Toyota Yaris SR (2007): first official pictures

By Ben Pulman

First Official Pictures

19 March 2007 01:19

I know what GTI stands for - what's this SR badge doing?

SR stands for ‘sporting and refined’, says Toyota, perfectly describing its new ‘warm’ hatch. The Japanese manufacturer might be able to turn out hybrids by the thousands, but their recent sporting pedigree is pretty poor. There’s no more WRC, the F1 team has yet to win a race, and the Celica, MR2, and the T-Sport brand are no more. So SR it is, then. This sporting sub-brand is here to inject some much-needed enthusiasm into the Yaris range, and the Toyota brand as a whole.

On the 1.3 petrol and 1.4 diesel you get a rather mundane rear spoiler and chrome-tipped exhaust. Rather more interesting is the 1.8 Dual VVT-i for £13,495. Along with bigger bumpers front and rear, there's a new engine that gets its first outing in the Yaris. Variable timing on the intake and exhaust valves means 131bhp at 6000 rpm, 128lb ft at 4400rpm, and a run to sixty in 9.3 seconds. It's not going to dislodge the Renault Clio or Mini as our favourite hot hatch, then; perhaps the most redeeming feature is the LED rear lights which smarten the whole car up.

By Ben Pulman