New for 2012 is the accomplished little Toyota Yaris Hatch. This is a car that trundles round town doing errands, commutes to work and can gallop along at highway speeds all day, every day. These won’t let you down, and they’re easy to live with, zippy and easy to park. Mod, new looks have jazzed the Yaris up nicely. In my book, the 2012 Toyota Yaris Hatch looks a lot more up market than the outgoing model.

There are essentially four Toyota Yaris Hatch models, and they differ according to comfort specs, engine size and choice of gearbox. Both the Toyota Yaris YR 3-door and 5-door models run with the zesty little in-line four cylinder, chain driven, DOHC, petrol engine. With 63 kW, the Yaris YR models have a useful turn of speed, and in five-speed manual guise they have an average fuel consumption figure of around 5.7 litres/100 km (add a little bit more for the four-speed auto version).

Simply put, all other Toyota Yaris Hatch models are powered by the bigger, more powerful 1.5-litre four cylinder, chain driven, DOHC motor. The jump in power output is noticeable, particularly when you have a fully laden car and have hill work to do. This is not to shoot down the 1.3-litre, but just to let you know that if you are planning on using your Yaris for taking the soccer team to training, friends to a dance or family away on holiday then you’ll be wanting the 80 kW, 1.5-litre, petrol version. The average fuel consumption for the 1.5-litre Yaris models: expect around 5.8 litres/100 km (add a little bit more for the four-speed automatic).

I was impressed to find that even the base model Toyota Yaris YR 5-speed manual/4-speed auto models come with active braking with intelligence (AB-i), vehicle stability control (VSC) and traction control (TRC). It shows you what the consumers are demanding from their vehicle manufacturers. Add to this lot 7 SRS airbags, and you have yourself a safe, compact modern small hatch.

On the road, the Toyota Yaris can zip along nicely. With all the active safety features, the Yaris Hatch pulls up well in an emergency situation. Slippery conditions are tamed via the TRC and AB-i systems working hand-in-hand. As far as the ride goes, the small dimensions (1695 mm width and 3885 mm legth) don’t hinder the Yaris Hatch ride; in fact, it feels much like a small Corolla.

Inside, the new Toyota Yaris Hatch uses a new dash design that, I must say, is one of the nicer budget interiors out there. It is different from the norm but balanced and fresh, modern and fun – well done to the team at Toyota. It’s nice to have the speedometer back behind the wheel, rather than in the centre of the dash – but that’s just a matter of preference. Take a look at the sporty D-shaped steering wheel and new chrome detailing. If you can run to the Yaris YRX or Yaris ZR, you can enjoy the new T.E.C.H. system which controls audio, mobile calls, satellite navigation and more. Power windows, a Multi Information Display (MID), and CD Tuner with Voice Control and Bluetooth compatibility with 4 speakers are all standard features on the base models (Toyota Yaris YR 3-door and Toyota Yaris YR 5-door). Buy into the YRS, YRX and ZR hatches, and you get more bells and whistles.

Choose your own Toyota Yaris colour and interior trim. My favourite colour is the new Celestial Blue exterior paint work, though I reckon the ladies will like the Cosmopolitan Pink for a real funky look. The grey/black interior is for all models except the Yaris ZR which has a blue/black interior colour coordination for the trim and seat upholstery.

Toyota has a new vehicle warranty that expires three years from the date of purchase or 100,000 km – whichever occurs first.

The current Toyota Yaris Hatch models include:

• YR 3-door
• YR 5-door
• YRS 3-door
• YRS 5-door
• ZR 3-door
• YRX 5-door

For any more information on the Toyota Yaris hatch or, for that matter, any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Toyota dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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