The facelifted Toyota Yaris made its debut today at the Bologna motor show ahead of its European market launch in early 2009. On the outside, the revised Yaris features a few minor styling updates such as the new front and rear bumpers that gain protective plastic moldings, revised headlights and tail lamps and, a narrower front grille. Toyota has also refreshed the cabin with new upholstery and trim options. The most significant change though is hidden under the hood as the 2009 Yaris gains a new 1.33-liter Dual VVT-i 4-cylinder gasoline engine that was first introduced on the Auris.
The new petrol engine promises to delivers lower emissions, better fuel economy and improved power and torque figures compared to the 1.4-liter unit it replaces. The 1.33-liter Dual VVT-i delivers an output of 101HP and 132 Nm of torque and is matted to a new 6-speed manual gearbox or optionally, to a semi-automatic MMT transmission. Toyota claims that the manual version achieves an average fuel consumption of 5.1 lt per 100 km which translates to 46.1 mpg U.S.
Furthermore, the facelifted Yaris will be available for the first time with Toyota's new Stop&Start technology. According to the Japanese automaker, in a world-first design, the system has a permanently engaged starter gear mechanism meaning that the starter motor is in direct contact with the ring gear on the engine. As a result, the engine starts and stops faster and more quieter.
