The ASEAN-spec Toyota Yaris hatchback – will soon
receive a comprehensive facelift. A pre-production test mule with a complete
body wrap has been spied testing in Thailand by a Headlight Mag member.
The facelift borrows
cues from the new Toyota Corolla Altis, featuring sleek and long LED headlamps
that directly flow into a bold chrome bar housing a larger Toyota logo. There
is a slim, wide air inlet below the grille, followed by the radiator grille,
flanked by a pair of fog lamps. The changes are substantial and should help
cultivate a new car appeal to the Yaris.
The rear-end also seems to significantly differ from
the outgoing car. Gone are the vertical, stylised taillamps for a simple pair
of horizontal, wraparound units likely LED-powered, and the bumper also appears
to be sharper. The facelifted model features a shark fin antenna and roof
spoiler. Dimensions are likely to be similar to the current car, which is 4,115
mm long, 1,700 mm wide and 1,475 mm tall, and has a gross weight of about 1.5
tonne.
The facelifted Yaris is likely to retain the 3NR-FE
1.2L four-cylinder petrol engine with Dual VVT-i available only with a Super
CVT-i transmission, which develops 86 PS and 11.0 kg.m of max torque. The
export-spec Yaris is will sport the 2NR-FBE 1.5-litre Dual VVT-i engine which
develops 108 hp at 6,000 rpm and 140 Nm of torque at 4,200 rpm on the new Vios.