Corolla or Prius., but I don’t rush to buy and hope I can keep the Auris for another few years before changing it. Been thinking of larger car as those are much more refined to drive on long journeys, something like Camry or Lexus ES, however I will loose at least 10 mpg and if i go Prius / Corolla 1.8 I will eventually gain 10mpg, with my driving will make sense. Yaris is a great car but not a motorway cruiser for sure, ok 10-30 miles a day will be fine but 100+ not  really. 

[Cyker]

It's not too bad - I've spent many hours in my little Yarisusesisues just due to the nature of the job!

Longest trip I did in my Mk1 was a 4-hour non-stop drive from London to Exeter! It wasn't too bad, although I was a bit zombie-like after I got out! (Luckily not work related so I could have a lie down on the beach for a bit!  )

Would be a bit leery of doing in the Mk4 because the seats are far less comfortable, although my Spinal Support Towel staved off the worst of it when we went to Goodwood a few weeks back so may be doable!

Corolla-sized car (New or old!) would definitely be more comfortable tho', esp. if they have lumbar support in the seats, which sadly my Mk4 does not!  Wouldn't get the mpgs in the high-70's/low-80's my Mk4 is getting tho' 

[MikeSh]

2 hours ago, Zee96 said:

I do a lot of motorway travel and was hoping the acceleration would be punchy

Huh? 🤔

Motorway = cruising, presumably at 70 ... ish. Why is acceleration important?

[john p williams]

18 minutes ago, MikeSh said:

Huh? 🤔

Motorway = cruising, presumably at 70 ... ish. Why is acceleration important?

It suggested to me that he was not yet ready for a Toyota Hybrid ¬

[Cyker]

I can't speak for the OP, but in my case, I usually cruise at around 60mph, but I also don't want to get stuck behind a lorry or whatever for miles waiting for an overtake opportunity, so being able to launch the car to ahem 70mph for a short time just to get past and settle back into the lane requires good punchy acceleration.

My old D4D could go from 60 to 70 in a couple seconds and was fantastic at this sort of use, whereas the 1.33 needed just shy of a fortnight. I found the Mk3 was also pretty bad at this and is why I skipped it (At least with a manual car I can pre-emptively downshift; Can't do that in a hybrid or autobox so if they're gutless you've got no chance of doing a quick overtake!)

The Mk4 is far better at delivering that quick burst of acceleration and I find it far better to pull those quick A-road/motorway overtakes, which is why I think it would have been better suited (Aside from the cost... that, I'll admit, is a fairly big hurdle...)

I do tend to get passed by lots of Aygos doing 70+ tho'  

[Catlover]

To Zee96 the original poster, why not look at the next Toyota up from the Yaris……. The Auris hybrid. As a used car you probably won’t be paying much more then a Yaris hybrid, you will get ss good if not slightly better mpg and you will have more punchy overtaking ability.   It’s a 1.8 petrol engine with more hybrid power then the Yaris. With a hybrid, as with “all electric” vehicles, the torque from the Battery is instant.  In the Auris hybrid there are 3 modes, Eco, Normal, Power. Eco is softer acceleration and Power puts zip into acceleration,  Even on MWay situations where I want to overtake lorries or bunched up cars, with a bit of planning I find I can execute my manoeuvre in Eco mode, but push the Power button and you get all 122 bhp kicking in, engine and Battery torque, and away you go.  Apart from that the Auris hybrid is a step up in comfort and space.  Go one model up again and into Gen4 Prius (2016-current) and you get more comfort and space.  
Go test drive them for yourself.

[Zee96]

2 hours ago, Catlover said:

To Zee96 the original poster, why not look at the next Toyota up from the Yaris……. The Auris hybrid. As a used car you probably won’t be paying much more then a Yaris hybrid, you will get ss good if not slightly better mpg and you will have more punchy overtaking ability.   It’s a 1.8 petrol engine with more hybrid power then the Yaris. With a hybrid, as with “all electric” vehicles, the torque from the battery is instant.  In the Auris hybrid there are 3 modes, Eco, Normal, Power. Eco is softer acceleration and Power puts zip into acceleration,  Even on MWay situations where I want to overtake lorries or bunched up cars, with a bit of planning I find I can execute my manoeuvre in Eco mode, but push the Power button and you get all 122 bhp kicking in, engine and battery torque, and away you go.  Apart from that the Auris hybrid is a step up in comfort and space.  Go one model up again and into Gen4 Prius (2016-current) and you get more comfort and space.  
Go test drive them for yourself.

Yeah that makes sense! I initially wanted a small car though something like the size of the polo but the Auris is a bit longer. I'll probably go to a dealer and test drive both and take it from there. Thanks for the advice : )

[Catlover]

54 minutes ago, Zee96 said:

Yeah that makes sense! I initially wanted a small car though something like the size of the polo but the Auris is a bit longer. I'll probably go to a dealer and test drive both and take it from there. Thanks for the advice : )

I bit surprised that if you a lot journeys on the MWay you would be happy with a Polo size car and wanting a bit of punch as well. You not stated in when/what conditions you would like a bit of punch. 

[Zee96]

9 minutes ago, Catlover said:

I bit surprised that if you a lot journeys on the MWay you would be happy with a Polo size car and wanting a bit of punch as well. You not stated in when/what conditions you would like a bit of punch. 

My previous car was a Polo GTI 189bhp which was small but packed a lot of punch. I'm not really a fast driver in all honesty, but when need be, like it was mentioned above, overtaking others or if the road allows for faster driving etc, I want to have the ability. I'm aware if I were to go hybrid it would be a downgrade in terms of power unless I were to get a larger car like you mentioned, but at the end of the day I'm not on a rally haha. I just need to find something that's not too weak like the Yaris seems to be. I imagine if I have 3 other people in the Yaris on a motorway that would be dreadful lol, so I guess I'll have to have a look at an Auris etc, I'm just not a fan of the fact that almost every single uber/taxi driver has an Auris haha. It does speak for its ability/reliability but I've mentioned Auris to people and everyone comes back to me with "oh please don't get a taxi car". I'll have a think haha. 

 

[Catlover]

OK, here is me thinking you were looking for a small reliable car fairly cheap to run ie low insurance and road tax. I got it wrong.

[TonyHSD]

50 minutes ago, Zee96 said:

My previous car was a Polo GTI 189bhp which was small but packed a lot of punch. I'm not really a fast driver in all honesty, but when need be, like it was mentioned above, overtaking others or if the road allows for faster driving etc, I want to have the ability. I'm aware if I were to go hybrid it would be a downgrade in terms of power unless I were to get a larger car like you mentioned, but at the end of the day I'm not on a rally haha. I just need to find something that's not too weak like the Yaris seems to be. I imagine if I have 3 other people in the Yaris on a motorway that would be dreadful lol, so I guess I'll have to have a look at an Auris etc, I'm just not a fan of the fact that almost every single uber/taxi driver has an Auris haha. It does speak for its ability/reliability but I've mentioned Auris to people and everyone comes back to me with "oh please don't get a taxi car". I'll have a think haha. 

 

But that’s the point then, the taxi cars are the best In terms of reliability, efficiency and drivability, think if all those Prius , Auris and Corolla were bad to drive will they really be so popular?! Definitely not. Taxi and private hire drivers first buy cars for efficiency, then for how they drive and then for how much cost the maintenance. Tbh after a polo gti if you looking into Auris you will be well disappointed. The only Toyota hybrid that can come close to your preferences is Corolla 2.0 hybrid hatchback perhaps in GR sport trim. This is a really nice looking car with more powerful engine than the regular 1.8, you have 180bhp available and even if you trash it you still be able to do over 45mpg, been sensible can get you another 10mpg on top of that but you most likely average will be around 50mpg., not bad for car that is probably the best looking in its class, has one of the best handling and its most efficient while offering respectable acceleration. Anything else that is real hybrid won’t impress you at all. There are used examples for around £22k 👍 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108065932552

[FROSTYBALLS]

Presumably you'd be better off trying to find a used Yaris GRMN (209bhp), which was a limited production model, and only 100 came to the UK.

[Mike J.]

4 hours ago, Zee96 said:

I just need to find something that's not too weak like the Yaris seems to be.

My Yaris Hybrid was not slow or weak. The peak torque is higher than your old Polo (around 270Nm). It will out accelerate most non-EV cars from standstill - the 0-30mph is under 4 seconds. It used to spin wheels with the electric motor and then the petrol motor (when it spooled up) when pulling away at full power on a 'moist' road.

 

[Kim 123]

I wouldn't agree that Yaris are only town cars, I did over 200,000 miles in my mk1 diesel Yaris,  and most of that was motorway mileage. More than enough acceleration if you needed it.   I've now got a Mk4 hybrid and although I don't put in as many miles as before there are no issues at all on long journeys.  In fact with the automatic gearbox and adaptive cruise control it's an easy motorway drive.  I find the sports seats more comfortable than in my previous Yaris. I had 3 diesel Yaris before this hybrid. I still prefer the diesel engine TBH but as someone already mentioned diesel cars are treated like the spawn of the devil.