While on one side of the pond (Detroit) Toyota was debuting the new Prius C subcompact hybrid, on the other side the Japanese brand was announcing the production version of its new Yaris Hybrid with the release of the first pictures ahead of the car’s public debut the Geneva Motor Show in March.
The production model follows the presentation of the Yaris HSD Concept at last year’s edition of the Geneva Salon.
Compared to the prototype, the Yaris Hybrid’s appearance has been toned down a notch though it does feature the same design for the front bumper with the massive lower grille.
The Yaris Hybrid features the same powertrain as the Prius C combining a 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle gasoline engine with a new electric motor, transaxle, inverter and battery pack, for a total system output of 98bhp (74kW).
Toyota says the revised system is 20% lighter than that of an Auris Hybrid, which was the brand’s first core model to be offered with a hybrid setup in Europe.
According to the Japanese automaker, thanks to the reduction in size of all the key components, as well as the location of the fuel tank and hybrid battery under the rear seat, the Yaris Hybrid offers the same interior space and 286-litre luggage capacity as its regular siblings.
The new Yaris Hybrid will go on sale in Europe later this year.
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