Can A Major Facelift Save The Toyota Yaris From Being The Aygo's Boring Big Brother?

You have to feel for the Toyota Yaris. Although the supermini is a strong seller, it’s not what you’d call exciting, particularly compared to its funkier little brother, the Aygo. And with the Aygo having undergone a radical rebirth with the styling turned up to 11, the Yaris is left looking like the boring, uncool sibling.

Happily, Toyota has also been hard at work on the third-generation Yaris’ mid-life face-lift. And not just any facelift. In fact, the Japanese company has sunk £70 million into this Yaris refresh, twice the money it normally would for a facelift, such is the car’s importance in the European market. In the UK, for instance, Toyota flogs more of these cars than any of its other motors, so it’s important to get it right. And if it can be made a little bit more exciting, then yet more Yari can be sold.

Toyota admits that it’s always been more of a sensible choice in the supermini segment, so is keen to improve what it calls the ‘emotional appeal.’ In other words, it wants more buyers whose car purchases are a little less sensible - like us petrolheads, for instance. So, has it worked?

As far as the looks go at least, we’d say the Japanese company is definitely on the right lines. Gone is the phase one car’s wholly anonymous face, replaced with a much more distinctive design. It’s reminiscent of the ruddy great ‘X’ found on the front of the new Aygo, but is pleasingly a little less extreme. The upper part of the grille isn’t hugely different to the phase I third-gen Yaris, but the lower section is a radical departure, being dominated by a huge trapezoidal section. Think of it as the Lexus ‘Predator’ face, but a little curvier.

It all comes together to form a much more memorable look

Meanwhile, the chrome line which bends under the Toyota badge on the upper grille neatly carries on into the front light clusters, which along with the rears, are now redesigned. The designs differ slightly depending on which trim level you go for. From the front wings going backwards, the changes are less dramatic, but it all comes together to form a much more memorable look.

The newness continues on the inside, where the quality has been ramped up extensively. The large rectangular section which runs in the middle of the dash from the right of the steering wheel is clad in a lovely new soft-touch material, while the top of the dash feels much more solid. It’s now one of the best interiors in the class, as well as being roomy, and with good all-round visibility thanks to some slender A, B and C pillars.

The second generation of Toyota’s ‘Touch’ multimedia system sits in the middle of the dash, which is as simple to use as the first iteration, but with a posher look and feel. The big circle to the left of the unit displaying airbag and seatbelt information could do with being located elsewhere, though.

If you go for the Sport trim package - which includes tinted windows, a rear spoiler and slightly fettled suspension - you can even festoon the dash, door cards and the very comfortable seats in bright red, should you feel the need.

Four powertrains are available, the 1.0-litre VVT-i three-pot, a 1.3-litre VVT-i four-pot, a 1.4-litre turbo diesel and a 1.5-litre hybrid. The first Yaris we tried had the newly redesigned 1.0-litre under the bonnet, and it didn’t take long to work out that it’s not the best match for the car. It’s already an engine that needs to be worked hard in the Aygo, but with the Yaris’ extra weight, you find yourself mercilessly thrashing the thing to extract every one of its 68 horses, just to get something vaguely resembling movement. 0-62mph takes 15.3 seconds, which just feels like an age. At the very least, it does sound rather good, and the improvements to the lump have made it much smoother.

The 1.3-litre is a much better fit for the Yaris. With 98bhp on tap it’ll crack 0-62mph in a much more agreeable 11.7 seconds, and feels nicely pokey between 4000-6000rpm. It even sounds reasonably beefy, especially for a dinky 1.3. It’s great for zipping through the city between traffic lights, and copes just about OK with out-of-town driving.

The Hybrid makes a great case for itself for those whose driving is dominated by lots of stop/start stuff through dense traffic. On an inner city test route at the car’s launch in Dusseldorf, we managed 62mpg average without putting much effort in. When the engine kicks in, though, it is a bit of a thrashy brute, even if it pulls reasonably well.

The hybrid isn’t available in the base-spec ‘Active’ trim; the cheapest comes in the next trim level up, ‘Icon,’ for a considerable £16,195. Go for the top sped ‘Excel’ trim with the hybrid gubbins, and you’ll need to drop a cool £17,695. There is a diesel - which we only had time for a brief drive in - which is quiet for an oil burner and decently quick, but also pricey at £15,595 in Icon trim. Our pick of the range is the 1.3-litre Icon, yours for £13,495 as a three-door, or £14,095 as a five.

One aspect of the Yaris that Toyota has been particularly keen to improve is the driving experience. Courtesy of various measures including a thicker dashboard bulkhead, new windscreen bonding material, beefier transmission tunnel bracing and 36 more spot welds, the whole car is much more rigid. The suspension has also had a good fettle, with a stiffer rear torsion beam, new springs and redesigned dampers with better valve technology. Even the steering has been re-calibrated. And the results are… underwhelming.

There’s a little too much body roll when you pitch the car relatively hard into a bend, and the Yaris is wallowy on twistier roads. It certainly isn’t a car you can throw about with any real gusto. The regenerative brakes in the hybrid, meanwhile, are interesting to use, and not in a good way. Much of the spongy pedal’s long travel seems to make little difference to the braking force, until you get a harsh bite with the pedal almost to the floor. You do adapt to it eventually, but given the high cost of the Hybrid, it’s not something you should have to put up with. The conventional brakes in the non-hybrid cars have a similar ‘nothing, nothing, nothing, BITE!’ sort of feel, albeit much less pronounced.

It’s the steering, though, which is the big weak point. It offers little in the way of feel, and isn’t all that sharp. That and the general wallowiness isn’t exactly a recipe for driving fun. In less spirited driving, though, it is a pleasant thing to be behind the wheel of. The ride is nicely smooth and the car confidently rolls over imperfections in the road, and on a motorway, wind and tyre noise is low.

A Ford Fiesta - while not quite as nice inside - offers a much more engaging experience behind the wheel

For the most part, Toyota’s investment has paid off. The already competent Yaris is now a much stronger contender in the supermini segment, and the vastly improved styling means you’ll no longer fall asleep each time you look at it. I just wish it drove a little better; for me, a Ford Fiesta - while not quite as nice inside - offers a much more engaging experience behind the wheel. A recent advertising campaign for the Yaris somewhat dubiously suggested it will make you ‘fall in love with driving again.’ Based on what we’ve seen with the new one, that’s still unlikely to happen in a hurry.