Modifications to my Toyota Yaris Cross

[yariscrossowner2022]

Hi, I currently own the 2022 Toyota Yaris Cross Design, and I have a few questions about upgrading certain areas of the car:
 

Can I install automatic folding wing mirrors?

Can I make the rear boot automatically open?

Can i upgrade the multimedia system to have a SatNav in the actual Toyota Software o do I need to buy a multimedia system from the Excel model?
 

Any response would be appreciated.

Thanks
 

[anchorman]

You can do anything if you throw enough money at it James but by the time you’ve done those, just trade it in for an Excel.  

[MikeSh]

You need to think about resale value as well. You have got a Design. Adding a lot, or even all, of the Excel bits won't make it an Excel, so it will still resell at Design prices ... or less even as the trade are wary of modified cars. Standard rules!

[Primus1]

And also don’t forget to inform your insurance..

[Roy124]

10 hours ago, MikeSh said:

You need to think about resale value as well. You have got a Design. Adding a lot, or even all, of the Excel bits won't make it an Excel, so it will still resell at Design prices ... or less even as the trade are wary of modified cars. Standard rules!

Which returns to the question, how long will you keep it?

In the past I have added reversing lights, radio, automatic aerial,  rear fogs,  rewired the headlights etc etc for my convenience.  I fancy a well installed upgrade can be a selling point to a buyer though as Mike says, it won't improve value but simply your own satisfaction. 

My last Merc had a stop/start Battery and the fittings for a tailgate lift but stop/start and the tailgate lift were not on my must have list. It didn't have TV, but the DVD player and 6/7 seats were rarely used 'nice to have' when I bought it.

[flash22]

Factory upgrades don't hurt,

electric mirrors, power tailgate, it depends on your skill level TBH

Sat nav - not really worth the hassle and cost - it's just an add-on module

 

finding used parts can be a pain and expensive, especially as the cross has only been out 3 years

[Benzowner]

You can operate a sat nav system from your phone. Plug the phone into the USB socket and you can use maps from the phone. Works well with my iPhone 11 and that quite old.

[Jimota]

I have a Yaris Cross design but would have preferred to purchase an Excel if it had an extra other than a satnav.  I don’t see the point of spending more money on something I would never use as I have an excellent phone which connects to car play seamlessly.

[Roy124]

I could not get on with Android Auto on my Corolla but it is my standard map now.  The satellite map is so much better and more informative. 

[yariscrossowner2022]

10 hours ago, Roy124 said:

Which returns to the question, how long will you keep it?

In the past I have added reversing lights, radio, automatic aerial,  rear fogs,  rewired the headlights etc etc for my convenience.  I fancy a well installed upgrade can be a selling point to a buyer though as Mike says, it won't improve value but simply your own satisfaction. 

My last Merc had a stop/start battery and the fittings for a tailgate lift but stop/start and the tailgate lift were not on my must have list. It didn't have TV, but the DVD player and 6/7 seats were rarely used 'nice to have' when I bought it.

now that I am thinking about it, I will probably keep it for 3 to 4 years and probably trade it in for either a better yaris cross or a different car brand. I thought toyota was good but they really lack in the luxury of a car. the BZ4X entry model still has FWD, has the same door handles as a yaris cross and it is advertised as a SUV and priced at more than £50k.

[yariscrossowner2022]

7 hours ago, Benzowner said:

You can operate a sat nav system from your phone. Plug the phone into the USB socket and you can use maps from the phone. Works well with my iPhone 11 and that quite old.

thing is , plugging in the phone is kind of inconvenient. I'd rather a wireless solution which is much better and makes the car less chaotic

 

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi.

If you have any issues with insurance at all for upgrades / modifications then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

[yariscrossowner2022]

3 hours ago, Jimota said:

I have a Yaris Cross design but would have preferred to purchase an Excel if it had an extra other than a satnav.  I don’t see the point of spending more money on something I would never use as I have an excellent phone which connects to car play seamlessly.

can you connect to carplay wirelessly? I can't on my design and I have a usb which just adds more wires to the car

[Jimota]

Can’t connect wirelessly but I don’t have a problem with the USB cable.  To be honest, I hardly use it and that was another reason why I never went for the Excel model.

[MikeSh]

2 hours ago, yariscrossowner2022 said:

the BZ4X entry model still has FWD, has the same door handles as a yaris cross and it is advertised as a SUV and priced at more than £50k.

Using parts across models is normal and sensible - How many times do you need to design a door handle? You could also complain it uses the same tyres as other models. (I read something a while back that said Lamborghini (or another supercar perhaps) used the same triangular amber lamp lenses as the Ford Ka.)

And the BZ4X is a BEV, so of course the price is insane. I checked out the cost of BYD (the cheap Chinese EV maker) the other day ... The cheapest was £28k.

[Roy124]

@MikeSh  My SAAB 99 had a newer engine developed by Triumph.  The brief was to go the the Triumph dealer, park around the corner, and get any components from them.  Cheaper than buying a component that had been shipped to Sweden and back again.

SAAB also, towards the end of the 95/96 production, made a lower cost 99 (it may have had a different number, with 95 components - seats, glove box (no lid) etc.  It looked really odd seeing smaller car components squeezed into a larger car.

[Dick_Dastardly]

On 4/9/2024 at 7:15 PM, yariscrossowner2022 said:

now that I am thinking about it, I will probably keep it for 3 to 4 years and probably trade it in for either a better yaris cross or a different car brand. I thought toyota was good but they really lack in the luxury of a car. the BZ4X entry model still has FWD, has the same door handles as a yaris cross and it is advertised as a SUV and priced at more than £50k.

If you think that's bad then the Lotus Esprit famously had door handles from a Morris Marina 😲

[Jimota]

I can confirm that the door handles on the Morris Marina were a revelation and it’s no surprise that Lotus grabbed them for the Esprit.  I can also confirm that apart from the Morris Marina 1.8 TC engine, everything else was absolute rubbish.  

[bathtub tom]

32 minutes ago, Jimota said:

Morris Marina 1.8 TC

I quite fancied one of them and I believe they could be made to go round corners with a few mods.

[Jimota]

Powerful car and fast in a straight line but turn the steering wheel and you could end up anywhere. Wasn’t aware that mods were available to “enhance” the steering and roadholding. 

[MikeSh]

2 hours ago, Jimota said:

Powerful car and fast in a straight line but turn the steering wheel and you could end up anywhere.

So, good for drag racing ...

[anchorman]

10 hours ago, Jimota said:

I can confirm that the door handles on the Morris Marina were a revelation and it’s no surprise that Lotus grabbed them for the Esprit.  I can also confirm that apart from the Morris Marina 1.8 TC engine, everything else was absolute rubbish.  

There was no shortage of them in the scrap yards but every one had no door handles.  

9 hours ago, bathtub tom said:

I quite fancied one of them and I believe they could be made to go round corners with a few mods.

Nope. 

9 hours ago, Jimota said:

Powerful car and fast in a straight line but turn the steering wheel and you could end up anywhere. Wasn’t aware that mods were available to “enhance” the steering and roadholding. 

You mean like adjust half an inch of slack out of the trunnions?

6 hours ago, MikeSh said:

So, good for drag racing ...

Nope.

[Jimota]

I decided to get rid of my Morris Marina when the front nearside ball joint collapsed while negotiating a roundabout in peak hour traffic.  Ended up on the pavement and missed a lamppost by inches.  Never knew at that time you had to regularly keep the grease nipples pumped up.  Thankfully there is no need to do this with the Yaris Cross.

[MikeSh]

2 minutes ago, Jimota said:

Never knew at that time you had to regularly keep the grease nipples pumped up.

I never had a Marina though I had Austin/Morris 1100/1300s in my early driving days. Not sure now what they needed but I did have at least one car that had about a dozen nipples around it, mostly on the front suspension, needing a squirt every 1,000 miles. Oil change every 3,000 IIRC.

I still have the grease gun actually, though it's buried away somewhere and the grease is probably solid or liquid by now 🙁