The Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid has received a mid life update with the introduction of the Urban Palette Selection. This is a set of 8 unique colours that have been specially curated by Borneo Motors Singapore, which will no doubt add some flavour to the Yaris Cross Hybrid, a car that boasts a youthful exterior design, quirky instrument panel design, and impeccable fuel economy.
Urban Palette Collection - New Colours
As the Yaris Cross Hybrid approaches its mid life, Borneo Motors Singapore has gone ahead to unveil a set of specially curated wrap colours call the Urban Palette Collection. It is a timely introduction, and definitely adds a level of appeal to the already popular crossover here in Singapore. The Urban Palette Collection features a mixture of pastel and metallic colours, with our test car being wrapped in Cherry Blossom pink, arguably the most iconic and standout colour of the lot.
The other colours include Chalk Grey, Hunter Jade, Midnight Gold, Midnight Purple, Pearlescent Unicorn, Snow Blue, and Turquoise Dream. Personally, I think that Cheery Blossom and Snow Blue will be great options for the car, as they bring out a playful and energetic side to the car. Midnight Purple is a beautiful colour, but i suspect it would look a tad awkward with stock wheels, and would require a blacked out or gunmetal setup to achieve the right look.
An Extremely Frugal Engine
This isn't exactly news, but for those of you who are unfamiliar with Toyota's development in hybrid technology, Toyota hybrids are extremely fuel efficient. In the Yaris Cross Hybrid, a 1.5 litre, 3 cylinder, Dynamic Force engine is employed alongside a hybrid motor and CVT transmission, which is good for about 110 bhp and 140 Nm of torque. What consumers don't realise is that even on non-hybridised versions of the drivetrain, a Dynamic Force engine is one of the most thermal efficient engines on the commercial market today. To cut a long story short , the Dynamic Force engine optimises combustion and reduces loss of energy as heat - which means more power, more torque, and more fuel efficient.
The other half of the story is down to the car's integration with Toyota's renowned hybrid systems, which have been perfected over the years since the Prius Hybrid was first produced back in 1997. In Singapore's urban driving conditions, achieving more than 20km per litre is a breeze and does not even require much effort. If you're the chilled out type and employ some level of thoughtful driving, you should be able to achieve a long term average efficiency of anywhere between 21km per litre to 24km per litre. On longer journeys, this figure has the propensity to be even higher. Do we think hybrid vehicles are good for long distance driving? Check out this article to find out.
We've actually done 2 separate fuel efficiency challenges with Borneo Motors Singapore in the past - one with a RAV4 Hybrid to the Southern Tip of Thailand, and one with a Corolla Cross Hybrid within Singapore. On both occasions, we attained immense levels of fuel efficiency.
A Perfect Blend of Style & Functionality
The Yaris Cross Hybrid is a great car to own in Singapore. It is compact and easy to manoeuvre around town, elevated and thus provides good visibility, and has a boxy cabin that maximises headroom and passenger space (none of that CH-R rear headroom nonsense). The car is also light off the line and stable on the expressway, running along rather effortlessly up to about 120km/h. Combine this with legendary fuel efficiency, and you get a car that is near perfect to own in land scarce, speed limited, efficiency obsessed Singapore.
To top things off, the new Urban Palette Collection will surely appeal to the younger generation who may have been previously unmoved by Toyota's efforts to reach a younger and more dynamic audience. In the case of the Yaris Cross Hybrid, its really a no lose situation for buyers in the sense that the car is already a good looking car, is made by an automaker with a reputation for reliability, and now so happens to come in really cool looking colours as well.
Who Will it Appeal to?
Due to the Yaris Cross Hybrid's no fuss approach to motoring, combined with the youthful new life that the Urban Palette Collection has brought on, I think the car will be a good one for first time car owners to consider, especially those who want a no frills approach to ownership, wrapped in the cutest colours imaginable. In the same vein, the Yaris Cross Hybrid will also be perfect as a second utility car for occasional drivers who aren't super confident, or for your grown children who may have just passed their driving.