FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2021 Toyota Yaris CROSS HYBRID

How big is the boot of the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid?

From empty, I could fit nine shopping bags in the boot of the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid which is comparable to theVolkswagen T-Cross, Hyundai Venue and Mazda CX-3 which all hold eight shopping bags. Or the Nissan Juke or Kia Stonic which both hold ten shopping bags.

The twin stroller fits in the boot with no shopping bags.

The tandem pram fits with one shopping bag, but it is taller than the shade shelf height.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The single stroller fits with two shopping bags beside it.

The Nano compact stroller fitted with six shopping bags beside it.

Or you could fit a small-sized dog in there!

The boot floor of the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid is not very deep, roughly the depth of the shopping bags so anything bigger, especially the modular prams do not fit underneath the flimsy parcel shade shelf.

The boot floor is flat and carpeted so it is good for an emergency nappy change.

How good is storage inside the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid?

Storage throughout the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid is quite minimal. There are two cup holders in the central console, both are practically sized to hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water bottle fitted too.

The central console box in the Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid is just a little well behind the cup holders.

In front of the gear lever is a phone storage well with USB socket.

Below the media screen on the dash is a handy well I used for my sunglasses.

There is no glasses case in the ceiling.

There is a vanity mirror on the drivers side only.

Surprisingly the glove box will hold my wallet and iPad with the manuals.

The door bins in the front are a good size and will hold a large refillable water bottle.

The door bins are smaller but will hold a large refillable water bottle.

There are two cup holders in the back of the central seat back

When you are not using the central seat you can fold it down and see straight through to the boot. The cup holders will hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water bottle fit in them too.

There is a single map pocket on the back of the front passenger seats that will hold an iPad.

How noisy is the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid?

The 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid is a nice quiet car to start because of its hybrid engine however when the engine kicks in it sounds like a someone firing up an outboard motor at the boat ramp and it gets revy and loud especially when you are going up hill. The road noise is loud on motorways and gets tiring. The hybrid engine does mean I can drive my daughters to sleep using mainly the battery and then sit with the aircon running while they nap without chewing through fuel.

The media system in the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid feels a little dated but is simple to use and to navigate.

The Yaris Cross has CarPlay and Android Auto which makes using podcasts and Kids Listen apps etc or messaging while driving nice and easy.

The home screens split layout makes it easy to quickly select the screen you want while driving along.

The hybrid screen is great for being able to see when I'm using the battery or engine and the kids enjoy watching it while driving along.

Visibility in this little car is easy and the reversing camera image quality is pretty good but you do get the bird's eye view too, which is helpful when parking and maneuvering.

There are also other views like the kerb which is handy when parking.

The steering wheel of the Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid feels quite cluttered with buttons.

One of these buttons is the lane departure and the button to turn that on and off is on the right on the steering wheel with the cruise controls. I found the cruise control easy to use but not especially accurate on undulating roads or at lower speeds.

The indicators are nice and quiet in the Yaris Cross and didn’t disturb my sleeping baby.

The Sat-Nav was nice and easy to use, which I find with most Toyotas, however, I could not find a way to easily mute the sat-nav voice guidance.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The doors and windows can both be locked independently from the driver's door control panel.

Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!

So this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)

There is an SOS call button in the ceiling.

How many child seats fit in the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid?

There top tether anchorages in the back of all three rear seat backrests of the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid. The outer two are not within plastic guides and the central one is just below the cup holders. I found them all easy to connect to and access through the boot.

There are ISOFix points, clearly labeled, in the two outer rear seats. They are within plastic guides and I found them nice and easy to connect to when installing the child seats.

The 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid fits two child seats nicely in the back, either rear or forward-facing.

We found that legroom is a big consideration in this little SUV. A rear-facing child seat behind the driver is a no, no. With a forward-facing child seat with a tall five-year-old in it we could just fit a 184cm driver but both had no knee room.

With a rear-facing child seat on the passengers side a 184cm passenger could just fit in front of them.

Posting Bub into their child seat from inside and outside the car is fine in the 2021 Yaris Cross Hybrid. From outside the space is a little cramped when you reach in to do up harnesses.

Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

There is room to feed Bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed.

How comfortable is the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid? And How good is the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid to drive?

In the front of the 2021 Yaris Cross Hybrid, the seats are basic but comfortable. The seats in this GXL AWD model are all woven upholstery which may trap kids crumbs and spills and be harder to clean than leather for example.

The headrests are not adjustable and I found I couldn't have a ponytail in the front seat.

I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!

For a mum traveling in the back with Bub, the seats are simple but relatively comfortable at the sides. I found in the central seat there is no kick room and you have to straddle the hump in the footwell.

For the first year of my daughters life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with her so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel was fully adjustable in/out and up/down.

There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; two underneath the media screen, and one at either end.

There are no air vents in the back of the Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid and it would definitely get hot in the back in the summer.

The controls for the aircon are a digital display panel with two dials, centrally located on the dashboard, they are nice and easy to reach and use while driving.

The rear interior lights are located centrally in the ceiling and I can reach them from the driver's seat while driving!

I have found my daughter does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.

Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

There are no handles above either of the rear doors, just a hook, which is not really any good to hang a child's toy because it falls off easily.

Visibility in the Yaris Cross Hybrid is easy being such a small car.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and my daughter has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid was easy to park.

How safe is the 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid?

The 2021 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid has not been through ANCAP crash testing.

Eight airbags come as standard; front, front side, front centre and curtain airbags.

As standard, all models of the New Toyota Yaris Cross come with lane trace assist, pre-collision safety system with pedestrian (day and night) and cyclist (day) detection, intersection turn assistance, road sign assist (speed signs only), automatic high beam, all-speed active cruise control, anti-lock braking system and brake assist, vehicle stability control and traction control, hill-start assist control, active cornering assist.

Blind spot monitor and rear cross traffic alert are only standard in the GXL and Urban models.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when bub’s asleep!