New Yaris due by year's end

Roomier, flashier Toyota light car is on schedule for local launch later this year

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Toyota has announced its next generation Yaris will come to Australia before the end of this year, following a preview of a pre-production model at the Australian International Motor Show in July.

Showing a chunkier, edgier look than the current series Yaris, the new mini Toyota has had its overall length bumped by 100mm and its wheelbase extended by 50mm. At the same time the overall height has dropped 15mm to give the car a less upright look and, maybe, a slightly better aerodynamic figure.

The design language has been tweaked to sharpen the lines and give a more pronounced wedge shape to the profile, with the lower edge of the windows following a virtually straight line that contrasts with the curved shape of the current car.

The front end is changed significantly with a V-shape grille aperture, a more aggressive lower air intake and a sweeping headlight stack that still extends to just short of the A-pillars.

Toyota says the longer body has contributed to a "much roomier cabin, especially for rear-seat occupants."

The new Yaris gets a single windscreen wiper blade, as well as UV-reducing glass in the front door windows. Toyota is not providing mechanical details or kerb weights of the new car, but it is assumed the Yaris will continue with the same 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre four-cylinder engines powering the current model. A 1.4-litre diesel is available in other world markets, as is stop-start technology, but it is not yet known if either of these will make their way to Australia in the foreseeable future. Toyota in Australia is philosophically opposed to diesel in its passenger-car range, but doesn't appear to be backing a hybrid variant of the new model in the short term.

The Yaris, which superseded the Echo and is known as the Vitz in Japan, was introduced locally in 2005. Combined Echo and Yaris sales in Australia total more than 200,000 vehicles. 21,452 Yaris models were sold in Australia during 2010, representing a growth of 10.3 per cent. Global sales now exceed 3.5 million.

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