Toyota Yaris Cross 2021 Review

As the RAV4 grew in size, the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross fills the SUV space it left as the entry-level soft-roader in the Japanese brand’s range.

A light SUV in the same vein as the Mazda CX-3, Volkswagen T-Cross and Hyundai Venue, the Toyota Yaris Cross owes its basics to the latest Yaris hatchback that arrived in August 2020.

The company touts this as a good thing as the tiny SUV inherits a platform that is designed to maximise strength while bringing the weight-saving and dynamic abilities of its city hatchback and becoming the first in its segment to offer the option of hybrid powertrain technology.

Standout elements include the new 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine also used in the regular Yaris, a classy, well-presented cabin and a solid attempt to gift even base models with much of Toyota’s newest safety engineering.

Although the visual similarities between the light hatch and the light SUV are clear, the Yaris Cross, with its Jeep-style wheel-arches, high-set Stormtrooper grille and a pert, restyled rump, looks kind of tough.

Beyond its chunky appearance, there is plenty of electronic trickery on board to attract the attention of technophiles too.

The 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross embodies the brand’s philosophy of employing hybrid technology across the whole range, along with the choice of front-drive or all-wheel drive transmissions.

But that does come at a cost, literally, as the Yaris Cross is generally more expensive than its main rivals with the exception of the Volkswagen T-Cross.

Available in three model grades – GX, GXL and Urban – each is offered with a choice of three drivelines: a conventional front-drive layout employing the new 88kW/145Nm 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine; a front-drive hybrid producing a combined 85kW; and an all-wheel drive hybrid utilising an extra electric motor that chimes in when required to drive the rear wheels.

The Yaris Cross range starts at $26,990 plus on-road costs for the GX, with the GXL starting at $29,990 plus ORCs and the Urban kicking off at $32,990 plus ORCs, all in entry-level front-drive configurations. The basic hybrid set-up adds $2000 while the AWD hybrid layout is an extra $5000 across the range.

The two models reviewed here are the GX front-drive hybrid at $28,990 plus ORCs and the Urban in standard front-drive configuration that starts at $32,990 plus ORCs.

The GX’s cabin, despite Toyota’s insistence of a general move upmarket, looks pretty basic with fabric seats and monotone trim, but it does feature niceties like single-zone climate control, an electronic park brake, one-touch power windows front and rear, voice recognition, power-folding side mirrors and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.  

In Urban form, things get classier with sat-nav, part-leather seats with heating for front passengers and power adjustment for the driver, and one more USB port in the dash. The Urban spec also brings a power tailgate that can be opened by waving your foot underneath, LED headlights and larger 18-inch alloys with grippier 215/50-series tyres.

Showcasing the company’s adoption of high levels of safety across its range of vehicles, all 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross models come with a broad suite of crash-prevention technologies.

Even at the base level, the GX gets autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control, daytime intersection assistance, emergency steering assist, automated lane tracing to keep you between marked lines on the road, speed sign detection and a stability control system that helps keep the vehicle steady in crosswinds.

The higher grades add front and rear parking sensors, blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert, while the range-topping Urban also comes with a head-up display, which on our review car defied any attempts to adjust for individual driver sightlines.

With a fuel-efficient 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine as standard in the relatively lightweight 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross, you have to wonder if there’s a need to offer hybrid assistance. None of its rivals do…

But you only have to look at the numbers to find the answer. Toyota claims the conventional layout has an average fuel consumption of 5.4L/100km whereas the all-wheel drive hybrid is almost 30 per cent more efficient with a claimed average consumption of 3.8L/100km. It obviously works, no matter how small the car.

Even still, the Yaris Cross doesn’t lack for power – particularly in the hybrid where the 1.5-litre engine is helped along by the extra 141Nm of torque supplied by the electric motor.

But, where other three-potters have a charming, thrummy character, Toyota’s tiddler is unashamedly rowdy.

It’s not helped by the continuously variable transmission (CVT) in either configuration – a belt-and-pulley system with a mechanical first gear in standard form and a complex but effective planetary-gearset system in hybrids – which tends to flare the engine into its raucous mid-range more often than is necessary.

The added performance from the 59kW/141Nm electric motor more than compensates for the hybrid’s lean-burning Atkinson-cycle that reduces power and torque from 88kW/145Nm in standard form to 67kW and 120Nm.

The result is that the Yaris Cross hybrid has noticeably more zest off the line and generally responds better on the open road. Unless the accelerator is floored and the engine is forced into an intrusive, CVT-influenced droning, it tends to be quieter too.

In the short timeframe it is capable of operating as an EV, the hybrid’s silence is almost sublime.

At the end of the day, the answer is yes; the hybrid is the better option in terms of on-road performance and, especially, in terms of fuel economy.

The latter is cemented by the hybrid’s smaller 36-litre fuel tank (standard petrol models have 42L) that also means it is cheaper to refill.

All this helps to compound the argument that the extra $2000 is well spent.

Picking the right variant of the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross doesn’t just depend on which powertrain configuration you choose, as proven by the vastly different driving characters of our two test cars.

The Urban’s larger wheels and tyres give it a meatier footprint, which not only provides more grip but nicely weights-up the steering to lend more substance to the way it feels on the road.

Where the front-drive GX steers with a commendable lightness, the Urban feels more planted and confidence-inspiring.

The extra rubber doesn’t denigrate its ride comfort too much either. Sure, the smaller-wheeled GX is a tad cushier on pockmarked roads (though it will crash noisily on sharp-edged speed humps), but the Urban, even if it rides a bit more firmly, is quite acceptable and remains accurate and surefooted even on corrugated gravel roads.

This is notably due to the fact that AWD Yaris Cross models have a more sophisticated independent multi-link rear suspension, whereas front-drive versions use a simpler torsion-beam rear axle.

If you are familiar with the Yaris hatchback’s interior, you’ll feel right at home in this SUV variant which uses an all-but-identical dash that really only differs in the centre console architecture.

The controls are likewise close to identical, with some variations in the information display and shift lever positions that are unique to the hybrid. This includes a ‘B’ setting that instructs the electric motor to work as a generator and help charge the battery when decelerating.

In terms of cabin accommodation and cargo-carrying, the Yaris Cross is something of a mixed bag.

Although it’s a bit longer than the Yaris hatch (240mm in the body and 10mm in the wheelbase), its back-seat legroom is still marginal and four adult passengers will find it a bit of a squeeze.

If you’re up front though, the seats are nicely padded and shaped, there’s plenty of adjustment in the driving position and decent vision all round.

But for all its SUV pretensions, and a bit of extra ground clearance, the Yaris Cross isn’t a weekend getaway machine for a fishing trip with your mates. That’s more the domain of a ‘proper’ 4WD off-roader than this light-and-funky, tallish hatchback.

The same goes for loading up the split-level boot. It will hold a respectable 390 litres if you remove the upper floor panels, and the 60/40-split folding rear seat helps if you’re not carrying a full load of passengers. But there’s only so much you can do in a compact package.

The non-hybrid Yaris Cross will tow up to 1250kg with a braked trailer, which is rather better than the hybrid which is limited to just 400kg.

Toyota has high hopes for its first entry into the light SUV segment and, on current trends, it has reason to be optimistic.

The segment is populated by a raft of similarly appealing alternatives, but the availability of hybrid technology and AWD across the entire 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross range provides an impressively broad scope of choices.

Though it’s clearly a variation of the Yaris family, its quirky styling – particularly in Urban versions where two-tone paint jobs are optional – is edgy enough to draw some of the all-important kerbside attention.

Like its little sibling, the Yaris Cross does ask a lot in a segment that is not exactly aimed at those with plenty of cash to splash around.

With an average price in the low-to-mid-$30K range it also opens up the possibility of buying a larger car for the same money.

The Toyota Yaris Cross might be unique among its immediate rivals as a cute, small and efficient offering. But, on price alone, it lobs into a large crowd of SUVs that makes it harder to stand out.

How much does the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross GX 2WD hybrid cost?
Price: $28,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol-electric
Output: 67kW/120Nm (85kW combined)
Transmission: Continuously variable automatic
Fuel: 3.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 86g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

How much does the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Urban 2WD petrol cost?
Price: $32,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol
Output: 88kW/145Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable automatic
Fuel: 5.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 124g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested