Toyota has revealed a new 1.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine which is set to be introduced for the Yaris supermini in Britain later this year.
This new engine will replace the existing 1.3-litre petrol unit in the Yaris range. Whereas the current 1.3-litre unit offers 98bhp, the new 1.5-litre engine has 110bhp and will allow the Yaris to complete the 0-62mph sprint quicker by more than half a second.
The Yaris with the 1.5-litre engine reportedly completes the sprint in 11 seconds flat, whereas it takes 11.7 seconds with the 1.3.
This new engine is also better for overtaking too, as it will reportedly take the car from 50mph to 70mph 1.2 seconds quicker than the Yaris with its 1.3-litre engine.
Meets tighter emissions regulations
Toyota also says the Yaris with its new engine is up to 12 per cent more efficient than before when using a CVT gearbox, thanks partly to a new water-cooled exhaust manifold on the engine. CO2 emissions are also reduced and this crucially allows the new engine to meet stricter, forthcoming Euro 6C emission regulations.
This new 1.5-litre petrol engine from Toyota could also potentially be used for the upcoming hot hatch version of the Yaris. Toyota has already previewed what a hot hatch version of the Yaris will look like ahead of the car’s public debut at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show this March.
Toyota says that the new, WRC-inspired Yaris hot hatch will produce over 210bhp and a tuned, turbocharged version of the new 1.5-litre petrol engine could be the ticket to delivering such performance.
Check out what we thought of the Yaris with the 1.3-litre petrol engine in our video review: