Toyota Yaris Hybrid - Reliability & safety

Toyota has built a great reputation for reliability, especially for its hybrid models such as the Toyota Prius. These have become a staple for taxi drivers thanks to their low running costs and robustness, and while the Yaris is unlikely to suffer quite so much abuse, it feels just as tough.

Toyota Yaris reliability

The Toyota Yaris made an impressive first appearance in our 2021 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, coming 21st out of the top 75 models in the UK. Reliability and build quality were scored highly, along with its low running costs. Owners were also impressed with the hybrid powertrain and how the Yaris handles, but its worst performing category was for practicality. The Toyota brand also performed very well, coming fifth out of 29 manufacturers, with an overall fault rate of 15.3% in the first year. That's lower than the 21.4% experienced by Ford owners. 

Safety

Euro NCAP put the Toyota Yaris through its paces in 2020, awarding it the maximum five-star rating. All Yaris models get state-of-the-art Toyota Safety Sense systems, so even the entry-level car gets adaptive cruise control that works at motorway speeds and in stop-start traffic, lane-keeping assistance and emergency steering assist – this can swerve you into another lane (if it’s safe to do so) when the system senses you’re about to have a crash. 

Even standard cars are also fitted with a rear-view camera, making it easy to park the Yaris in tight spots. The pedestrian detection system will also scan for people walking across the road you’re about to turn into - and can stop the car if it thinks you’re going to hit them.