Toyota Yaris Cross Review (2024)

Introduction

The Japanese automaker has been producing family cars for decades, and if you want a funky hatchback with personality, the standard Yaris should be the perfect fit.

But, these days, the fit isn’t as perfect as it was. That is not Toyota's fault but more due to shifting consumer habits as people flock to the SUV market for something bigger and more practical.

Not to be outdone, Toyota decided to jack up the Yaris, add a bit of darkened cladding, and badge it as the Yaris Cross.

But it’s far more than a Yaris with a raised ride height and some thicker bumpers – the Yaris Cross has earned a decent reputation for itself. Indeed, after being launched in 2020, the plucky Toyota earned the title of World Urban Car of the Year two years later.

As it enters the halfway point of a model’s traditional eight-year lifespan, the Yaris Cross has received a midlife facelift, which brings revised detailing, upgraded powertrains, and digital and safety enhancements.

But have these changes done the trick – and do they put an end to a handful of the Yaris Cross’s weak points?

We have taken a couple of examples for a test drive to find out.

At a Glance

Although it shares its name with the standard Yaris, the Cross isn’t just a car that’s been raised a few inches and had some thick bumpers attached.

Yes, it’s based on the same GA-B platform as the Yaris, but the Yaris Cross is wider and longer. Its distinctive looks would have you believe that it has little else in common other than its name.

Not much has changed from the pre-facelift model. The Yaris Cross features a modest moustache-like front grille, with a larger rectangular lower grill beneath the number plate.

The diamond-shaped headlights sit above two chiselled cheekbones, which house day-running lights.

The slightly squared-off cladded wheel arches sit markedly above the top of the tyres, and cladding runs around the bottom of the car's bodywork. It provides the shapely side skirt at the bottom of the doors, extending upwards at the back to offer protection for would-be off-roaders.

The rear also features a black horizontal bar between the headlights, accommodating the Toyota badge just above the number plate.

Overall, it’s another personality-led design from Toyota, although we can’t help but feel that the standard Yaris is superior in terms of how it wears it looks.

Key Features

The Yaris Cross is available in five trim levels.

Entry-level Icon gets 16-inch silver alloys, a 9.0-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a 7.0-inch digital information display, leather gear knob, keyless entry and push-button start, plus electrically adjustable door mirrors, air conditioning and split-folding rear seats.

Design trim boasts larger 17-inch alloys, a bigger 10.5-inch infotainment screen, privacy glass and LED projector headlights.

The mid-range Excel trim gets even larger 18-inch alloys, a 12.3-inch digital information display, SatNav, dual-zone air conditioning, power-folding door mirrors, heated front seats, and a kick-activated powered tailgate.

The GR Sport model gets a leather sports steering wheel but loses the powered tailgate.

The top-of-the-range Premiere Edition regains the powered tailgate and also gets a 10-inch heads-up display, a JBL premium sound system, and a smart key that enables you to unlock the car using your smartphone.

There is no choice regarding powertrains, with only one 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine available. However, it comes as a full hybrid to improve the economy and is available with two different power outputs.

Choosing the Icon, Design or Excel trims gets you 116PS, while GR Sport and Premiere Edition models receive a marginal boost to 130PS.

All models are front-wheel drive, but the Excel and Premiere Edition models have the option of all-wheel drive. They also all come with a CVT gearbox (continuously variable transmission).

Performance & Drive

We are testing the mid-range Excel trim and the flagship Premiere Edition model, which means we're getting to try out both powertrains, which have been revised with increased torque and a larger electric motor.

The lower-powered 116PS variant manages 0-62mph in 11.2 seconds, while the 130PS variant does the same in 10.7 seconds (although all-wheel drive versions are 0.6 seconds slower on both powertrains).

Neither is especially quick, but thanks to the electric motor offering a burst of torque off the line, it feels pacier than it is – and the performance figures are still reasonably competitive for its class.

However, as the figures suggest, the difference between the two powertrains is negligible in terms of outright acceleration. Therefore, when driving around town or in rush hour traffic, the extra cost of the 130PS powertrain doesn’t feel worth the outlay.

When we took it on a dual carriageway, though, joining from a slip road and overtaking were made slightly easier thanks to its additional grunt.

Despite this, there's nothing to choose between them regarding refinement, so we'd stick with the lower-powered variant to save money unless you need the extra few horsepower.

Toyota is not the only manufacturer to offer two variants of the same powertrain with only a slight performance difference between them, and we can’t help but think a figure closer to 150PS might have made the jump more worthwhile.

You can save petrol by running on an electric motor alone, and we were impressed with the length of time it took to keep this up as we took it through a town centre and around its ring road.

Demanding more performance from the Yaris Cross causes the engine to restart automatically, and the transition between the two is seamless.

Unfortunately, the CVT transmission, which has just one gear that automatically adjusts itself, whines and revs the engine heavily, disturbing the comparative peace of the all-electric driving we enjoyed moments earlier.

The Yaris Cross is easy to drive. It feels relatively relaxed in all situations, even if it doesn't sound like it when under hard acceleration.

In terms of ride comfort, both our Excel and Premiere Edition test cars have the largest 18-inch wheels; even on these, we were impressed with the level of absorption when going over rougher roads, potholes, lumps and bumps.

The downside is the car’s body tends to wobble a bit and can take a while to settle down after a jolt through the chassis.

Nevertheless, it’s not a deal-breaker – and choosing a smaller set of alloys, which come with lower models, will likely be even more comfortable.

As is expected in a car set up with comfort in mind, handling is not a particular highlight.

It is not bad for a car with soft suspension, but throwing it into a bend at speed generates quite a bit of body roll. However, the tyres have plenty of grip and at no point did we feel like we were about to topple over or screech off the road with understeer.

There isn't much feedback through the steering wheel either to help you place the car.

As a result, the Yaris Cross isn’t especially fun to drive, and getting up to motorway speeds is too noisy for our liking. However, once it's there, it's a capable cruiser that’s also adept at acting as an around-town runabout.

Happily, road and wind noise - a common complaint before - has been significantly improved to what Toyota claims are class-leading levels, and we wouldn't disagree.

All-wheel drive is a nice and rare offering in this segment of the market. Although our Excel and Premiere Edition test cars came with front-wheel drive, they are the only two models to offer it as an option.

However, it's not a cheap addition and makes the car less economical, so we'd only recommend it if you regularly drive on dirt tracks or very poor road surfaces.

Although the whole point of all-wheel drive is to improve traction, it won’t transform the handling with suspension as soft as this.

Running Costs & Emissions

One of the biggest highlights of the Yaris Cross is fuel economy.

In entry-level form, the lower-powered 116PS powertrain manages 62.7mpg and returns a class-leading 101g/km of CO2 - mightily impressive for a petrol-powered car.

These figures decline as you progress through the trim levels, with fuel economy dropping to 55.3mpg and CO2 emissions climbing to 115g/km.

The higher-powered 130PS powertrain manages 56.8-58.8mpg, emitting 109-115g/km of CO2.

It is helped by Predictive Efficient Drive, a feature which learns about driver behaviour on routes programmed into the SatNav, optimising battery usage on future journeys.

Nevertheless, the Yaris Cross is greener than most rivals, even in its least economical form. This makes it more attractive to company car users, keeping it in a lower band for Benefit In Kind tax, but plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars still sit in much lower bands.

Like most Far East manufacturers, Toyota has a good reputation for reliability. It often ranks among the top half-dozen brands in dependability and customer satisfaction league tables.

Interior & Technology

The 2024 Yaris Cross's cabin design has been overhauled - and that's a good thing, as the pre-facelift model looked rather dated.

Even the entry-level model looks good, with a tablet-like infotainment screen sprouting up from the middle of the dashboard.

The gear lever surround is bathed in silver decor, which also features modestly elsewhere, notably on the bottom double-spoke of the steering wheel, along the doors and on the passenger side of the dashboard.

The Yaris Cross is marketed as a modest SUV, so creature comforts aren't to be expected, and the interior certainly seems to reflect this. Nevertheless, the layout and finish are improvements from what went before.

Our Excel car gets patterned seats and two-tone upholstery, which makes things look brighter, while Premiere Edition replaces most of the silver decor with piano black, which looks nice, albeit a little monotonal.

The infotainment screen looks more impressive in its larger form, which you’ll get if you avoid the entry-level Icon trim. The system is reasonably straightforward to use, though we had a chance to try out the entry-level smaller screen and found it even easier. The display is surrounded by shortcut buttons that are simple to operate on the move.

That said, the larger unit is easier to read while driving, the menus are reasonably intuitive to navigate and the screen is responsive, though rivals offer superior systems.

Our Excel-trimmed test car is the lowest model, and you'll get a 12.3-inch digital driver's display behind the steering wheel (it's 7.0 inches in lower models). Both offer an excellent design, though the larger variant is more customisable and can display more information as you'd expect from its bigger size.

The Premiere Edition also gets a useful head-up display, which makes it easier to view basic information on the move.

Physical controls have also been retained for the air conditioning and climate control.

Overall, the cabin doesn't feel amazingly sophisticated, but it's an improvement from what it was before and is typical of this price point.

Boot Space & Practicality

No electric seat adjustment is available in the Yaris Cross, so we have to adjust them manually. However, there's plenty of travel in the seats and steering wheel to help you find a comfortable driving position.

That driving position is impressively high for a small SUV, while all but the entry-level Icon trim gets powered lumbar adjustment.

Front visibility is good, as Toyota has worked to keep the pillars as thin as possible. However, as in most cars, they're much thicker at the back and sit diagonally, which can obstruct the view over your shoulders.

Helpfully, a reversing camera is standard, although front and rear parking sensors are only included as standard on the Excel and Premiere Edition models and are available as an option on the Design and GR Sport trims.

Regarding space, front-seat occupants will be okay, with loads of legroom and headroom to accommodate even the tallest occupants.

The rear is decent, too, offering a reasonable amount of legroom. However, some rivals are more spacious. The rear bench is not adjustable, as it doesn't slide forwards or backwards - a feature some competitors offer.

The rear doors aren't huge either, which may mean adults have a more challenging time getting in and out, but it should be fine for the kids.

There is a good amount of storage space inside the cabin, too, with a couple of cupholders in the front, trays on each side of the gear lever and a reasonably sized glovebox, although the door bins aren't particularly big.

Boot space measures a generous 460 litres, which expands to 1,097 litres with the rear seats folded down. An adjustable boot floor is also now standard on all models, which all but removes the load lip, which is handy.

Safety

As this is a facelifted version, the Yaris Cross’s existing Euro NCAP safety score will remain valid.

It comfortably earned a five-star rating, scoring 86% for adults, 84% for children and 81% for safety assists. Those safety assists come in the form of a long list of gadgets.

Every new Yaris Cross has automatic emergency braking, intelligent adaptive cruise control, lane trace assist, a pre-collision system with pedestrian and cyclist detection and road sign assist, and automatic headlights and windscreen wipers.

All but the entry-level Icon trim gets LED projector headlights, too.

An optional Safety Pack is available to all but the entry-level model. This adds front and rear parking sensors, safe exit assist, lane change assist, blind spot monitoring, retractable door mirrors, intelligent rear parking sensors, and rear cross-traffic alert with automatic braking.

Some of these features come factory-fitted on higher trims, including advanced parking assistance for the Excel, GR Sport, and Premiere Edition models.

Options

Solid white is the default body colour, while several metallic and 'premium' alternatives are offered, the latter of which is costly.

A black roof is included as standard on the top two models.

Some trims allow you to change the design, but not the size, of the alloy wheels, while a panoramic sunroof can be added to the Excel and GR Sport models. Unfortunately, it's unavailable on the top-of-the-range Premiere Edition.

Boot liners, rubber floormats, side steps, mud flaps, and front and rear skirts are also available as add-on bundles.

Various styling elements can be added, including piano black strips and numerous accessories, such as roof rack storage bags and cargo nets.

Rival Cars

The new Toyota Yaris Cross has plenty of competition.

The Ford Puma is the one if you want something more fun to lease.

The Skoda Kamiq and Volkswagen’s trio – the T-Cross, T-Roc and Taigo – are also worth considering, along with Renault’s Captur and Vauxhall’s Mokka.

Another alternative is the Lexus LBX, which is based on the same platform as the Yaris Cross and has garnered many positive reviews.

The Mini Countryman has a more sophisticated interior, while the very popular Nissan Juke, which has recently had an overhaul, should also be on your car leasing shortlist.

The Hyundai Kona, Honda HR-V and Kia Niro are worth a look, too.

Verdict & Next Steps

The latest Toyota Yaris Cross ticks many boxes, offering a nice interior, plenty of charm, decent practicality, and a fairly high driving position.

It is especially attractive if economy and reliability are high on your list.

The new interior layout and improved infotainment systems only sweeten the deal.

We would choose the Design trim, which offers a larger infotainment screen, among other features, over the Icon model. However, entry-level trim is fine for those on a budget.

Around-town and rush-hour drivers need not consider the 130PS powertrain, and only farm-track drivers should worry about the all-wheel drive offering.

The Yaris Cross is comfortable but not especially fun to drive, and the powertrains screech a bit, so we'd look elsewhere for entertainment. Other competitors can match it for comfort and beat it on practicality, although only some can get near it for economy.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Toyota Yaris Cross.

**Correct as of 25/07/2024. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles annually, over a 24 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments, or £1,854.99 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.