You get more power and less fuel.
The Toyota Yaris has had a few months of excitement. In December, the Japanese manufacturer unveiled its competition-prepared Yaris which made its debut in the World Rally Championship. In the first official images, we saw a hot WRC-inspired Yaris with more than 210 horsepower (156 klowatts). The standard Yaris now has a 1.5-liter naturally-aspirated engine.
This four-banger will replace the 1.33-liter unit in the current lineup. It offers more power and efficiency. It has 110 horsepower (82 Kw) and a greater torque peak of 101 pound-feet (128 Newton meters). As part of a $161 million investment, the motor will be manufactured in Poland. It will provide “better performance and a better driving experience” while reducing fuel consumption by up to 12 percent.
To cover the 0-62 mile per hour sprint (100 km/h), the Yaris 1.5 will take 11.0 seconds. This is 0.8 seconds less than the Yaris 1.33 that it replaces. To “gain optimal efficiency in different driving conditions,” the new engine can switch between the Otto and the Atkinson cycles. This results in 38.5 percent thermal efficiency, which is “amongst the best on the marketplace.”
The new unit is not only optimized for urban use but also for motorway trips. Toyota introduces a water-cooled exhaust manifold for the first time. This reduces the gas temperature and eliminates the need to mix enrichment to lower the combustion temperature at all speeds. According to the company, this will result in a reduction in both fuel consumption as well as exhaust emissions.
The 1.5-liter engine also has Toyota’s VVTiE technology which is a variable inlet valve timing. It features an electronically controlled intake valve, and hydraulically controlled phase shifting of the exhaust camshaft.