The 2021 Toyota Yaris Hybrid is the hybrid version of the fourth-generation Yaris, the subcompact hatchback Toyota builds on its GA-B platform (part of Toyota New Global Architecture, or TNGA) and designates the XP210 series internally. Toyota started production in February 2020, launched the car in Japan on 10 February 2020 and rolled it out across Europe and Australasia during the same year, so a “2021 Yaris Hybrid” is a continuation of that same generation rather than a new model. It was never sold in the United States: Toyota confirmed in June 2020 that it would discontinue the Yaris sedan and hatchback in America after the 2020 model year, which makes the XP210 a Japan, Europe and Australasia model only.
What the 2021 Yaris Hybrid Is
The XP210 is the fourth generation of the Yaris nameplate and the first to be built entirely on the GA-B version of Toyota’s TNGA platform. Development was led by chief engineer Yasunori Suezawa and chief hybrid engineer Takashi Uehara. Unlike earlier Yaris models that offered three-door bodies, the standard XP210 is a five-door hatchback only; the three-door shell was reserved for the performance-oriented GR Yaris. The hybrid carries the internal MXPH11 code.
Toyota also built the car in Europe, at its Onnaing plant in France and its Kolin plant in the Czech Republic, alongside Japanese production in Kanegasaki, Iwate. From 2022 the same car was supplied to Mazda and sold as the Mazda2 Hybrid in Europe, which is a useful signal of how Toyota positioned the platform.
The XP210 shares its underpinnings with several other Toyotas. The GR Yaris hot hatch, the Yaris Cross small SUV, the Aqua compact hybrid, the Sienta compact MPV and the Aygo X city car all use the same small-car architecture. Toyota has also said the Yaris was the model that first brought hybrid power to the small-car segment, and the fourth-generation car was designed to build on that reputation.
The Hybrid Powertrain
The headline mechanical change was a switch from the four-cylinder engine of the previous Yaris Hybrid to a new three-cylinder unit, Toyota’s M15A-FXE. Toyota detailed the system in its own engineering write-up, describing a 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle engine with a long piston stroke and a 14:1 compression ratio. The engine alone produces 90 bhp at 5,500 rpm and 120 Nm of torque at 3,600 rpm, and Toyota quotes a 40 percent thermal efficiency figure for it.
- M15A-FXE 1.5-liter three-cylinder Atkinson-cycle engine: 90 bhp at 5,500 rpm, 120 Nm at 3,600 rpm
- MG2 drive motor: 59 kW (about 79 bhp) and 141 Nm, driving the front wheels at up to 17,000 rpm
- MG1 motor-generator: starts the engine and generates electricity for the battery and the 12-volt system
- Lithium-ion hybrid battery: 177.6 volts, 48 cells, about 12 kg lighter than the previous nickel-metal-hydride pack, mounted beneath the rear seat
- Combined system output: 114 bhp (116 PS), a 16 percent increase over the previous Yaris Hybrid
The transaxle was redesigned with a dual-axis layout that cut its size by about nine percent, placing MG1 and MG2 on separate shafts. A power-split device lets the car run on electric power alone, on the engine alone, or with both, making it a full parallel-series hybrid rather than a mild system. The move to a lighter lithium-ion battery was part of the same efficiency push: Toyota said the new pack weighed 12 kg less than the nickel-metal-hydride battery it replaced while raising voltage from 144 to 177.6 volts.
Performance and Fuel Economy
Toyota quoted a 0–62 mph time of 9.7 seconds for the European Yaris Hybrid, a 15 percent improvement on the car it replaced, and said the 50–70 mph overtaking sprint was cut by two seconds. Combined fuel economy on the WLTP cycle was quoted from 68.9 mpg, with CO2 emissions of 92 g/km. The lithium-ion battery also allowed longer all-electric running, and Toyota said the car could hold speeds of up to 80 mph in EV mode without the gasoline engine cutting in. Overall system efficiency rose by 22 percent, which is how Toyota was able to add power and cut consumption at the same time.
Dimensions and Body
For the European market the five-door Yaris Hybrid measured about 3,940 mm long, 1,745 mm wide and 1,500 mm tall. Curb weights across the Japanese range ran from roughly 940 kg to 1,180 kg depending on drivetrain, and the hybrid battery was mounted low under the rear seat so that luggage space was not compromised relative to the gasoline model. European cars sat between 1,470 mm and 1,500 mm tall in the brochure figures, while Japanese and Australasian cars were listed slightly higher.
Where It Was Sold and What 2021 Meant
The XP210 Yaris went on sale in Japan in February 2020, in Europe from 2020 and in Australia and New Zealand from August 2020. In Australia the range consisted of three grades — Ascent Sport, SX and ZR — and Toyota offered the 1.5-liter gasoline engine in both conventional and hybrid configuration, positioning the hybrid as the replacement for the discontinued Prius c. Toyota of Japan gave the car a facelift in January 2024, well after the 2021 cars were built.
Because Toyota sells the Yaris on a model-year system in some markets and a rolling basis in others, a 2021 car is best understood as an early XP210 rather than a distinct update. Buyers shopping for one today should confirm the market specification, since European, Japanese and Australian cars differed in equipment even though the hybrid mechanicals were shared.
Related Toyota reviews on this site: 2021 Toyota Yaris Hybrid Interior Changes and Price, 2021 Toyota Yaris Hybrid Review, and Toyota Review.
