2011 Toyota Yaris Hybrid

[tuckevalastin]

Quoting Jalopnik who is quoting Automotive News....

Toyota officials have announced they're working on a Toyota Yaris hybrid to take on the new Honda Insight hybrid for cheap hybrid supremacy. Muscle Car Wars? Ha! Let the Hybrid Car Wars begin.

According to Automotive News and Japan's Nikkei newspaper, Toyota chief engineer Akihiko Otsuka has confirmed there's a Yaris Hybrid being developed for sale in Japan and the United States.

Toyota has been seeing tough competition from the equally egg-shaped Prius price-undercutting Honda Insight. The new car would wear a version of the Hybrid Synergy Drive and target the low end of the market, with a target price even lower than the Insight's $19,800 starting price. No timeline has been announced, but expect the Yaris Hybrid to be unveiled with the next generation of the bowler hat-shaped micro car for 2011. [Auto News Sub. Req.]


From Automotive News

The green car race between Toyota and Honda is heating up. Toyota Motor Corp. plans a new small hybrid car to take on the Insight, the inexpensive Honda hybrid that just reached the United States. The small gasoline-electric car being planned will be a low-priced spinoff of the Toyota Yaris, said Akihiko Otsuka, chief engineer of the redesigned, third-generation Toyota Prius.

[Thirty-Nine]

Dang ... you're too fast for me. I was just going to post up a link:

http://jalopnik.com/5183804/toyota-yaris-hybrid-to-take-on-low+cost-honda-insight

[tuckevalastin]

I just happened to check my computer right after the articles were posted :biggrin:

[Shroomster]

why do all the articles about the insight refer to it like its a new concept from honda...it is the second generation of this car.

[Luna V 2.0]

I was just talking to a friend of mine yesterday about how much better it would be if Toyota would just make a hybrid version of either the Corolla or the Yaris. If Honda made a hybrid of their flagship car why can't Toyota.

That's a great move on their part. I was planning on buying my mom a Yaris (she fell in love with my car after riding around in it, even though she initially hated it) but now I think I'll wait till the hybrid is out.

Go Toyota! :headbang:

[yarswiss]

Yay! Finally! Lets just hope it actually comes to our shores, and costs less than $20k.

[ChinoCharles]

Oh man, this is some big news indeed.

[rningonfumes]

I'm salivating!

[Astroman]

Yay! :biggrin:

[daf62757]

This makes too much sense....the government will get involved and screw it up!

[roxy1]

toyota better keep up w/ the competition in this class of car. if chevy could make the gas engine cobalt 37 mpg hwy, they should be able to get the next gen yaris to 40 mpg hwy as a gas engine only and keep it cheap. i saw an article today that said ford has preliminary hopes of the incoming fiesta being 31 city/39 hwy--120-bhp 1.6-liter Ti-VCT Duratec inline-4 paired to a 5-speed manual transmission). those are very good mpg numbers under the current rating system , and by most accounts it has pretty good handling and driving dynamics.

of course, nissan had some pretty optimistic mpg hopes for the versa that turned out to be very unrealistic, so we shall see. methinks the new fiesta with those numbers at the right price would be a big hit.

[tetzyamis]

This car will be my next car..., 99.9% chance!!!!!!!

[enobmort42]

time to start saving again! =P

[marcus]

hope this gives us 1000km on a 42 liter tank.

[ChinoCharles]

You guys do know that hybrids don't do as well on highways, right?

I'm shooting for 38-40 highway and maybe 55 city. That would be AWESOME.

[LtNoogie]

Can you supercharge a hybrid Yaris?:biggrin:

[Twistoffate0817]

I cant wait to see what it looks like and how much mpg it gets! :D

[Shroomster]

You guys do know that hybrids don't do as well on highways, right?

I'm shooting for 38-40 highway and maybe 55 city. That would be AWESOME.

maybe it will be a true hybrid and will use the ecu to control the propulsion system in such a way that maybe 50 mph and under it is total battery power with brake regeneration and then anything over that is all motor with alternator supplying juice for battery regeneration....

[voodoo22]

hope this gives us 1000km on a 42 liter tank.

:smile:

[kudzu71]

This is completely awesome! A hybrid Yaris would sell to all those folks that don't want a "family car" but still want a hybrid. This will totally be my next car.

[roxy1]

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1875/69/

But increasing the mileage of a 15 mpg car to 20 mpg, saves as much gasoline (and carbon) as doubling the mileage of a 30 mpg car to 60 mpg.

hard to wrap my head around it, but its true. going from the current yaris (36 mpg) to 50 mpg will save 78 gallons per 10,000 miles, or $156 at todays gas prices. after 100,000 miles in a new hybrid yaris, you will have saved $1560 in gas. one would never come close to recovering the extra costs of that car. environmentally good (but not as good as you'd think as compared mpg's get higher) but financially would be a poor choice.

we need a sub 15k car that can pull 60 mpg. that would make it worth it to me.

[marcus]

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1875/69/

But increasing the mileage of a 15 mpg car to 20 mpg, saves as much gasoline (and carbon) as doubling the mileage of a 30 mpg car to 60 mpg.

hard to wrap my head around it, but its true. going from the current yaris (36 mpg) to 50 mpg will save 78 gallons per 10,000 miles, or $156 at todays gas prices. after 100,000 miles in a new hybrid yaris, you will have saved $1560 in gas. one would never come close to recovering the extra costs of that car. environmentally good (but not as good as you'd think as compared mpg's get higher) but financially would be a poor choice.

we need a sub 15k car that can pull 60 mpg. that would make it worth it to me.

you got that right...

[wooverstone8]

If they can keep the starting price under 16k I would consider buying one in the future. The roads are so congested where I live now. I drive 40% city and 60% highway. The 60% Highway I drive is usually stop and go.

[nemelek]

I would rather buy an IQ.

[kudzu71]

If they can keep the starting price under 16k I would consider buying one in the future. The roads are so congested where I live now. I drive 40% city and 60% highway. The 60% Highway I drive is usually stop and go.

I would think it would have to be priced below 17K to realistically pull people away from the Insight. If they are too close in price then people will just move to the Insight for more cargo space/etc. I could totally justify a Yaris hybrid for 16,500 or so.

Now what would really be cool is if it was a 2-mode like the new Vue so that the first 40-50 miles or so ran completely off the batteries. :thumbup:

[PetersRedYaris]

I bet it will be the sedan, sadly...

[Rain]

Probably my next car :biggrin:
But hopefully it's not a sedan!

[Pars]

Yep, Toyota is going to need to figure out a way to cheapen their Hybrid system to compete with Honda. The fact the Hybrid system can take the pressure off the engine and run all the accessories, instead of putting that load on the engine is a huge bonus (something that should be included in all cars). Now that batteries are getting better, it's a no brainer.

What would be cool, something that Honda couldn't simulate with their Hybrid system, is to have the system drive the rear wheel and make the car an AWD. Given the Yaris already had excellent dynamic while on the go, but crappy traction on the take-off, and extra set of driving wheel would be a huge bonus. Also, the extra take-off power might go a long way towards giving the car a better clutch feel (manual transmission). Also, a manual Yaris that's getting extra power from a hybrid system can be good setup to take on Honda's new CRZ. Or, Toyota can spend tons of money to build a car from scratch to take on CRZ, which would also be cool.

[voodoo22]

The Insight II doesn't impress me. Toyota's Prius II beats it on all fronts but initial cost. That's why they're selling the old Prius at the same price as the Insight II in Japan, because they can match the price point of Honda and still beat the Insight II at FE.

Honda stopped mating their hybrid system with a manual transmission, because too many people who own MT don't know how to drive them and they were killing the battery pack. I doubt we'll see anything but AT's and CVT's on hybrids going forward.

What's great about Honda's efforts is they are making Toyota wake up and take notice that if they don't start competing in this sector of the market, they will lose their stranglehold on it. Case in point, the CRZ concept is forcing Toyota to revive an MR2 concept to compete with it and the Insight II's lower price is forcing Toyota to lower the price of the Prius II and continue to offer the old Prius in Japan until they have a more direct competitor available in their lineup.

[Pars]

I'm looking forward to the CRZ. I used to own a CRX and I miss the laid back driving position and the interior's look and feel. The new CRZ's interior is suppose to be modeled after the old CRX. It'll make for an interesting setup..

MR2 Hybrid, with an engine in the rear? Now that's even more interesting. I love it when one of manufactures raises the bar.

[tetzyamis]

I bet it will be the sedan, sadly...

I automatically thought is will be hatch because of the picture they used.
But you're right!!! They probably will use sedan... considering the space for the battery.

[mr. poopyhead]

gas mileage? just give us the D-4D already!

[ka0sx]

I dont care hybrid systems are non cost efficient and do not in fact help the environment.

[roxy1]

I dont care hybrid systems are non cost efficient and do not in fact help the environment.

absolutely correct. you know when you ask people : "what weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of lead?", you will get some people who will respond, "the lead." well, i swear if you asked, what would you rather drive to get good mileage and save the environment, a 50 mpg hybrid or a 50 mpg gas engine car?" you would get plenty of "give me the hybrid" answers.

the fact is, that hybrid will most definitely have a bigger (negative) impact on the environment due to production/disposal issues. i dont get all the hybrid hype. i dont know if they will ever really justify their extra costs. it would take 100,000 miles of driving to save only $1560 by getting 50 mpg instead of 36 mpg. add $1560 to the current yaris price, and all that does is break even, but you know a yaris hybrid will be considereably more than that.

id rather have them concentrate their efforts on making gas engine cars lighter and more efficient and bringing us some truly high mileage deisel vehicles.

imo, hybrids are just a band-aid to the true future of vehicles. (fuel cels, electric, etc...).

[MrMondayNite]

There are only 2 cars I would trade my Yaris in for, the IQ and the VW Polo. But they are probably not coming to the states anyway.:mad:

[voodoo22]

There are only 2 cars I would trade my Yaris in for, the IQ and the VW Polo. But they are probably not coming to the states anyway.:mad:

I'm with you on the Polo. I bet you could get 70 to 80 US mpgs with that thing on the hwy, since Richard Hammond on top gear managed close to that on his test with a lot of stop and go.

[ka0sx]

id rather have them concentrate their efforts on making gas engine cars lighter and more efficient and bringing us some truly high mileage deisel vehicles.






If the government released back the patents of the turbine drive that it bought from Chrysler in the 70's hybrids would actually be a good thing. The Chrysler turbine drive put down 400 hp in the high end and still got 28mpg, but had issues with slow take off as it lacked torque in the low end. However this system with the advances in turbine technology will push 39-46mpg on a 200hp turbine, with a hybrid transmission synergy system you eliminate the no torque at low end problem as electric motors have max. torque at the low end the added benefit of it being a hybrid system is it would be pushing 60mpg depending on which fuel you decide to pump and quite more on a light car such as something weighing 2400lbs and not 4000lbs like what the engine was originally in. These turbine systems had the benefits of being efficient, low polluting, did not need much oil, maintenance free, and could burn any combustible liquid as fuel (diesel, gasoline, whiskey...)

[roxy1]

the Polo is coming here

http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090116.013/vw-confirms-next-generation-polo-is-heading-to-the-us

the quesdtion is: which version will we get. i love the looks of the new polo and will be all over it if the mileage , price, and warranty are acceptable. that's a big if.

[supmet]

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1875/69/

But increasing the mileage of a 15 mpg car to 20 mpg, saves as much gasoline (and carbon) as doubling the mileage of a 30 mpg car to 60 mpg.


Increasing the mileage of a 15 mpg car to 20 mpg or from 30 mpg to 60 mpg, saves as much gasoline (and carbon) as increasing the mileage of a 60 mpg car to a trillion mpg.

Same gas savings for going from 5 to 5.4545 as well. Diminishing returns are a bitch

:D

[roxy1]

Increasing the mileage of a 15 mpg car to 20 mpg or from 30 mpg to 60 mpg, saves as much gasoline (and carbon) as increasing the mileage of a 60 mpg car to a trillion mpg.

Same gas savings for going from 5 to 5.4545 as well. Diminishing returns are a bitch

:D


thats why i have trouble getting excited over 40-50-60 mpg cars. it just wont make much difference from the 40 mpg a yaris can do now. i'll get excited when we can produce reasonably affordable vehicles that require no gasoline.

[voodoo22]

the Polo is coming here

http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090116.013/vw-confirms-next-generation-polo-is-heading-to-the-us

the quesdtion is: which version will we get. i love the looks of the new polo and will be all over it if the mileage , price, and warranty are acceptable. that's a big if.

That's it. I'm not excited about the new Polo until I see pulling of the same numbers as the one current in Europe. VW has confirmed that the US version of the Polo will be in sedan and 5 door form, longer wheelbase and higher roofline. That the Polo in Europe is too small for Americans. hopefully they don't think Canadians are too fat for the real Polo either, even though we are just as fat as the US.

[voodoo22]

thats why i have trouble getting excited over 40-50-60 mpg cars. it just wont make much difference from the 40 mpg a yaris can do now. i'll get excited when we can produce reasonably affordable vehicles that require no gasoline.

If I could go from 50 to 80 US mpg I would save $2 a day in gas and have to fill in gas every 13 days vs every 9. Those are significant numbers for me.

[Pars]

That's it. I'm not excited about the new Polo until I see pulling of the same numbers as the one current in Europe. VW has confirmed that the US version of the Polo will be in sedan and 5 door form, longer wheelbase and higher roofline. That the Polo in Europe is too small for Americans. hopefully they don't think Canadians are too fat for the real Polo either, even though we are just as fat as the US.

If the Polo is standard with the diesel engine, it should be able to pull a fatter version of itself and still return the good consumption.

If the Polo can do 45mpg, it'll probably match CRZ's consumption, but the real test would be at the lights and the quickest around the turns. In which case, it'll need the euro version to even stand a chance.

[roxy1]

If I could go from 50 to 80 US mpg I would save $2 a day in gas and have to fill in gas every 13 days vs every 9. Those are significant numbers for me.

for every 10,000 miles, 50 mpg=200 gallons needed=$400
for every 10,000 miles, 80 mpg=125 gallons needed=$250

so, every 10,000 miles saves $150

to save $2/day in gas, you would have to drive 10,000 miles every 2 1/2 months ($2/day x75 days=$150), which means you drive 48,000 miles per year. most people arent putting anywhere near that kind of mileage their cars. for those that do, yeah, it could make a difference.

...and taking that 80 mpg vehicle another 30 mpg to 110 mpg would require 90.9 gallons, saving only $68 every 10000 miles. as was said, diminishing returns are a bitch.

[Bredayaris]

If u consider to buy a VW in the future you have to calculate a lot of reparationcosts also off course.
The boring looks of a Polo and carnival lights in the dash or a bad electrical system wich alow you to go to your VW dealer every month is standard too.
Oh did i mention the price of a average VW is way to high and the standard equipment is embarassing.

I hope for u that there is not only a hybrid Yaris coming but also a diesel Yaris.

[roxy1]

If u consider to buy a VW in the future you have to calculate a lot of reparationcosts also off course.
The boring looks of a Polo and carnival lights in the dash or a bad electrical system wich alow you to go to your VW dealer every month is standard too.
Oh did i mention the price of a average VW is way to high and the standard equipment is embarassing.

I hope for u that there is not only a hybrid Yaris coming but also a diesel Yaris.

diesel would be a better answer than hybrids, imo, since hybrids are only a bridge to other forms of locomotion. i will more likely lean toward the new Fiesta or next gen yaris.

for me to buy a VW Polo (or any VW for that matter, VW would have to stand behind it with a very long, comprehensive warranty.

[voodoo22]

for every 10,000 miles, 50 mpg=200 gallons needed=$400
for every 10,000 miles, 80 mpg=125 gallons needed=$250

so, every 10,000 miles saves $150

to save $2/day in gas, you would have to drive 10,000 miles every 2 1/2 months ($2/day x75 days=$150), which means you drive 48,000 miles per year. most people arent putting anywhere near that kind of mileage their cars. for those that do, yeah, it could make a difference.

...and taking that 80 mpg vehicle another 30 mpg to 110 mpg would require 90.9 gallons, saving only $68 every 10000 miles. as was said, diminishing returns are a bitch.

You're applying American prices to a Canadian.

I use about 5 litres of gas a day.

going from 4.7l/100km to 2.9l/100km would reduce my daily cost of gas by close to $2 a day at current gas prices and by over $2 a day when the prices return to last summers highs that would be well over $2 a day.

50-80mpg might be not be significant enough for people in the US, but for many people in Canada and places like Europe, it's very significant.

The problem here isn't that it isn't significant enough of a return, the problem is that gas is too cheap in the US and that's a problem I cannot relate to.

**andI forgot that next July the Ontario Government is going to be adding the 8% provincial tax to gas, so that will make this change even more significant**

[roxy1]

You're applying American prices to a Canadian.

I use about 5 litres of gas a day.

going from 4.7l/100km to 2.9l/100km would reduce my daily cost of gas by close to $2 a day at current gas prices and by over $2 a day when the prices return to last summers highs that would be well over $2 a day.

50-80mpg might be not be significant enough for people in the US, but for many people in Canada and places like Europe, it's very significant.

The problem here isn't that it isn't significant enough of a return, the problem is that gas is too cheap in the US and that's a problem I cannot relate to.

**andI forgot that next July the Ontario Government is going to be adding the 8% provincial tax to gas, so that will make this change even more significant**

of course, it would be a nice problem to have if we could be worried about getting ONLY 50 mpg.:smile:

[voodoo22]

of course, it would be a nice problem to have if we could be worried about getting ONLY 50 mpg.:smile:

touche:clap: