Toyota Yaris Cross review

In an area of the market that’s got some fairly fashionable cars, the Yaris Cross was always going to have it tough. You sit high, and while there’s little design flair it all feels very logically laid out and fit for purpose.

The front seats are squishy (in a good way) and comfortable, although it must be noted that there are some hard plastics around the cockpit that you can catch your knees on, to the side of the centre stack and underneath the steering column. 

There are some interesting materials in the cabin (rubber-lined seatbacks and boot, for example, emphasise the rugged image), a few decent cubbies, and the now ubiquitous touchscreen wanged onto the middle of the dashboard.

Is the tech any good?

The Yaris Cross’s 2024 mid-life facelift now sees base-spec Icon models get Toyota’s Touch 3 infotainment system and a nine-inch screen, while everything else gets the firm’s latest Smart Connect software and a 10.5-inch screen. The graphics aren’t much better on the latter but it is quicker and more intuitive to use.

Fortunately, Toyota hasn’t messed around too much elsewhere, and whatever spec you go for you’ll get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard so if you’re anything like us you’ll likely plug in and never use the native system anyway, along with physical buttons and knobs for the climate controls. Phew.

Is it practical? 

Rear seat space is adequate, with plenty of room to fit your feet under the seat in front, but the rising shoulder line on the back doors might leave kids in car seats a bit miffed that they can’t see out. Still, it’ll teach them to live with disappointment.

The boot itself is 397 litres seats up and 1,097 litres seats down, which is smallish compared to rivals (the Captur and Juke both get more). Meanwhile the luggage cover is a strange piece of stretched material that feels like the front door of a festival tent. We’re not sure whether it’s an inspired piece of design or horrendous cost saving.

The rear seats split 40:20:40 for maximum practicality, and the boot floor itself is split 60:40 to allow you to carry taller things without having to drop the entire floor.