The next-generation of the Toyota Yaris will arrive in the U.S. market later this calendar year. Although it isn’t a huge surprise that a new Yaris is on the way, the actual arrival date was unknown.
In a sales call with dealers on July 1, Toyota Motor Sales vice president Don Esmond confirmed that a new version of the Yaris is arriving in the U.S. market soon. “There will be a new Yaris in Toyota dealerships by the end of the year,” Esmond said.
We asked Toyota for more clarification on the car’s debut, but were told only that the new Yaris will bow at a “major” American auto show. One possibility is the Los Angeles auto show, held in November. Although confirming that the 2012 Yaris is “all new”, a Toyota spokesman declined to offer any more information on the new car.
We scored an early preview of the next Yaris when the hatchback made its debut for the European market. The car has grown, with more interior space and supposedly a more comfortable interior. Toyota says the interior quality has improved, and that the styling changes make the new Yaris more mature-looking than the current version.
The new Yaris has an available 6.1-inch touch-screen interface, and the instrument cluster has been relocated from the center of the dashboard to directly in front of the driver. The Japanese version of the car, called the Vitz, even gets an optional all-wheel drive system.
When it does bow here, the new Yaris will face stiff competition from new or revised compact hatchbacks, including the Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2, and the new Hyundai Accent. How will the revamped Yaris fare against these compact models? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Source: Toyota
