Toyota has revealed a fresh face Yaris Cross small SUV overseas, but it’s unclear if and when the updated model might arrive on Australian shores.
The facelifted Yaris Cross features a revised front design inspired by various other models in the Japanese brand’s catalog. The updates extend across the entire model range, including the flagship GR Sport.
Sales in the UK are scheduled for later this year and, as with the European versions of this model and its namesake Yaris hatchback, it 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.
Daily Sparkz has contacted Toyota Australia for comment.
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The highlight of the visual improvements is a new honeycomb front grille, following a trend led by the new Corolla Cross, RAV4 and HiLux, as well as revised LED headlights with a new daytime running light signature.
Depending on the variant, there are also new 17- and 18-inch alloy wheels as well as two new exterior colors: Precious Bronze and Persian Salt, the latter replacing a silver finish.
Inside, there’s now platinum-colored trim on the doors and instrument panel, while the “sports-style” front seats have been reduced and are now featured on most European Yaris Cross trim. These seats also receive a platinum-colored insert and three-color contrast stitching.
Depending on the variant, they are also covered in “partial leather”, with the new “SakuraTouch” material, which consists of “vegetable PVC” and other recycled materials.
Three of the four European trim levels – excluding the base trim – come with ambient lighting and a cell phone charger as standard, while the top two variants have 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-spec machined 18-inch alloy wheels while retaining the “re-tuned suspension for sharper, more rewarding handling.”
It also features suede-style sports seats with gray upholstery and red stitching, complemented by GR Sport-specific gunmetal gray trim accents on the doors and instrument panel. The GR logo can also be seen on the seats and steering wheel.
Like the current Yaris Cross GR Sport available in Australia, the updated sporty SUV is only available in front-wheel drive configuration. This is despite the fact that an all-wheel drive drivetrain is available for the rest of the hybrid-only range.
Updated Yaris Cross models feature the same 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain with 96kW of power and 185Nm of torque. This applies to both front- and all-wheel drive configurations, with propulsion via an electronic continuously variable transmission (e-CVT).
This facelift follows a major update to the Yaris Cross introduced in French-built models in 2024. This brought with it the improved hybrid powertrain that is still used today, with a total output of 85 kW as well as various improvements in noise, vibration and harshness.
It also featured a 10.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. While there were also upgrades for Japanese-built models at the time, these were far less extensive and introduced an improved 8.0-inch infotainment system, a 7.0-inch digital instrument display, and various safety improvements.
The larger infotainment system, available on European models, was introduced in the Japanese Yaris and Yaris Cross earlier this year, but has yet to be announced for Australia.
Locally, the Yaris Cross is still only available with a 1.5-liter hybrid powertrain with 85 kW. Toyota does not provide a combined torque figure; Instead, separate values are given for the engine (120 Nm) and electric motor (141 Nm).
Priced at $31,790 before on-road for the base front-wheel-drive GX and $39,930 for the all-wheel-drive Urban, the Yaris Cross is currently Australia’s second best-selling light SUV. With 2,456 sales so far this year, it trails only the Mazda CX-3 with 3,489 sales.
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MORE: Explore the Toyota Yaris Cross showroom
