Toyota Shows off the 2015 Yaris

Toyota’s tiny Yaris has been given a facelift for 2015, which does not constitute a new generation but rather a big refresh to the current one. One of the biggest changes is to the front fascia, which brings it more in line with other Toyota products recently. There is even an X-shape on the front of the car, which is somewhat like the one featured on the Yaris Hybrid R concept car. Fortunately, the refresh doesn’t stop just at an angry face.

The interior of the Yaris has been notoriously cheap and boring, but Toyota has thankfully ended that horror. The dashboard has been reconfigured somewhat, and new “premium” seats have been added, which promise at least a little comfort for drives that take longer than twenty minutes. Toyota also added more soft-touch surfaces to the interior, which before was a sea of hard plastics.

Before you get too excited, the refresh didn’t change much about the drivetrain. The manual transmission does come with an updated clutch that promises smoother gear changes.

More changes has been put into place for the chassis and overall structure of the Yaris. The same suspension configuration is used, but handling is improved through a more rigid body. The inclusion of more sound insulating materials means that road and wind noise should be reduced, especially when traveling in on the highway.

The SE trim, which only comes in the five-door configuration, gains a number of upgrades for 2015. These include 16-inch wheels, foglights, projector headlights with dark bezels and LED accent lighting, revised steering tuning, an anti-roll bar, and disc brakes that are a full inch larger than what is used on the other trims. The starting price of the SE with an automatic transmission will be $18,445, while the base L in the three-door format starts at $15,670.