The Toyota Yaris: 25 years of success

In 1999 Toyota was clear about its intentions for the original, all-new Yaris, a car created with a “clean sheet of paper” and “big-small” thinking to deliver clever design, modern engineering and new standards. Twenty-five years later, it has more than kept its promise, constantly raising the bar in terms of performance, practicality and driver appeal in each of its four successive generations.

Today’s Yaris customers benefit from safety, driver assistance and tech features beyond the dreams of the team that worked on the original. But at the same time as it has become a more sophisticated machine, it has remained true to its essence as a clever and adaptable car that’s ideally suited to the demands of everyday driving.

Evolution continues in the Toyota spirit of continuous improvement. The current generation has seen the Yaris range extend into both a versatile SUV in the form of Yaris Cross and produce an authentic rally-bred performance hatch with the universally acclaimed GR Yaris.

There is more to come: the Yaris family is firmly established as a best-seller at the heart of Toyota’s European model range.

An instant hit

Yaris was an instant critical and popular success, winning prestigious Car of the Year titles in both Europe (1999) and Japan (2000). To date, more than 10 million Yaris have been sold worldwide and the awards have kept rolling in. In 2021, the fourth generation Yaris emulated the achievement of its predecessor by collecting another European Car of the Year honour.

Introducing hybrid

Yaris already had a reputation as a great innovator when it made one of the most significant leaps forward for the small car market with the introduction of a full hybrid version in 2012. The ground-breaking technology was accommodated without compromising the car’s surprisingly spacious interior, while improving fuel economy and emissions performance to unprecedented levels.

Yaris has been an all-hybrid model in the UK since the introduction of the current, fourth generation model in 2020, with a choice of two power outputs.

Safety a priority

“Above all, Yaris is a safe car” was a primary message in 1999, with computer simulations used to optimise impact protection measures. Back then, it was a big plus point for a small hatch to provide both driver and passenger airbags as standard; ABS braking was optional.

With each Yaris generation, safety performance has achieved ever-higher standards. Today, the latest Toyota Safety Sense systems detect and warn of a wide range of accident risks and will activate steering, braking and power assistance to help avoid an impact. More than ever before, the car is a reliable partner for the driver, always on the look-out for potential hazards and making the job of driving less of a burden.

The environmental aspect

Even 25 years ago, Toyota was aware of the need to protect the environment in designing its new supermini. Then, the focus was on using, recycling and reusing as many parts as possible, dispensing with metal components where possible and clearly marking others with the best method for their recycling.

Today, the environmental considerations go beyond the car itself to take in its full lifecycle, from parts and materials sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, through customer use to end-of-life disposal. At every stage, thought is given to emissions, the use of energy and raw materials and the control and minimising of waste. This 360-degree approach is central to Toyota’s global drive towards achieving its Environmental Challenge 2050 goals.

Entertained and informed

Back in 1999, one of Yaris’s selling points was the fact it had a specially designed slot to store cassette tapes. Today the focus is on portable, digital devices with easy smartphone integration, USB ports and DAB reception. The forward-thinking Toyota of 1999 offered satellite navigation as an option; today, cloud-based navigation is all part of an extensive multimedia package that also includes a voice agent, touchscreen control and fully digital driver’s instrument display.

Compare and contrast