Toyota Yaris review - Reliability & safety
Big-car safety technology and strong reliability should boost the Toyota Yaris Hybrid's appeal
The Toyota Yaris clearly impresses its buyers because the model came in third place in the top 50 models as rated by owners in the 2024 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey. They love its hybrid powertrain, ride and handling, low running costs, quality and reliability and exterior design – in fact the area where it scored in worst was predictably in terms of practicality and boot space, where it came in 21st place.
Toyota Yaris reliability
Toyota has a long history of producing reliable cars, and was one of the first brands to pioneer hybrid technology which it’s perfected over the years. As a result, Toyota has a below average 15% of owners that reported an issue in the first year of ownership for the 2023 Driver Power brand survey.
Generally Toyota performs well in terms of overall satisfaction, coming in eighth out of 32 brands in 2024, with reliability, low running costs and value for money predictably the areas which impress owners the most.
| What owners said about the Mk4 Toyota Yaris | |
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Safety
Euro NCAP put the Toyota Yaris through its paces in 2020, awarding it the maximum five-star rating. All Yaris models get state-of-the-art Toyota Safety Sense systems, so even the entry-level car gets adaptive cruise control that works at motorway speeds and in stop-start traffic, lane-keeping assistance and emergency steering assist – this can swerve you into another lane (if it’s safe to do so) when the system senses you’re about to have a crash.
Even standard cars are also fitted with a rear-view camera, making it easy to park the Yaris in tight spots. The pedestrian detection system will also scan for people walking across the road you’re about to turn into - and can stop the car if it thinks you’re going to hit them.
