by David Finlay (07 Nov 07)

The 1.8 SR was introduced to the Yaris range in April 2007 as "the best Yaris you can buy", a comment which was presumably not to be taken as an insult to the 1.3 petrol and 1.4 turbo diesel SRs which came out at the same time. All versions were designed to look more sporty and handle more excitingly than lesser Yaris models, and the 1.8 in particular was the first car in the range to be fitted with Toyota's new Dual VVT-i engine.

That engine produces 131bhp, making this the strongest Yaris unit to an almost hilarious extent (the 1.4 diesel is a distant second with 90bhp). The SR is also considerably more powerful than the warm-hatch rivals quoted by Toyota, namely the Volkswagen Polo Sport, the Vauxhall Corsa SXi, the Renault Clio 111 and the Peugeot 207 Sport (though I hope it's not too churlish to point out that every one of them has an engine size of 1.6 litres or less, and most of them are cheaper than the SR even when adjustments for different equipment levels are taken into account).

To go with the Dual VVT-i unit, there's modified suspension - giving a ride height 8mm lower than that of non-SR models - along with low-profile 205/45 tyres on 17" alloy wheels, and an electric power steering system that has been revised to provide snappier response to the driver's actions on the wheel.

If all this reminds you of a previous Yaris, you're probably thinking of the previous-generation T Sport, which we tested during the reign of Charles II and which, despite being a lot less powerful than the SR, was as mad as a box of frogs.

The SR is altogether a more sober device. In a week's driving, the only time I had any sense that that this was intended to be a sporting car was - ironically enough - when I was pottering through town. In those conditions there's a slight chattering through the low-profile tyres, which almost entirely vanishes as you build up speed.

More . . .

More Toyota Yaris Photos
Toyota Gallery
Back to Toyota Road Test index
Back to main Road Test index