Oddly enough, in a world full of automakers looking to add as many crossovers, SUVs, and trucks as possible, Toyota takes its sweet time before unleashing the all-new Yaris Cross onto the European market. Perhaps they’re taking a page out of Ford’s Bronco playbook, but the hybrid subcompact SUV will reach dealerships more than a year since it was globally unveiled.

At least prospective owners will have ample choice to expect, as the company released pictures and information regarding the complete range of the Yaris Cross. The model will become available for “pre-launch reservations” from the second quarter of the year, ahead of the commercial launch slated for September (there’s no pricing info just yet, though).
Back in April 2020, when it was first unveiled, Toyota’s Yaris Cross was dressed up in an Elegant grade. Now, as it turns out, that won’t be the only choice for Old Continent fans, as the B-segment SUV will also be offered as the Yaris Cross Adventure or Yaris Cross Premiere Edition.
Actually, the latter is just the flagship variant of the Adventure trim, coming to market with “exclusive trim and features,” but only for the first 12 months of sale. So, it’s essentially a launch edition, meaning we can comfortably explore the Yaris Cross Adventure.
This derivative of the hybrid crossover is, as the name implies, a bit more rugged as it “emphasizes the car’s suitability for life beyond urban streets, for time spent exploring and enjoying the great outdoors and open roads.” As such, we can see added protection elements, standard roof rails, new 18-inch dark grey alloys, and a purposeful treatment bestowed upon the interior.
The latter comes with a special Adventure-grade design for the seat upholstery, piano black trimming and headliner, as well as certain elements dressed up in the Yaris Cross’ signature shade of Warm Gold. Under the metal, the new model rides on the same TNGA-B platform as the regular Yaris and comes equipped with the company’s proprietary hybrid powertrain.
The fourth-generation setup combines a 1.5-liter Atkinson cycle mill with an electric motor and outputs 116 ps (114 hp). Better yet, it’s hooked up to an optional AWD-i system, and the intelligent all-wheel-drive system also includes “a manually-selected mode switch for Trail and Snow modes to enhance vehicle stability in tricky road conditions.”

Toyota’s Yaris is a complicated nameplate in the world of the automobile. It is one of the most popular cars produced by the Japanese, but at the same time it is a confusing one because it means different things depending on the market it sells in.

In the U.S., Yaris represents a car manufactured by Toyota together with Mazda, and in its sedan guise is in fact a rebadged version of the Mazda2. From 2019, the Yaris also includes a hatchback version there, filling a gap Mazda is not present in.
In Europe, the Yaris (a hatchback) is an entirely different story, and it got even more so after in early 2020 Toyota presented a new version of the model, this time tweaked by Gazoo Racing (GR), just like the Supra.
Later in the spring of 2020, Toyota threw another Yaris-badged vehicle into the mix, the Cross. It too is meant solely for the European market (it will likely not make it stateside), this time targeting the small SUV segment that is growing rapidly there.

Just like the regular Yaris, the Cross is built on the new GA-B vehicle platform. That means it has the same 2,560 mm wheelbase, but that’s where the similarities between the two end.
The Cross is 240 mm longer than its hatchback sibling for a total of 4,180 mm (60 mm added to the front overhang and 180 mm to the rear), is 1,765 mm wide (+20 mm) and 1,560 mm high (+90 mm). The car rides much higher than its sibling, by 30 mm.
Designed to be robust and minimalistic, the appearance of the Cross is inspired by the hatch, of course, but it is not at all the same. The front end looks a lot more tamed compared to its sibling, with the much smaller grille and smoother look of the bumper and hood making it appear more user-friendly.
The side look is pure crossover, with the special wheels surrounded by special cladding (also found at the front and rear). High up above the four doors (the GR has only two) there’s a black roof that contrasts the specially-created paint called Brass Gold.
The part of the Cross that looks more like the smaller Yaris is the rear, where the same sculpted and bulging lines (modified to suit the new dimensions) can be seen.

Despite being built on the same wheelbase as the hatchback, the Cross has a bigger body, and that of course translates into more space for the passengers at the interior. Toyota did not release all the numbers on that yet, but it promises a perfect balance at the rear between passenger space and cargo needs.
The Yaris Cross comes with a power back door and adjustable deck height. The deck can also be split into two, meaning it can be used to benefit either from an underfloor compartment or increased trunk space.
There is no official word on the materials used for interior surfaces at the time of this writing, but we are likely to see the same ones as on the regular Yaris.

As with all of its newer models, Toyota will offer the usual connectivity hardware. No specifics have been provided yet, but there is a large center-mounted infotainment screen on the center of the dashboard, and a digital instrument cluster in front of the steering wheel.
The HVAC controls, located right under the center touchscreen (which will likely be at least Android Auto-compatible), still makes use of knobs, but the cockpit is otherwise digitized.

For the time being, the Yaris Cross has been presented solely as a hybrid crossover. It makes use of the Japanese carmaker’s fourth generation hybrid technology, already in use in different configurations on cars like the Corolla, C-HR, RAV4 and Camry.
Just like the regular Yaris, the Cross makes use of a hybrid 1.5-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine that combined has been rated at 116 hp.
The Cross is offered both as a front-wheel-drive and a all-wheel-drive. Fuel consumption rating for the Cross in the former configuration has been measured at 120 g/km under WLTP, while for the latter the figure is 135g/km.

The GA-B vehicle platform the Yaris Cross is built on has been specifically designed to accommodate subcompact cars with transverse engine and front- or all-wheel drive, so the SUV is the perfect fit for it. It also gives the vehicle the desired rigidity and balance.
The Yaris Cross is packed with the whole range of safety and driver assistance systems Toyota is regularly using, packed in a suite the carmaker calls Safety Sense. It allows to driver to be in the loop with all that’s going on around the car through early warnings, and gives them a helping hand when need be from automatic braking and steering intervention.

The Yaris Cross will not be on the market until the early months of 2021, and it will sell mostly in Europe – it will also be assembled there, in France, alongside the regular Yaris.
Toyota is already a major player on the continent, and has SUVs in most of the available classes. The Yaris Cross allows it to enter the B-segment, and there’s no mistaking the plans the carmaker has for the model: 150,000 of them are planned to be produced each year, accounting for 8 percent of the market.