Used Toyota Yaris for sale: everything you need to know
The latest Toyota Yaris arrived in 2020 and pairs distinctive styling with an incredibly efficient hybrid drivetrain. Grown-up to drive and with a reputation for reliability that’s nearly second to none in the supermini class, it’s about as sensible as small cars get, and is unsurprisingly as popular as a used buy as it is for new buyers.
There’s one downside to that popularity, and that’s that the Yaris doesn’t depreciate very quickly, meaning used cars don’t look quite as much of a bargain as some other superminis of similar age. If you intend on keeping the car for a while though, that may not be such an issue, and it’s sure to still be going strong a decade down the line.
Should you buy a Toyota Yaris?
There are two main prongs to the Toyota Yaris range. There’s the sensible hybrid hatchback, with its impressive economy figures and a reputation for going on forever, and then there’s the mad GR Yaris: a four-wheel drive hot hatchback designed to compete on the world’s rally stages.
We’re dealing with the former here, and have covered the GR elsewhere. They’re such different cars, aimed at such different audiences, that aside from a few similar styling elements and both feeling surprisingly well built for a car in this class, there’s hardly any comparison. That’s not to say the hybrid isn’t worthy of your attention though, because it’s an excellent car in its own right.
It gets all the basics right for a supermini, with a spacious cabin and a boot that’s a decent size. As well as being put together well, the interior materials feel high-quality too, and if the infotainment setup isn’t the best, it’s at least relatively easy to use. Refinement is excellent, partly helped by the 1.5-litre hybrid setup, which spends much more time in EV mode than you’d expect for a car without a plug, especially around town. It rides well, feels agile, and gets off the line smartly too - in other words, it’s a great all-rounder.
You can find more excitement in some of the Yaris’s rivals - think the Ford Fiesta and MINI hatchback - but if you’re considering the Yaris, then you’ll probably be more swayed by some of the other hybrids available. That list includes the Mazda 2 Hybrid (which is basically a Yaris with a different badge), the Honda Jazz, the Renault Clio E-Tech, and the latest MG3. The Japanese models are hard to beat for dependability, while the Renault and MG have the edge for driver appeal.
What’s the best used Toyota Yaris model to buy?
There’s just the one engine, which keeps things relatively simple (and is no hardship, as the 1.5-litre hybrid works very well and sips fuel at a slower rate than most rivals), but there are a few choices to be made with trim levels. We’d skip past basic Icon trim (well-equipped though it is) and aim for Design, which gets a digital instrument cluster and larger touchscreen infotainment display.
Used Toyota Yaris fuel economy and performance
- Toyota Yaris 1.5 VVT-i hybrid: The combination of a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine and a pair of electric motors - one for recharging the small battery, the other to assist the engine - results in a combined 116PS. The transmission is a continuously variable automatic able to blend petrol and electric power, and together you get a 9.7-second 0-62mph time and 68.8mpg economy.
What used Toyota Yaris trim levels are available?
The Yaris is offered in a range of trim lines to provide some variety to what’s otherwise a single-model range - not counting the blisteringly quick GR Yaris hot hatchback, of course.
- The Toyota Yaris Icon starts off with alloy wheels and air conditioning, plus a comprehensive suite of Toyota Safety Sense active safety tech.
- The Toyota Yaris Design gets some visual differentiation from the Icon, with a different design of alloy wheels, LED headlights, and an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen.
- The Toyota Yaris Dynamic was available at launch but replaced by the GR Sport below. It came with 17-inch alloys, sport seats with part-synthetic leather upholstery, and a JBL sound system.
- The Toyota Yaris GR Sport takes cues from Toyota’s performance models, and gets all the equipment above in addition to sporty exterior styling.
- The Toyota Yaris Excel is a more luxury-focused range-topper, with premium upholstery, sat nav infotainment and dual zone climate control.
Used Toyota Yaris dimensions and boot size
The Toyota Yaris’s exterior dimensions are:
- Length: 3940mm
- Width: 1745mm
- Height: 1500mm
- Ground clearance: 150mm
The Toyota Yaris’s boot space is:
- 286 litres
- 947 litres with rear seats folded
Used Toyota Yaris road tax
All current Toyota Yaris models are subject to the same flat rate of VED or ‘road tax’, and as an ‘alternative fuel vehicle’ in the eyes of the government, that means an annual bill (for the 2024/2025 tax year) of £180 per year.
How much is it to insure a Toyota Yaris?
The high-tech hybrid powertrain and absence of low-end, basic versions means the Yaris starts at a slightly higher insurance group than some superminis. It still shouldn’t be too expensive to cover though, with Icon models starting in group 13, and all others being in group 14. For comparison, the hybrid Renault Clio E-Tech spans groups 12-15, depending on trim level.
