Toyota is gearing up to put its much-anticipated new Yaris Cross compact crossover on sale and is whetting our appetites with details of the more rugged version, the Yaris Cross Adventure.
"life beyond urban streets'
Designed to sit next to the standard model at launch, the Yaris Cross Adventure, says Toyota: "emphasises the car's suitability for life beyond urban streets, for time spent exploring and enjoying the great outdoors and open roads."
How does it do that, you might be asking? Well, the Yaris Cross Adventure will come with redesigned bumpers that incorporate 'bash-plate' protection (although we suspect that they're rather more cosmetic than functional). The specification also includes a set of silver roof rails as standard and 18-inch alloy wheels with a dark grey finish. Inside, there's 'piano black' detailing and black headlining, and a specific 'Adventure' design for the seat trim. There's also leather covering for the gear lever and steering wheel, and a little trim splash of the 'Warm Gold' colour originally used to show the Yaris Cross off to the world.
Ritzy Premiere Edition
Oh, you want more poshness for your Yaris Cross Adventure? Well, Toyota can provide that with the Yaris Cross Adventure Premiere Edition. This one gets exclusive leather seat upholstery and dedicated 18-inch machined alloy wheels. The grade will be equipped with an electric boot lid with kick sensors, a head-up display and will be available in bi-tone colour combinations as standard. The limited series Premiere Edition will be available for the first 12 months of sales and open to pre-launch reservations.
Needless to say, the Yaris Cross (whether it's the Adventure edition or not) will come in hybrid form, using the same basic hybrid powertrain that we've already tried, and been impressed by, in the standard car. While the WLTP figures aren't out yet, it's expected to deliver CO2 emissions of around 100g/km in the front-wheel drive Yaris Cross, and less than 110g/km in the AWD-i models.
All-wheel drive
All-wheel drive? Oh yes - the Yaris Cross will be one of the very few vehicles in the compact crossover segment to actually feature all-wheel drive, thanks to the use of an extra electric motor mounted to the rear axle. The AWD-i system automatically switches from front-wheel-drive to all-wheel-drive depending on road conditions and has a manually-selected mode switch for Trail and Snow modes for when the going gets properly tough.
Inside, the Yaris Cross will get a new connected infotainment system with a nine-inch screen, smartphone connectivity via Toyota's new MyT smartphone app, along with cloud-based live map updates, real-time traffic information and road events, and points of interest searches online.
There will also be a smart semi-automatic parking system to go with a long roster of other safety equipment (including Blind Spot Monitor, Rear Cross Traffic Alert with Automatic Braking and Intelligent Clearance Sonars with Automatic Braking) and the Yaris Cross gets a versatile boot thanks to a split-level adjustable floor and a 40:20:40 split-folding rear seat.