New Yaris hybrid billed as Toyota’s most efficient car

TOYOTA Australia is claiming its upcoming Yaris hybrid will be the brand’s most fuel-efficient car when it lobs in May, said to return as little as 3.3 litres per 100km on the combined cycle.

Powered by a new 1.5-litre petrol engine, no power figures for the new system have been released yet though we do know the new Yaris will ride on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform.

According to Toyota Australia sales and marketing vice president Sean Hanley, the new Yaris will boast dynamics to match its leading fuel-efficiency.

“The all-new Toyota Yaris is a marked step up from the current car in every respect and will deliver the outstanding fuel efficiency and advanced safety technology that our customers demand,” he said.

“It will also offer a substantially more engaging drive, superb comfort and refinement and the sort of contemporary styling to make it truly stand out in the crowd.”

Away from the efficiency talk, the new Yaris will also take a step up in terms of safety and equipment, set to come as standard with Toyota’s most advanced pre-collision safety system and adaptive cruise control.

With its focus on fuel economy, it comes as no real surprise that Toyota will also use the launch of the Yaris hybrid to retire its exiting light-car hybrid, the Prius C.

“With the imminent arrival of the all-new Yaris, Toyota has rationalised its line-up and will discontinue sales of the Prius C hatch – first launched here in 2012 – in the second quarter of 2020,” Toyota said in a statement.

While the Prius C will be retired, the existing full-sized Prius as well as its people-mover counterpart, the Prius V, will continue on.

Last year Toyota sold 9853 Yaris’ in contrast to 415 Prius Cs, with the latter experiencing a 19.9 per cent decrease in sales compared to 2018 while the Yaris only dropped 3.3 per cent.

Local pricing of the new Yaris will be revealed closer to its launch.