2017 TOYOTA Yaris 5 Doors 1.5L 5MT FWD (109 HP)

Vehicle Overview

After six years on the market, Toyota didn’t rush to change its small-sized contender, Yaris, but added a second facelift for this third-generation model.

Maybe the biggest change in Yaris’ history was the addition of this nameplate to the Australian market, where the vehicle was known as Echo. But that didn’t change too much for the market, as the customers were already familiarized with the car’s shape.

From the design point of view, the carmaker totally changed the front fascia. Its bulky front bumper sported a black, arched, center lower grille and body-colored sides, giving the impression of a catamaran. Even though this was no landbarge, it still created the image of a larger vehicle. The new headlights were available with LEDs for both high- and low beams for the upper trim levels. In the five-door version, the Yaris featured a blacked-out B-pillar, giving the impression of a three-door vehicle. Moreover, the car’s ascending beltline also hosted the door handles. Thus, the rear ones were placed in an upper position than the front ones.

The interior boasted a new infotainment unit with steering-wheel buttons and a touch-screen mounted in the center stack above the climate control buttons. But the most significant change was on the safety side. Here, Toyota gave its small-segment contender Yaris many new features such as automatic headlights that could detect the oncoming traffic, seven airbags, brake-force assist, stability control, and most importantly, a pre-collision system that automatically braked the vehicle.

Under the hood, Toyota placed the same 1.3- and 1.5-liter gasoline engines for the European and the American market.