Toyota Yaris Cross Review & Prices

If the regular Toyota Yaris small car isn’t quite butch enough for you, then cast your eyes over the Yaris Cross. It’s effectively the exact same car as the regular hatchback, only it’s been given a bit of extra rough-and-tumble small SUV appeal to make it taller in stature and a bit longer nose-to-tail. You could think of it like a standard Yaris that’s been heading down the gym for an intense work-out session – and the results are so good it earned highly commended status in the Urban Living category at the 2024 Carwow Car of the Year Awards.

Size-wise, it sits alongside an almost endless list of alternatives. You’ve got the likes of the Ford Puma and the Renault Captur, as well as the Peugeot 2008 and the Vauxhall Mokka to name but a few.

One thing those cars all bring to the table is their distinctive styling, so it’s good to see that the Yaris Cross doesn’t fall short in this department. Looks-wise it’s clearly related to the regular Yaris – particularly when viewed from behind – but its jumped up ride height and plastic cladding around the bumpers give it a touch more presence and visual clout. It’s a bit more rufty-tufty than the standard Yaris, but it’s still a good-looking little car.

That good design form continues on the inside, too. The models we have driven so far all featured plenty of squidgy, soft-touch plastics that look smart and feel great. In classic Toyota fashion, everything feels solidly screwed together too.

You sit in a perched position with a good view out, in seats that are comfortable and snug-fitting. Although you don’t have the option of speccing electrically-adjustable seats, it’s still easy to get settled in behind the wheel. Space is a bit tight in the back – headroom-wise, you certainly won’t feel like you’re sat in church – but there’s enough room for two taller adults to sit in reasonable comfort.

The Toyota’s boot is up to 397 litres in capacity with the rear seats in place, so it’s bigger than a Vauxhall Mokka’s, but smaller than a Peugeot 2008’s. Still, a flat floor with no lip makes it easy to load and unload, and a configurable boot floor brings a handy level of versatility too.

You also get a good level of safety and assistance features across the range. Adaptive cruise control is standard, as are autonomous emergency braking and lane keep assist. All-round parking sensors are available optionally as part of a pack, and so is blind-spot monitoring.

And as for engines? Well, the Yaris Cross is only available with a single 1.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid powertrain, which develops a respectable 114hp and drives the front wheels through an easy-going automatic CVT transmission. Four-wheel drive is available too.

Performance isn’t especially brisk (0-62mph takes 11.2 seconds), but the electric motor gives the Yaris Cross a useful accelerative boost at low speeds – so you’ll easily keep pace with the traffic around town. And because it can run for very short periods of time on electricity alone, the Yaris Cross is exceptionally fuel efficient – we saw 60mpg during our time with the car.

Lightweight, accurate steering and good visibility make it a very easy car to trundle about town in, but a firm low-speed ride can make for a bit of jostling and fidgeting over rougher patches of road. It’s certainly comfier at open road speeds, and although there’s a bit of tyre roar and wind noise this isn’t deafening.

It grips well through corners too, and doesn’t roll about too much at all when you press on a bit. You wouldn’t call it a particularly fun car to drive, but then entertainment value isn’t really what these sorts of cars are all about anyway. Instead, the Yaris Cross focuses on being a handsome, reasonably practical, easy-driving and extremely economical small SUV.

Prices start from just above £24,000, so if you like the sound of the Yaris Cross, head on over to our Toyota Yaris Cross deals to see how much money you can save through Carwow. You can also check out the latest used Yaris Cross models and other used Toyotas – and change your car completely with Carwow's Sell My Car service.

The Yaris Cross is no short of alternatives in what is an increasingly popular small SUV arena. It enters the fray at a slightly higher price point than the Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008, and just about matches the Ford Puma in base trim.

The Yaris’ hybrid engine, high quality interior and optional all-wheel-drive elevate it above the norm. There are four trim levels to choose from (Icon, Design, Excel and GR Sport), but it’s best to stick to the lower two for the best value.

It’s nippy about town and very efficient, too. The ride is a bit firm though, and you’re limited to just one engine option

In town

The Yaris Cross is essentially a high-riding hatchback which makes it ideal for city driving. It gives you a more commanding view of the road than the Yaris Hybrid does but is still compact enough to fit into tight parking bays and down narrow streets.

Autonomous emergency braking is standard and will detect pedestrians and cyclists in your path. A rear view camera is also part of the base trim, as is road sign assist. All Yaris Cross models come with a CVT automatic transmission and a hybrid powertrain. 

The electric assistance makes the Yaris Cross feel peppy away from the lights and the auto ‘box is smooth and unobtrusive at lower speeds. The ride is a bit firm on less than perfect roads, but the little Yaris Cross rarely feels uncomfortable.  

On the motorway

With just 114hp on tap, the Yaris Cross was clearly not designed to be an Autobahn stormer. But while overtaking manoeuvres require some forward planning, it offers a reasonably refined motorway experience for a small SUV. The ride settles down at higher speeds, and while there is some road and wind noise to contend with, it’s no more than you get in alternatives like the VW T-Cross and Renault Captur. The engine can get quite vocal when you request all the horses under the bonnet to respond, though.

Adaptive cruise control and lane assist are both standard fitments - not always a given in this class – and the comfortable seats won’t have your passengers complaining of backache after a long trip.

On a twisty road

The firm suspension limits body lean in corners, and the light but accurate steering lets you guide the car around corners with confidence. It’s got plenty of grip too, making it a competent if somewhat unengaging twisty road companion. A small SUV isn’t meant to get your heart racing down a back road, but if you want a bit more fun behind the wheel the Ford Puma is a better bet.

The Yaris Cross will seat four adults in comfort, as long as the rear passengers aren’t beanpoles. It also has a decent-sized boot, although there are alternatives out there with more luggage space

The Yaris Cross’ interior largely mimics that of the Yaris hatchback, although its dimensions are slightly longer and wider. That means plenty of space for the occupants up front with enough seat adjustability to ensure a good fit for all sizes. Higher trims get heated seats and a heated steering wheel, and power adjustable lumbar support is available on all but the base trim.

Storage space is decent, with a pair of door bins that will take small water bottles and a set of cupholders between the front seats. There’s also a space beneath the infotainment screen for your phone and a smallish glovebox. 

Space in the back seats

Overall space in the back is good, although headroom will be at a premium for taller adults. The centre rear seat is a bit narrow, and three adults abreast will be a squeeze – something you’ll find in most small SUVs. There are ISOFIX mounting points in the two outer rear seats, although the door opening is a bit narrow, making it tricky to fit bulky child seats. If you need a bit more space, the Skoda Kamiq has it. 

Storage space is catered for with a pair of front seatback pockets and smallish door bins. All but the base Icon trim get a pair of rear cupholders, too.

Boot space

Luggage capacity is a decent 397 litres, just about matching the Skoda Kamiq’s 400 litres and slightly trailing the Peugeot 2008’s 434 litres. It doesn’t come with the handy moveable rear seats that give the Renault Captur its class-leading 536-litre capacity, but there’s no load lip and the boot floor is flat and wide. And, while most offerings in this class offer a 60:40 rear seat split, the Yaris Cross in Design trim has a more flexible 40:20:40 setting. When folded, the boot space increases to 1,097 litres, slightly less than what you get in a VW T-Cross, Peugeot 2008 and Renault Captur.

The Yaris Cross is also available in all-wheel-drive trim, another unusual feature, but it does reduce overall boot space to 320 litres. You do get an adjustable boot floor and some handy luggage hooks and belts to make the most of the space on offer. The Excel trim also gets an electric boot that can be activated by waving your foot beneath the rear bumper.

There are more cutting-edge interiors out there, but the Yaris Cross’ cabin feels solidly built and material quality is out of the top drawer

Step into the cabin of the Yaris Cross and you’ll immediately notice the logically laid-out controls and soft-touch materials. There’s not much design flair going on here, that’s reserved for the likes of the Peugeot 2008, but the more familiar layout and solid build quality has its own appeal. The optional panoramic sunroof on certain trims adds a sophisticated ambiance to the interior. 

There are a few packs on offer too. The SUV Pack adds mudflaps, a boot liner and rubber floor mats, while the City Pack includes advanced parking assistance, 360 degree cameras and voice recognition. The GR Sport trim is mostly an aesthetic update and does without some of the kit you get in the top Excel trim while costing a bit more. 

The entry-level Icon trim gets a 4.2-inch digital driver display, the rest of the range has a larger 7.0-inch unit. The Icon and Design trims also feature an 8.0-inch infotainment touchscreen, which incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as the usual Bluetooth connectivity and DAB digital radio. The lack of sat nav is no problem as you can just use your phone's apps instead.

The infotainment system is easy to use and there are handy physical buttons on either side of the screen to access certain functions. The icons and graphics look a little dated compared to some newer systems, but it all works well enough, although it can feel a bit laggy responding to inputs at times. Top trims get a slightly larger 9.0-inch infotainment system, which adds wireless smartphone connectivity and sat nav and slightly sharper graphics, but you do lose the physical shortcuts which makes it slightly less intuitive to use on the move. At least you still get physical buttons and dials for the climate control system. All trims get a six-speaker audio system with steering-wheel mounted satellite controls.

The Toyota Yaris Cross comes with a 114hp 1.5-litre self-charging hybrid engine. Thanks to its electrical assistance, it feels nippy away from the lights and can run for (very) short periods purely on electric power. All models feature a CVT automatic transmission and come standard with front-wheel-drive. An all-wheel-drive option is available on the Excel trim – a rarity in this type of small SUV.

The front-wheel-drive model’s 11.2-second 0-62mph time isn’t quick by any means, but it is comparable to the entry-level Peugeot 2008 (10.9 seconds), and the Volkswagen T-Cross (11.6 seconds). The Yaris Cross also posts some impressive fuel economy figures, managing up to 64.1mpg and emitting 100g/km of CO2. Most alternatives are closer to the 50mpg mark, aside from the self-charging Renault Captur hybrid which manages 60mpg.

The all-wheel-drive Yaris Cross may offer more traction in slippery weather conditions, but make sure you need the extra grip as it is 0.6 seconds slower to 62mph and fuel economy falls to 55.3mpg. Still better than most small SUVs, but not quite as impressive as the front-drive model.

The Yaris Cross comes fitted with an impressive list of standard safety devices including a pre-collision system, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and a rearview camera. Rear-cross traffic alert is available on higher trims as is a 360-degree camera and advanced parking assist.

It achieved an impressive full five-star Euro NCAP test result when it was tested in 2021. The safety assist systems score of 81% is commendable as is the 86% scored for adult occupant safety.

The Yaris Cross is a relatively new model so there’s not much data yet on its long-term reliability. Toyota as a brand regularly scores very highly in reliability surveys and the Yaris Cross shares many components with other Toyota models which have proven to be largely trouble-free.

The standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty can be extended up to 10 years and 100,000-miles as long as you service your car each year at an authorised Toyota repairer. Kia’s class-leading standard seven-year/100,000-mile warranty may still just have the edge here, as the car does not have to be serviced at an authorised Kia dealer to retain its warranty.