• Easy to use
• Long-lasting
• Not the last word in style

How’s the quality and layout?

Climb in and you’ll find a cabin that’s both functional and up to date. The plastics feel sturdy if not plush, although the use of textures on the door cards make them pleasant to touch. The indicator stalks seem particularly robust, plus, they make a loud and old-school indicator noise.

The dash itself is dark, even if you can choose two silver colour schemes for the seats and door inserts to offset this. Compared with the Renault Clio and Peugeot 208, it feels a bit older and not as special. But the Yaris remains a more colourful place to spend time in compared with a Ford Fiesta, while being miles ahead of the Suzuki Swift.

Sit in the driver’s seat and the instrument panel consists of two circular, digital screens and a trip computer ahead of you. The trip computer screen isn’t the largest or the brightest even at its highest setting, and there’s no option to view a sat-nav map here.

Annoyingly, the door-mounted switches for the windows and mirrors are positioned in such a way that when you try to adjust your door mirrors, the palm of your hand can rest on the window switches, causing you to open them by mistake. Thankfully, the door mirrors are large and put a Ford Fiesta to shame.

For 2024, has updated its GR Sport trim cars with new, larger display screens and additional sporty touches around the cabin, while the new Premiere edition spec cars include blue stitching around the cabin to match the exclusive bi-tone Neptune Blue paint work.

Infotainment and tech

Good news; every Yaris comes with Apple CarPlay/Android auto, DAB radio and USB sockets.

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The infotainment screen size is dependent on which model you choose. They range from 7.0 inches to 10.5 inches, but all work in the same way. Broadly, the software is a bit old-school and looks like it belongs on a five-year old car.

The in-built sat-nav looks ancient but is easy enough to follow. But we think most Yaris owners will choose to use Apple or Android instead.

Comfort

• Firm seats
• Two six-footers in the rear
• Quiet engine

The seats are firm with good side support, but the seat base might be a little short for taller drivers. Despite sitting lower than the previous model, you still have a good view over the dashboard. The windscreen pillars have also been moved back, closer towards the occupants in a bid to reduce blind spots.

The engine is pretty hushed, even when working hard, and there’s little vibration coming through into the cabin, making for a relaxed place to spend time. The petrol engine itself makes a nice thrummy sound and no longer sounds strained when worked hard even with this style of automatic transmission.

Other than that, you get a whining from the electric motor under accelerating and during braking at low speeds. Things get a little louder when the regenerative braking system generates a whirring noise that’s noticeably annoying once you’ve tuned into it. Still, the JBL sound system (available on top-spec cars) does a good job of drowning it out.

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