Toyota has revealed a fresh-faced Yaris Cross small SUV overseas, but it’s unclear if and when the updated model could arrive on Australian shores.
The revised Yaris Cross features a revised front-end design inspired by various other models in the Japanese brand’s catalogue, with updates spanning the entire model range including the flagship GR Sport.
It’s slated to go on sale in the UK later this year and, as has been the case for European-market versions of this and its Yaris hatchback namesake, will continue to be produced by Toyota in France. It’s unclear whether the same updates will be applied to examples built in Japan, where Australian models are sourced.
CarExpert has contacted Toyota Australia for comment.
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Headlining the visual tweaks is a new honeycomb front grille that follows a trend led by the new Corolla Cross, RAV4, and HiLux, along with revised LED headlights featuring a new daytime running light signature.
There are also new 17- and 18-inch alloy wheel designs, depending on the variant, along with two new exterior colours: Precious Bronze and Persian Salt, the latter replacing a silver finish.
Inside, there’s now platinum-coloured trim on the doors and instrument panel, while ‘sports-style’ front seats have been brought down the range and now feature on most European Yaris Cross trims. These seats also get a platinum-coloured insert and three-tone contrast stitching.
Depending on the variant, they’re also upholstered in ‘partial-leather’ trim, featuring new “SakuraTouch” material comprised of ‘plant-derived PVC’ and other recycled materials.
Ambient lighting and a wireless phone charger are fitted as standard to three of the four European trim levels – bar the base grade – while the top two variants get a power tailgate.
As before, the flagship GR Sport gets a unique, aggressive front bumper design inspired by the GR Yaris. It also rides on GR Sport-specific machined 18-inch alloy wheels, while also retaining “retuned suspension for sharper, more rewarding handling”.
It also has ‘suede-type’ sports seats finished in grey upholstery with red stitching, complemented by GR Sport-specific gunmetal grey trim accents on the doors and instrument panel. The GR logo can also be seen on the seats and steering wheel.
As with the current Yaris Cross GR Sport available in Australia, the updated sporty SUV is only available in front-wheel drive configuration. That’s despite an all-wheel drive powertrain being available across the rest of the hybrid-only range.
Updated Yaris Cross models get the same 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain producing 96kW of power and 185Nm of torque. This is the same in both front- and all-wheel drive configurations, with drive sent through an electronic continuously variable transmission (e-CVT).
This facelift follows a substantial update to the Yaris Cross introduced to French-built models in 2024. That brought the upgraded hybrid powertrain still used today, with total power up from 85kW, along with various noise, vibration, and harshness enhancements.
It also scored a 10.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. While there were also upgrades applied to Japanese-built models at the time, they were far less substantial, introducing an upgraded 8.0-inch infotainment system, a 7.0-inch digital instrument display, and various safety-tech tweaks.
The larger infotainment system available on European models was introduced to the Japanese Yaris and Yaris Cross earlier this year, but has yet to be announced for Australia.
Locally, the Yaris Cross remains available with only a 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain producing 85kW. Toyota doesn’t quote a combined torque figure; instead, it provides split figures for the engine (120Nm) and electric motor (141Nm).
Priced from $31,790 before on-roads for the base front-wheel drive GX to $39,930 for the all-wheel drive Urban, the Yaris Cross is currently Australia’s second-best-selling light SUV. With 2456 sales so far this year, it’s behind only the Mazda CX-3, with 3489 sales.
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