Toyota Yaris : Condensed and Agile

“I wanted the styling Toyota Yaris to capture the stance of an athlete on the starting blocks. You can see this in the rear wings and the car’s new proportions – wider, lower and more compact – giving the impression of condensed power.”  

Yasunori Suezawa, Chief Engineer, Toyota.

The new Toyota Yaris 4^th generation fulfils the needs of the city but also offers enjoyment on the highways.  It has been constructed in order to be quick in busy and constrained city roads, the vehicle’s small proportions and a narrow turning circle delivers a large, pleasant and high-quality interior that meets all current customer demands for connection and smooth information access.  

Toyota fulfills its goals for the new Yaris by introducing the modular GA-B platform that will support a number of new models with its first implementation of the Toyota New Global Architecture – TNGA – philosophy to a small vehicle. The GA-B platform is key to the enhanced dynamic efficiency of the Yaris, providing a lower center of gravity with a considerably more robust body. It also allowed the designers to build an appealing unique automobile with a more distinctive and strong appearance. 

Exterior Design 

The new Yaris is returning back to the “big small” concept, which influenced the original generation model but reimagined it in a ‘condensed and agile’ appearance which is expressing a sensation that the car is powerful and dynamic.  The vehicle is designed for the European market.  

The new Yaris is actually shorter than the existing model, despite the fact that many B-segment vehicles have been getting longer. However, the overall length has been reduced to less than four meters, the wheelbase has been increased by 50 mm, to provide an additional passenger room.  

GA-B has reduced the overall height of the car by 40 mm, which increases the width of the vehicle by 50 mm and adding an additional 57 mm on track which adds to the low, broad and strong position of the car. The front and rear overhangs were also decreased to make it compact.  

The new platform allowed designers to develop a fascinating and powerful design which highlights the Toyota’s distinctive design identity.  The side character lines of the vehicle creates a sensation of forward movement and the muscles of the front and rear wings give a tight and cohesive look overall and communicate the agility and readiness of the automobile, combined with the sculptured door panels. Also, the front is emphasized on the big grill and center logo of Toyota. In addition, the designers have pulled the base back of the A-pillar (which improves the vision of the driver) and increased the length of the bonnet. The headlamps extend towards the front wheels, reducing the perceived length of the front overhang. 

Interior Design 

Interior represents a general principle of “less is more.” It is a finely designed room with the strong, sensual and wide impression of a car from the above class. In the cockpit of the driver, the philosophy is “eyes on the road, hands on the wheel”. Displays and controls are organized in a manner which guarantees that the driver will just concentrates on the road and all the important vehicle data updated will be updated automatically.  

“We worked on two main elements to achieve this, first we maximized visibility by setting the instrument panel lower and pulling the A-pillar further back. The front seats were also moved outwards, so there is more space between the driver and passenger. Second, we wanted to let the driver take in the flow of information with minimal eye movement, so we are offering a large color (10-inch) head-up display.” 

Yasunori Suezawa, Chief Engineer, Toyota.

The steering wheel of the vehicle is small and athletic with a higher grade of auxiliary buttons. Driver can use them easily without looking at it which is another part in the notion of ‘hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.’ 

As explained above, the new GA-B platform reduced the overall length of the automobile and made it the most small and compact model in the category, with the increased wheelbase. This was the step towards creating interior packaging that guarantees the freedom and pleasure for everybody on board and reflects the unique “big-small” nature of the Yaris, 20 years ago. 

Gallery