New 1.5 Hybrid Powertrain: More Responsive and More Efficient
- All-new 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain
- More responsive with a 15 per cent increase in combined power (engine and electric motor) and a more than 20 per cent increase in fuel efficiency
- Fourth generation hybrid technology optimised for weight, packaging and efficiency
- System includes new 1.5-litre petrol engine with 40 per cent thermal efficiency
Toyota’s leadership in self-charging hybrid technology is built on more than 20 years’ experience. Toyota hybrid vehicles have proved their outstanding quality, durability and reliability, collectively covering more than half a billion kilometres around the world every day.
Since the introduction of the first Prius back in 1997, Toyota Motor Corporation has sold more than 14 million hybrid vehicles worldwide – including 2.5 million in Europe. It has constantly improved the technology and progressively introduced new models across a wide range of market segments. Yaris Hybrid, the world’s first full hybrid B-segment model, was introduced in 2012, since when more than half a million have been sold in Europe, establishing it as a key product in creating wider public awareness and appreciation of the benefits of Toyota’s hybrid technology.
The fourth generation Hybrid system has been tested in different cities around Europe, including Rome, Paris, and Darmstadt. Results from these real-world trials show that when operating in urban areas, cars equipped with the technology operate for 80 per cent of the journey time as a Zero Emission Vehicle.
These outstanding results are made possible by the architecture of Toyota Hybrid System. This basically contains all the elements of an electric car, such as high-power motors and high-voltage components, together with a highly efficient engine (running on the Atkinson cycle).
Toyota’s fourth generation hybrid technology makes its debut in the principal powertrain for the new Yaris. This 1.5 hybrid system is directly derived from the larger, 2.0 and 2.5-litre systems that were introduced in the past year in the new Corolla, RAV4 and Camry models and has been developed with the same level of scrutiny of component size and weight in the quest for ever-better fuel and emissions efficiency.
The hybrid system features Toyota’s new 1.5-litre three-cylinder Atkinson cycle petrol engine with variable valve-timing. As with its four-cylinder 2.0 and 2.5-litre counterparts, it benefits from detailed measures to reduce internal friction and mechanical losses and optimise combustion performance. In fact, the engine has the world’s fastest combustion speed, supporting high torque at low engine speeds and fuel efficiency. It is also fitted with a balance module, which helps reduce engine noise and vibration.
As a result, it achieves 40 per cent thermal efficiency, higher than comparable diesel engines, helping secure an improvement of more than 20 per cent in Yaris’s fuel economy and CO2 emissions. At the same time, system output has been increased by 15 per cent and power delivery has been refined to give a confident and natural driving feel.
The hybrid transaxle has been fully redesigned, adopting a new dual axis structure that makes it more compact (by nine per cent). The result is a low-loss geartrain with smaller overall dimensions that improves performance and is comfortably packaged within the new GA-B platform.
The system also uses a new lithium-ion hybrid battery, giving increased output that enables quicker vehicle acceleration. As well as being more powerful, the battery is 27 per cent lighter than the nickel-metal hydride battery it replaces.
In selected markets, the new Yaris will also be available with 1.5 and 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engines. More details of these powertrains will be released at a later date.
A New Level of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems For Compact Cars
- Designed to be the world’s safest compact car
- Developed for leading active safety performance with new Toyota Safety Sense (TSS)
- First car in its class to feature a centre airbag
The new Yaris is designed to be the world’s safest compact car, featuring significant advances in both active and passive safety systems. The aim is to give people the best possible safety protection in their daily drives.
Advanced driver assistance systems include full speed-range intelligent adaptive cruise control and lane trace assist, as featured in the recently launched new Toyota Corolla. These features are fitted as standard on every new Yaris.
In addition to these systems, the new Yaris has been developed to provide the best possible occupant protection, in line with stricter testing standards that will be applied in 2020. For example, to provide protection in the event of a side impact, Yaris will be the first car in its segment to be fitted with a centre airbag.
Full details of the new Yaris’s active and passive safety systems will be released at a later date.
Yaris – A European Success Story Driven by Innovation
Yaris is at the heart of Toyota’s European success story, a model which has enjoyed sustained popularity and an excellent reputation for consistent innovation.
The original Yaris made an immediate impact, earning both the 2000 European Car of the Year honour and an Engine of the Year award for the ground-breaking performance of its 1.0-litre petrol engine. The first Toyota to be designed specifically for Europe, it has also been manufactured here, at Toyota’s facility in Valenciennes, France, since 2001.
The second generation Yaris had the distinction in 2005 of being the first car in the B-segment to achieve a top five-star safety rating in the independent Euro NCAP test programme, and was the first car in its class to be fitted with driver’s knee airbag.
In 2012, the third generation Yaris became the first model in its segment to be equipped with a self-charging, full hybrid powertrain, setting new benchmarks for fuel economy and emissions performance.
In 2017, Toyota re-entered the World Rally Championship with the Yaris WRC, inspiring development of the performance-focused Yaris GRMN road car. Drawing directly on the competition success of Toyota Gazoo Racing, this limited-edition Yaris – the first global GRMN model – was an instant sell-out.
This history of innovation has helped Yaris grow from generation to generation, with more than four million sold in Europe, including more than 500,000 hybrids.
The new, fourth generation Yaris marks the debut of the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) GA-B platform that will be used for new generations of small Toyota vehicles and their derivatives. It will continue to be manufactured in Europe; more than €300 million (around £270 million) has been invested in Toyota Motor Manufacturing France’s operations to enable GA-B-based vehicle production.
