Toyota Yaris 2014 News

Sausages are sizzling, the hessian fences are up and those weird inflatable statues are flapping in the breeze: it's clearance sale time at new-car yards across Australia.

Researching hot deals on the cars in this week's light hatch comparison we were gobsmacked to discover two reputable brands having a lend of us on the prices of automatic hatchbacks.This month on the respective websites, Honda has a $16,990 drive-away deal for the Jazz and Toyota promotes $15,990 drive-away for its Yaris.But tick the box for one with an automatic - as more than 75 per cent of us do in this category - and the price jumps by more than the usual premium. The self-shifting Jazz normally adds $2000, the Yaris $1600, according to the manufacturer price lists.There is nothing illegal about this but that it doesn't make it rightBut during this month's 'special', automatic transmission adds $2650 and $2800 respectively. Ouch. There is nothing illegal about this but that it doesn't make it right. In coming weeks we will canvass the response of consumer groups and the corporate watchdog to this new practice.Is it fair to lure consumers to showrooms with a bargain manual when in fact the most popular choice is one with automatic?Is it reasonable for consumers to expect the price premium for an automatic not to increase when it is on special?On the flip side, other brands are doing mega deals and not charging a dollar more for automatic.Suzuki and Hyundai both have 'free auto' deals, with savings of between $2500 and $5000. At least those deals are more transparent than others.

The import tariff on Japanese and South Korean cars will be completely removed from January 15 - bringing potential price cuts to almost half of all cars imported into Australia.However, the industry has warned buyers not to expect massive savings - cuts will be most likely between $250 and $1000 - because the 5 per cent tariff was on the landed cost of the car, not the higher recommended retail price.Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb claims there will be savings of up to $7630 on some Toyotas as 'an example of the real impact that families will see from these agreements ... for Toyota's biggest-selling models".Don't get too excited. Toyota's biggest-selling model, the Corolla, drops by between $500 and $1050.Don't get too excited. Toyota's biggest-selling model, the Corolla, drops by between $500 and $1050.The $7630 applies to the Prado Kakadu, which drops from $92,120 to $84,490. But only part of the price cut is due to the 5 per cent duty reduction.A Toyota spokesman says 'in some cases we've passed on more than the duty saving".Japanese brands Mazda and Subaru also trimmed prices but don't expect similar savings on South Korean-made vehicles sold by Holden, Kia or Hyundai, as all three have resisted moves to follow suit.Kia spokesman Kevin Hepworth says the company will scrap price increases it had planned for January and look at adding features. 'As new models arrive they may have additional equipment," he says.Hyundai will introduce extra equipment but the currency gap between the Korean won and the yen will make it more difficult to introduce significant savings. So far, Holden has also resisted price cuts on the Korean-made Captiva, Barina, Cruze wagon and Malibu.The Japanese Free Trade Agreement due to come into effect on January 15 follows the deal with South Korea from December 15.The deals are estimated to affect about 460,000 cars this year;. Toyota alone expects the changes will make about 100,000 of its cars cheaper.'Traditionally Toyota would have implemented the price reductions at the same time as the cuts to import duty start to apply," says Toyota sales and marketing chief Tony Cramb.'Instead, with the support of our dealers, Toyota has brought forward these price cuts to the start of the year." Three low-volume cars also will gain extra equipment.Some cars with Japanese and South Korean badges will have no new savings because they are made in countries such as Thailand (which signed free trade agreements with Australia in 2005), the US (agreements signed in 2010) or India (which has no agreement with Australia).Price cuts are expected on the Japanese-built Toyota Yaris, Prius and Corolla hatch, among other models. But prices will remain steady for the Corolla sedan and HiLux built from Thailand and the Kluger SUV manufactured in the US because of the existing deals.Mazda has trimmed prices on all Mazda3, Mazda6, CX-5 and CX-9 vehicles, from $268 to $963 on vehicles which range in price from $20,000 to $50,000. But its cheapest car, the Mazda2, and the BT-50 ute will not get price cuts as they come from Thailand.Likewise most Hondas sold in Australia today come from Thailand. Meanwhile Subaru cut prices of some models by between $500 and $1000. The car industry has warned buyers that exchange rate fluctuations have had a bigger impact on prices than the tariff.'The Australian dollar has moved by 60 per cent over the past 10 years but car prices have remained relatively stable," says one industry insider.'Car makers ride the currency wave, plus you have the impact of the devalued Japanese yen. That has a bigger impact on (pricing) than the removal of the tariff." 

Toyota adds value and fresh styling for revised Yaris light hatch lineup.Toyota Yaris has been given a big facelift, and carries extra equipment at little or no added cost. Such is the way of the slowing Australian car market at the moment that any company that isn’t prepared to cut prices and/or give more for less will struggle to sell cars in decent numbers.Toyota Australia is running hot at the moment and, though the year still has several months to go, the Corolla looks like finishing number one overall for the second year in succession.So it makes a lot of sense to have the Corolla’s younger brother Yaris drag some more people into the showroom.Big radiator grilles are all the rage at the moment and Toyota Yaris hatch has one of the biggest and boldest of them all. There’s a touch of the current Lexus models at the front of the smallest Toyota sold here.Changes to the interior give it a brighter look and Yaris certainly doesn’t look like a low-cost car. A 6.1-inch display audio screen provides touch, drag and flick control of the type we are using in virtually all smartphones or tablets. A telephone switch is installed on the steering wheel, and the stereo now has six speakers rather than four.Many buyers moving down from big cars are finding they can use something like Toyota Yaris as a family car when the kids are young. One thing these people demand is back doors, so the three-door Yaris hatch has been pulled out of the range as part of this midlife revamp, only five-door hatches are being brought down under.Long overdue is telescopic adjustment of the steering-column.All Yaris models now have the safety of a reversing camera and automatic flashing of the hazard lamps under hard braking. Cruise control can be useful in saving your licence, so all new Yaris variants have cruise as standard.Toyota Australia has revised the Yaris’ model names. The range now begins with the 1.3-litre Ascent, fitted with 15-inch steel wheels instead of 14-inch. Toyota says the additional equipment fitted on the Ascent is valued at over $2000, yet it has kept the price steady at $15,690 for the manual and $17,290 with auto transmission.Yaris SX powered by a 1.5-litre engine, has had its prices increased by $400 to $17,790 (manual) and $19,390 (automatic). Toyota says it now has more than its $1000 of new features, reversing camera, fog lamps, rear and side privacy glass and a new design of wheel covers.Finally, the top-spec auto-only Toyota Yaris ZR has been upgraded with auto-levelling LED headlights, a rear spoiler and diffuser, side skirts and Toyota Link connected mobility. It has at over $2000 of extra equipment but is priced only $1300 higher at $22,690.Unseen, but very much appreciated, the Yaris hatch has a stiffer body shell to reduce in noise, vibration and harshness. More direct and linear steering response has been gained by new suspension calibration. We haven’t had time to road test the upgraded Yaris, but will give you our comments on this as soon as we get into one.Yaris hatch has seven airbags (including one for the driver's knee), plus vehicle stability and traction control, and anti-skid brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist.Over 186,000 Toyota Yaris have been sold in Australia since its introduction in 2005, making it the best-selling vehicle in its segment over that period.

Revised Yaris lineup now five-door only, with improved value and refreshed look.Toyota has announced details of the revamped Yaris hatchback, which sees the previous three-door hatch dropped in favour of an all five-door lineup.The previous sedan models continue unchanged, but the new hatch has been treated to updated styling front and rear, and will help Toyota's light hatch compete with the recently renewed Honda Jazz, Volkswagen Polo and the all-new Mazda2 due next month.Engine options are unchanged, with the entry-level Ascent using a 1.3-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine, while a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine can be found in the mid-spec SX and top-level ZR.The Ascent and SX come with a choice between 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission, however the ZR is auto-only.All variants come with seven airbags along with ABS, stability control, traction control, telescopic steering-column adjustment, reversing camera, cruise control, 6.1-inch touchscreen and six-speaker sound system.Toyota also claim that the ride of the new Yaris will be improved through a stiffer chassis and reconfigured suspension.The Ascent's hubcap clad steel wheels have grown from 14 to 15-inches, but list pricing is unchanged at $15,690.The SX comes equipped with fog lights and privacy glass on the rear and side. These additions see its price increase by $400 to $17,790.The ZR's price jumps up $1,300 to $22,690 but it now comes fitted with all the features of the SX model as well as LED headlights, rear spoiler, diffuser and side-skirts. The touchscreen in the ZR can also connect to your smartphone and provide traffic and fuel information through onboard apps.The new Yaris lineup is also covered by Toyota's capped-price servicing, with each check-up locked at $130 for the first six years or 60,000km.

Toyota will drop the three-door version of its Yaris hatchback when the face-lifted model goes on sale in September because nine out of 10 customers prefer five-door models, the company says.The daring new look and simplified model range is designed to reverse the Yaris’ two-year sales slide.The former king of the tiny-tot city cars is ranked third in its class this year, having been outsold by the Mazda2 and Hyundai i20. Indeed, the last time the Yaris topped the sales charts was in 2012.The current model Yaris, released in October 2011, was criticised as a step backwards compared with the model it replaced.Developed during the peak of the Global Financial Crisis, Toyota deleted the prior model’s digital speedometer, sliding rear seat, full-size spare tyre and the dozen or more storage cubbies when it introduced the 2011 model.Toyota has not addressed those concerns and is hoping the sharp new nose alone will appeal to a broader range of buyers.But the new Yaris will face strong competition from the next-generation Mazda2 -- the current top-seller in the category -- due on sale at the end of this year, and the updated Volkswagen Polo due in local showrooms within a few months.Volkswagen is understood to be planning a price attack with the new Polo now that the company has dropped its cut-price Up city car from the local line-up.Toyota Australia executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said the decision to drop the three-door model was driven by customer demand.“Five-door hatches have gained in popularity and now contribute close to 90 per cent of total sales in the light-car segment,” Mr Cramb said in a media statement.“Customers are telling our dealers they … (want) the flexibility of having two extra doors,” he said. “Easier access to the back seat … offers greater convenience for young singles, couples and ‘empty nesters’.”Toyota says the change in buyer tastes has seen three-door sales in the segment fall from about one-quarter of total demand in 2008 to less than 10 per cent so far this year.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling

The new family of engines will give 15 Toyota and Daihatsu models an efficiency gain of up to 30%, including Toyota's new Yaris due in 2015.The Yaris will be battling for top spot in light car sales with the upcoming Mazda 2 and Ford Fiesta, which will have similar efficiency gains from its skyactiv and EcoBoost technology respectively. The new engines could also help the rumoured upcoming Toyota Rush become the one of the most efficient SUVs in Australia.The 1.3-litre and 1.0-litre power plants have been co-developed with Toyota's small car brand, Daihatsu. Both units take advantage of an Atkinson cycle, which increases the compression ratio and reduces waste heat to operate more efficiently. However, the Atkinson cycle produces less power than ordinary engines, which has limited its use mainly to Hybrid cars until now.But Toyota has packed both engines with technology to help retain maximum power while optimising economy. A range of new developments will help the engines breathe better, achieving optimal efficiency. For example, the 1.3-litre will have a cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, a redesigned intake port and electronically controlled variable valve timing (VVT-iE).Both engines are designed to be compatible with stop-start technology, which cuts out the engine in traffic to save fuel. This system is currently limited in small cars to premium offerings, such as the Mini Cooper or the Volvo C30. However, Toyota and Daihatsu could be utilising this feature in the most basic entry level cars.Both engines will commence production in coming weeks, but we may only get the larger 1.3-litre engine in Australia initially. However the efficiency gains in the 1.0-litre engine could increase the incentive for Toyota to offer a cheap entry level car sourced from Daihatsu, to rival the Suzuki Alto, Nissan Micra and Mitsubishi Mirage. 

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