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The new 2014 Toyota Yaris

The new 2014 Yaris, arriving this summer, marks the most significant changes to Toyota's European sales leader since the current generation model was launched. Going far beyond a mid-life facelift, the project brings substantial improvements in the ride, handling, comfort, NVH and engine performance across the range.

Moreover, these improvements have been made with direct reference to public feedback - from Toyota customers, motorists in general and the media. Toyota has listened to their views about what they like and what they don't like in order to strengthen Yaris's established appeal and extend its qualities in crucial areas, particularly in styling and sensory appeal.

The new model follows the trend set by new Aygo in adopting a more distinctive look, notably a new cross-shaped arrangement of the front end with new headlight units and a new bumper, diffuser and light cluster arrangement at the rear.

Important modifications have been made in the cabin as well, with an emphasis on the quality of the materials, which look and feel better. Equipment and colour choices have also been increased.

Under the skin important modifications have been made to improve the suspension, handling and ride comfort, as well as significantly reducing noise and vibration levels.

The powertrain choice is unchanged, with two petrol engines, a diesel and a hybrid. The three-cylinder 1.0-litre petrol unit has been substantially improved for greater thermal efficiency, delivering better fuel economy and taking CO2 emissions below 100g/km. Likewise, adjustments to the hybrid system have reduced CO2 levels from 79 to 75g/km, with a concurrent improvement in combined cycle fuel economy to 85.6mpg.

The overall aim has been to give Yaris more emotional appeal, but without sacrificing any of its successful rational qualities, such its packaging, durability and cost of ownership.

Alessandro Massimino, Toyota's Brussels-based product manager, said: "Yaris was always extremely strong in its rational dimensions. What we wanted to achieve was to connect the model not only with our customers' brains, but also with their hearts."

The project itself marks a major milestone in the history of Toyota in Europe, with the Europe-based product planning, research and development and design departments working together to deliver new designs and changes to the vehicle platform that are being adopted for other Toyota models around the world.

This exchange of know-how is the first tangible application, for Toyota Motor Europe, of the new thinking advocated in the Global Vision presented by Toyota president Akio Toyoda in 2011.

NEW YARIS - THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Toyota has made significant investments in money and resources to deliver the new 2014 Yaris, the latest development of its best-selling model in Europe. Almost £70 million and 576,000 hours of R&D work were committed to the project, and more than 1,000 new parts have been produced. Toyota Motor Europe invested 75 per cent of the total, compared to the 25 per cent it contributed to the launch of the third-generation Yaris in 2011.

The focus of the product planning team has been to strengthen the features and qualities which have made Yaris a success, in particular the unique proposition of its hybrid powertrain; Yaris Hybrid now accounts for almost one in three Yaris sales in Europe.

Analysis of press coverage and public surveys (including the opinions of non-Toyota customers) has helped Toyota gain an in-depth insight into what the restyling programme should achieve. Comments converged on the need to give the car an emotive, dynamic dimension, in addition to its widely appreciated functional qualities.

The research confirmed that the key purchase consideration for European supermini customers is a car's appearance; both the design and the sensory quality have to be just right.

These findings were backed up by market trends analysis, enabling the product planning team to give a clear brief to Toyota's ED2 design studio and its R&D engineers and to initiate a close working collaboration between the departments at each step of the project.

From a design point of view, it was recognised that it was important to affirm the car's character, an initiative that had already been launched with the styling of the hybrid model in 2012. For their part, engineers at Toyota's R&D Centre in Zavantem, Belgium produced the specifications needed for the technical modifications, after carrying out in-depth investigations into the current Yaris's comfort, performance and sound insulation.

To meet their targets for noise and vibration, they had to develop a new torsion beam and modify parts of the car's platform itself - a first for the Zavantem centre.

With product planning, design and R&D operations all relatively close to each geographically, frequent meetings were possible for the project's stakeholders, including parts suppliers. This made final adjustments easier to agree and sped up the decision-making process.

Serkan Karaman, Senior Project Manager at Zavantem, said: "What makes this project different from others we have worked on is the greater development content compared to a typical product facelift.

"We were able to take the lead in Europe for a global vehicle in which content is being adopted for other regions, such as Japan and North America. In the past, project management was mostly undertaken in Japan. They decided the schedule and assigned specific tasks to the team in Europe. This time we were in the driving seat, we had the freedom to decide what to do, when to do it and how to go about it.

"As a result, the new Yaris really incorporates European know-how and European taste. Our operations teams have also gained invaluable experience from the project."

Exterior design

Elvio D'Aprile, who led the design programme, said: "The supermini segment is perhaps the most competitive in Europe. We had to do something which really stands out from the crowd, so our objectives were to avoid the B-segment stereotypes, to harmonise the overall style for all the powertrain derivatives and to dare to be different from the competition."

Consequently, the new 2014 Yaris has a highly distinctive exterior that displays a more dynamic execution of Toyota's contemporary frontal design language with sharp edged detailing.

The narrow upper and large trapezoidal grilles, a hallmark of Toyota's current design, now merge at the point of the Toyota emblem to form a powerful cross shape.

The emblem is underscored by a chrome trim bar which runs through the length of the upper grille into new headlamp clusters, tying the frontal elements together in a powerful, horizontal emphasis of the car's width.

The headlamps themselves use new projector technology for high and low beams and the clusters incorporate LED daytime running lights.

The lower grille is underlined by a ‘floating' spoiler and draws attention to the lower part of the car and its dynamic potential, ground-hugging stance and low centre of gravity.

In profile, Yaris displays a new door belt moulding, door mirrors with an optional folding function and new-design 15 and 16-inch alloy wheels.

At the rear, a new bumper design gives the appearance of a broad, lower stance, with an integral diffuser adding to the car's more sporting, self-confident road presence.

The lamp clusters feature a new LED graphic which adds to new Yaris's personality, using light-guide technology to create a unique lighting signature.

The introduction of the new 2014 Yaris sees all versions - petrol, diesel and hybrid - sharing the same overall styling, with just a few subtle cues identifying each powertrain.

Elvio D'Aprile said: "The fact this project was managed entirely in Europe helped the final design enormously. We were able to hold daily discussions with engineering and product planning. Design elements that would normally have been rejected because they were incompatible with some preconception abut technical specifications, suddenly became negotiable. As a result were able to really carry our vision through from first proposals to the final car."

Interior design

Pierre Romeo was in charge of the interior design for the new 2014 Yaris. He said: "The design is the result of three main objectives drawn from customer feedback. First, to enhance the feeling of roominess and dynamism in the cabin. Second to improve the sensory quality of the environment. And third, to combine an overall visual simplification with better colour variation and more sophisticated finishes.

The upper instrument panel has been made thinner, giving the dashboard a stronger horizontal line, and the upper surface of the driver's instrument binnacle has been restyled to give a slimmer appearance. In conjunction with these changes, the door panel has also been redesigned with a more fluid look, a larger soft-touch area and greater functionality.

The centre console has been raised by 23mm so that the length of the gear lever can be reduced by 30mm, improving the ergonomics of gear changes. A closed storage area has also been added to the console.

Adopting the new Toyota Touch 2 multimedia systems has brought an increase in the size of the central touchscreen from 6.1 to seven inches, adding more visual emphasis to one of the features that sets Yaris apart.

The upper instrument panel has a new grain effect that has a better tactile quality and less glossy appearance. It is complimented by a thicker trim band.

Yaris's trademark sculpted central dashboard panel has gained thicker soft padding and its surface is now made of PVC. Different graining patterns - Animal, Technical or Geometrical - are used according to model grade.

Around the cabin the soft-touch finishes cover a greater area. Throughout, the previous bright chrome trim has been replaced by a satin finish that gives a more modern and sophisticated appearance.

All-new seat trims are provided, with a new fabric pattern and colour for each grade. The differentiation between the grades has been strengthened with the addition of new interior colour schemes, with red, tan and black joining the established grey and dark grey.