Wait… what? The fourth-generation Yaris was launched last year, what is the Yaris Cross all about? This is confusing, the Yaris has always been about the small compact hatch. The short answer is, it’s all about changing consumer trends. Car buyers are trending away from pitiful compact hatches to compact SUVs. And in response, auto manufacturers are adding more SUV-style vehicles to their product line-up. And so begins the euthanization of the compact hatch. This is where the Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid enters the fray. It is a Yaris but not as we know it. The Yaris Cross Adventure is a pre-sales marketing drive to get you interested in buying one. Admittedly, personally would never consider buying a Yaris hatch but I would consider buying the Yaris Cross. 

Consumer buying experts and psychologists call this buying trend “automotive racism”. The Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid was scheduled for release in Europe in late 2020 but was delayed due to the Pandemic. It is slated for retail release in mid-2021. The compact SUV is a collaboration between Toyota’s Japanese and European design studios. It is built on Toyota’s unified GA-B platform which is also utilized by Lexus. The Yaris Cross will be powered by a familiar 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder Hybrid engine and will also have 4-wheel drive capability.

Unfortunately, total system power equates to 114bhp and the drivetrain is tugged along by a CVT transmission. Combined, the low-powered engine and lethargic CVT will be an outlier for mediocre performance. But hey, the type of person that buys a vehicle driven by a CVT doesn’t much care about performance. The Yaris Cross is already available to buy in Japan, the European version will be built in France.

UK Pricing has yet to be revealed. But we can extrapolate future price trends by taking a look at the Yaris hybrid hatch, which costs an alarming £19k. Therefore the Yaris Cross Hybrid will cost an alarming amount of money.