Toyota Yaris Cross

Hybrid small SUV gives you efficiency plus practicality, making it a very tempting family car option On sale Now Price from £22,515

- Dan Jones

TWO THINGS TOYOTA is well known for are SUVs and small hybrid cars, so it’s actually fairly surprising that the brand didn’t think to combine the two rather sooner. Well, the all-new Yaris Cross does just that.

As with the Yaris hatchback on which it’s based, there’s just one engine available: 1.5-liter three-cylinder petrol, working with an electric motor to improve performance and efficiency. Unlike the regular Yaris and most of its rivals, though, it offers the option of four-wheel drive for extra traction. With a 0-62mph time of 11.2sec, the Yaris Cross isn’t as quick off the line as like-for-like rivals such as the Ford Puma and Skoda Kamiq, but the electric motor does give it enough low-rev shove.

EV mode allows you to crawl along in sticky traffic using electric power alone, making the Yaris Cross quieter than petrol-only rivals around town. When the petrol engine joins the mix on faster roads, it’ll accelerate happily up to motorway speeds, but it’s a noisier affair.

That’s because its standard CVT automatic gearbox sends the engine revs soaring and a fair few vibrations through the accelerator pedal. The engine is less intrusive when you’re cruising at a steady speed, but it still buzzes away in the background.