Toyota News: Toyota Unveils the 2020 Yaris Hatchback

[Drew Dowdell]

A few weeks back we reported that the Toyota Yaris hatchback that we all knew and ...er... loved... would be ending production but we also found out that there was a possibility that the model name would continue in the form of a rebadged Mazda 2 hatchback like the Yaris Sedan. 

Yesterday, those suspicions were confirmed.  Toyota released details ahead of the New York International Auto Show of the coming 2020 Toyota Yaris Hatchback.   Like the sedan, it is based on the Mazda 2 but with a Toyota front clip and badging.  Surprisingly, it is larger than the old model. Wheelbase is up by 2.4 inches over the outgoing model and features a trunk area with almost 16 cubic feet of room. 

Toyota describes the styling as "Cab-Rearward", giving the hatchback a hunkered down bulldog like look.  The interior is standard issue Mazda with Toyota badging and we expect it to be excellent for the class.  Toyota claims the Yaris Hatch will be a hoot to drive due to its use of ultra-high tensile steel frame.  The high structural integrity combined with a MacPherson Strut front suspension and torsion beam rear suspension have been tuned for handling agility and comfort. 

The Yaris will come in just two trims, LE and XLE, both equipped with Navigation hardware (SD card with Maps sold separately), but you could also use the standard Apple Car Play or Android Auto for navigation on the standard 7-inch touchscreen.  Stepping up to the XLE brings faux leather in gray or black, automatic climate control, rain-sensing wipers, automatic LED headlamps, and leather trim on the steering wheel, shift knob, and parking brake. 

Both trims of the Yaris will be equipped standard with low-speed pre-collision safety system, dynamic stability control, traction control, ABS, brake assist, and brake override systems. 

Powering the Yaris will be the same engine as in the Yaris Sedan, a 1.5 liter inline 4-cylinder that produces 106 horsepower and 103 lb-ft of torque.  This engine has direct injection and a 12.0:1 compression ratio.  A 6-speed automatic is the only transmission choice.

No word yet on pricing, but expect a small bump over the $15,450 of the Yaris Sedan. 

The Yaris will debut on April 17th at the New York Auto Show and go on sale later this year. 

 

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[ccap41]

That's a pretty good looking sub-compact car. 

[Drew Dowdell]

  On 4/2/2019 at 2:54 PM, ccap41 said:

That's a pretty good looking sub-compact car. 

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If they geared it right, it might just be a decent little city runabout. 

[G. David Felt]

Should make a solid commuter car for those looking at Toyota.

[Drew Dowdell]

I wonder why Mazda doesn't just sell this on their own in the US. They sell it as the Mazda 2 in other countries. They have a pretty good rep here.  Maybe its just easier to let Toyota do the marketing. 

[Paolino]

Not to beat a dead horse, but rain-sensing wipers on a Yaris, yet never a LaCrosse...

Anyway, not a fan of the Yaris or hatches in general, but this looks nice and nicely equipped.

[Robert Hall]

  On 4/2/2019 at 11:28 PM, Paolino said:

Not to beat a dead horse, but rain-sensing wipers on a Yaris, yet never a LaCrosse...

Anyway, not a fan of the Yaris or hatches in general, but this looks nice and nicely equipped.

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Well, it is a rebadged Mazda..Mazda always has plenty of features available. 

[daves87rs]

Actually a nice looking car!

[ocnblu]

Good idea doing this.  Light years nicer than Toyota's own Yaris hatch, I suspect.

[ccap41]

  On 4/3/2019 at 10:12 AM, ocnblu said:

Good idea doing this.  Light years nicer than Toyota's own Yaris hatch, I suspect.

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I think the current one is also a Mazda 2, just older. 

[Drew Dowdell]

  On 4/2/2019 at 11:28 PM, Paolino said:

Not to beat a dead horse, but rain-sensing wipers on a Yaris, yet never a LaCrosse...

Anyway, not a fan of the Yaris or hatches in general, but this looks nice and nicely equipped.

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  On 4/2/2019 at 11:33 PM, Robert Hall said:

Well, it is a rebadged Mazda..Mazda always has plenty of features available. 

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But so should a Buick.

[Robert Hall]

  On 4/3/2019 at 1:54 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

 

But so should a Buick.

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Yes, but I assume this is just another example of GM being cheap.

[Robert Hall]

  On 4/3/2019 at 1:52 PM, ccap41 said:

I think the current one is also a Mazda 2, just older. 

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The current Yaris sedan is a Mazda 2, the US market hatch was a Toyota.    I don't think we ever got this restyled version, in orange it would look like a demented Jack-o-Lantern. 

[ccap41]

  On 4/3/2019 at 2:22 PM, Robert Hall said:

The current Yaris sedan is a Mazda 2, the US market hatch was a Toyota.    I don't think we ever got this restyled version, in orange it would look like a demented Jack-o-Lantern. 

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That's odd they'd have a sedan built by Mazda but a hatch built by themselves.. 

[Robert Hall]

  On 4/3/2019 at 2:51 PM, ccap41 said:

That's odd they'd have a sedan built by Mazda but a hatch built by themselves.. 

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Well, the Mazda 2 sedan was already here as the Scion iA, so the current one was just a rebadge for the US market. 

[Drew Dowdell]

  On 4/3/2019 at 2:51 PM, ccap41 said:

That's odd they'd have a sedan built by Mazda but a hatch built by themselves.. 

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I think it was just corporate inertia. There was never an intention to do a Yaris sedan in the first place. It was the Scion iA which got changed to a Yaris Sedan.  The Yaris hatch just soldiered on until its demise a few months ago. Mazda had a ready-made Mazda 2 hatch that just needed the right badging and the updated nose. 

[ccap41]

  On 4/3/2019 at 2:56 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

I think it was just corporate inertia. There was never an intention to do a Yaris sedan in the first place. It was the Scion iA which got changed to a Yaris Sedan.  The Yaris hatch just soldiered on until its demise a few months ago. Mazda had a ready-made Mazda 2 hatch that just needed the right badging and the updated nose. 

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That makes the most sense to me. It was kind of a "why not?" thing.  

[Paolino]

  On 4/2/2019 at 11:33 PM, Robert Hall said:

Well, it is a rebadged Mazda..Mazda always has plenty of features available. 

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But their largest sedan of a "premium" brand should not offer it?  I mean, I keep wondering why GM cars are so poorly equipped at lower trims if other auto makers can offer so much as standard equipment, or even optional on their cheapest vehicles.

[Robert Hall]

  On 4/3/2019 at 6:36 PM, Paolino said:

But their largest sedan of a "premium" brand should not offer it?  I mean, I keep wondering why GM cars are so poorly equipped at lower trims if other auto makers can offer so much as standard equipment, or even optional on their cheapest vehicles.

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I assume they are just being cheap...

[G. David Felt]

  On 4/3/2019 at 6:36 PM, Paolino said:

But their largest sedan of a "premium" brand should not offer it?  I mean, I keep wondering why GM cars are so poorly equipped at lower trims if other auto makers can offer so much as standard equipment, or even optional on their cheapest vehicles.

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They just do not get how to package for value as well as Luxury. GM seems to have lost their auto mojo. Great that they are profitable, but the passion is truly missing. ?