Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The 2026 Toyota Yaris Cross is built around one engineering decision: Toyota wanted all-wheel drive in a car this small and refused to fit a propshaft. Instead a separate electric motor drives the rear axle on demand, which makes this the only Yaris you can buy that drives all four wheels, and one of very few small hybrid SUVs offering all-wheel drive at all.
0:00 Exterior Redesign & Hybrid Badge
0:22 All-Wheel Drive System & Capability
0:53 Rear Design & AWD Badge
1:08 Exterior Dimensions & US Market
1:32 Interior, Screens & Sound Deadening
1:47 Engine, Performance & Hybrid System
1:59 Dashboard Layout & Digital Display
2:15 Rear Seats & Legroom
2:30 Boot Space & AWD Price Premium
This is a full look at the facelifted Yaris Cross in Hybrid 130 AWD-i form: the redrawn front end, the full-width rear light bar, the bigger central touchscreen and digital instrument cluster, the extra sound insulation Toyota added to the firewall, floor and doors, and the real rear-seat and boot space. One honest catch, and it is the price of the whole idea: the AWD-i car gives up 77 litres of boot, dropping from 397 litres to 320, because the rear motor sits under the floor. It also carries around 90 kg more and costs £2,400 above the same Excel in front-wheel drive.
WATCHING FROM THE US? The Yaris Cross has never been sold in America, and Toyota has no plans to bring it. The car filmed here is European-spec, priced in pounds. The closest thing you can actually buy is the Toyota Corolla Cross, which is bigger at 176.1 inches long against 4,180 mm for this car, and which runs the same idea underneath: the Corolla Cross Hybrid's Electronic On-Demand all-wheel drive is a rear-mounted electric motor with no driveshaft to the back axle, exactly like the AWD-i system here. It is standard on every Corolla Cross Hybrid grade. So the engineering in this video is not academic for American buyers, it is the system in Toyota's smallest US crossover.
SPECS AT A GLANCE (Toyota UK official figures, 2026 model year):
- Powertrain: 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol hybrid, e-CVT, AWD-i electric all-wheel drive
- Power: 130 DIN hp (96 kW) system output; rear motor 3.9 kW / 52 Nm
- 0-62 mph: 11.3 sec (Hybrid 130 AWD-i); 10.7 sec front-wheel drive
- Economy / CO2: 56.8-58.8 mpg WLTP combined; 116 g/km AWD-i vs 109 g/km FWD
- Boot: 320 litres AWD-i / 397 litres FWD; 1,097 litres seats folded
- Dimensions: 4,180 mm long, 1,765 mm wide, 1,595 mm tall, 2,560 mm wheelbase
- Kerb weight: 1,320-1,355 kg AWD-i vs 1,230-1,260 kg FWD
- Price: from £27,245 (Icon); Excel AWD-i £35,245 OTR
THE US EQUIVALENT (2026 Toyota Corolla Cross, Toyota USA official figures):
- Corolla Cross: from $24,635 MSRP, 2.0-litre petrol, 169 hp, 32 mpg combined FWD / 30 mpg combined AWD
- Corolla Cross Hybrid: from $28,995 MSRP, 196 hp combined, 42 mpg combined EPA
- All-wheel drive: standard on every Corolla Cross Hybrid grade, via a rear electric motor
- Size: 176.1 in long, 71.9 in wide, 103.9 in wheelbase; assembled in America
- MSRP excludes the $1,495 dealer processing and handling fee
Rivals in Europe: Ford Puma (456 litres including the MegaBox, but front-wheel drive only at any price), Renault Captur, Nissan Juke Hybrid, VW T-Cross, Skoda Kamiq, Suzuki S-Cross ALLGRIP.
Would you pay the £2,400 and the 77 litres for all-wheel drive, or keep the boot? Tell us below. If working out whether a rear-motor hybrid is worth the money is the reason you clicked, subscribe for the Toyota Corolla Cross review next, where the same system arrives in a car America can actually buy.
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#ToyotaYarisCross #Toyota #HybridSUV #CorollaCross
The 2026 Toyota Yaris Cross is built around one engineering decision: Toyota wanted all-wheel drive in a car this small and refused to fit a propshaft. Instead a separate electric motor drives the rear axle on demand, which makes this the only Yaris you can buy that drives all four wheels, and one of very few small hybrid SUVs offering all-wheel drive at all.
0:00 Exterior Redesign & Hybrid Badge
0:22 All-Wheel Drive System & Capability
0:53 Rear Design & AWD Badge
1:08 Exterior Dimensions & US Market
1:32 Interior, Screens & Sound Deadening
1:47 Engine, Performance & Hybrid System
1:59 Dashboard Layout & Digital Display
2:15 Rear Seats & Legroom
2:30 Boot Space & AWD Price Premium
This is a full look at the facelifted Yaris Cross in Hybrid 130 AWD-i form: the redrawn front end, the full-width rear light bar, the bigger central touchscreen and digital instrument cluster, the extra sound insulation Toyota added to the firewall, floor and doors, and the real rear-seat and boot space. One honest catch, and it is the price of the whole idea: the AWD-i car gives up 77 litres of boot, dropping from 397 litres to 320, because the rear motor sits under the floor. It also carries around 90 kg more and costs £2,400 above the same Excel in front-wheel drive.
WATCHING FROM THE US? The Yaris Cross has never been sold in America, and Toyota has no plans to bring it. The car filmed here is European-spec, priced in pounds. The closest thing you can actually buy is the Toyota Corolla Cross, which is bigger at 176.1 inches long against 4,180 mm for this car, and which runs the same idea underneath: the Corolla Cross Hybrid's Electronic On-Demand all-wheel drive is a rear-mounted electric motor with no driveshaft to the back axle, exactly like the AWD-i system here. It is standard on every Corolla Cross Hybrid grade. So the engineering in this video is not academic for American buyers, it is the system in Toyota's smallest US crossover.
SPECS AT A GLANCE (Toyota UK official figures, 2026 model year):
- Powertrain: 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol hybrid, e-CVT, AWD-i electric all-wheel drive
- Power: 130 DIN hp (96 kW) system output; rear motor 3.9 kW / 52 Nm
- 0-62 mph: 11.3 sec (Hybrid 130 AWD-i); 10.7 sec front-wheel drive
- Economy / CO2: 56.8-58.8 mpg WLTP combined; 116 g/km AWD-i vs 109 g/km FWD
- Boot: 320 litres AWD-i / 397 litres FWD; 1,097 litres seats folded
- Dimensions: 4,180 mm long, 1,765 mm wide, 1,595 mm tall, 2,560 mm wheelbase
- Kerb weight: 1,320-1,355 kg AWD-i vs 1,230-1,260 kg FWD
- Price: from £27,245 (Icon); Excel AWD-i £35,245 OTR
THE US EQUIVALENT (2026 Toyota Corolla Cross, Toyota USA official figures):
- Corolla Cross: from $24,635 MSRP, 2.0-litre petrol, 169 hp, 32 mpg combined FWD / 30 mpg combined AWD
- Corolla Cross Hybrid: from $28,995 MSRP, 196 hp combined, 42 mpg combined EPA
- All-wheel drive: standard on every Corolla Cross Hybrid grade, via a rear electric motor
- Size: 176.1 in long, 71.9 in wide, 103.9 in wheelbase; assembled in America
- MSRP excludes the $1,495 dealer processing and handling fee
Rivals in Europe: Ford Puma (456 litres including the MegaBox, but front-wheel drive only at any price), Renault Captur, Nissan Juke Hybrid, VW T-Cross, Skoda Kamiq, Suzuki S-Cross ALLGRIP.
Would you pay the £2,400 and the 77 litres for all-wheel drive, or keep the boot? Tell us below. If working out whether a rear-motor hybrid is worth the money is the reason you clicked, subscribe for the Toyota Corolla Cross review next, where the same system arrives in a car America can actually buy.
👉 goo.gl/y9bfwm
🔔 Hit the bell so you never miss a new car review.
#ToyotaYarisCross #Toyota #HybridSUV #CorollaCross
