Two hybrids in Toyota's future: NS4 and Yaris

Toyota have chosen the Detroit Motor Show as the backdrop for revealing a brand new and techno-futurisitc hybrid car, continuing their commitment to environmentally sensible design, called the NS4 Advanced Hybrid Concept, while the Geneva Motor Show will get to host the debut of a new hybrid version of their more real-world best seller, the Yaris, in March.

The NS4 may only be a concept at present but it’s easy to imagine it in production – it’s certainly futuristic but not unachievably so – look at the interior and you’ll see it’s not too far removed from the sort of layout we already see. Toyota have concentrated their efforts on reducing component size and weight to increase fuel economy and battery life without increasing recharging times. They’ve also spent time on the aerodynamics to the extent of developing new glass to reduce drag from the windows.

There’s also a large chunk of the R&D budget labelled, “safety”. Fitted with cameras and Millimetre-wave radar, the NS4 monitors it’s surrounding and in an emergency will brake and steer to try and avoid a collision. It also monitors lane position and warns of vehicles in the blind spots.

The really clever thing about this particular concept is that some of the features it boasts are already in production on the new Yaris. This is the second core model to feature hybrid technology (the Auris being the other) and in developing the Yaris, Toyota will introduce it to the largest sector of the new car market.

Toyota made aerodynamic efficiency a priority in the Yaris Hybrid too, and the components in the Hybrid Synergy Drive Powertrain are smaller and 20% lighter than those in use on the Auris Hybrid improving the fuel efficiency of the 1.5-litre petrol engine. The Yaris achieves 98bhp so it should be reasonably agile but more importantly offers driving modes that produce zero CO2 and particulate emissions. Toyota have also squeezed all the electric bits under the rear seats so the boot space is exactly the same size as a standard Yaris.

The Yaris also sports the new “face” of Toyota. You can see the link between this and the NS4 but while that is a bit too “Power Ranger” the Yaris looks sporty and not a little shark-like. The interior looks comfortable and well planned and with automatic gearbox and air-conditioning Toyota have proved that mod-cons and “going green” don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

It will be interesting to see how sales of the Yaris Hybrid compare to the other models in the range and how other manufacturers respond, but hats off to Toyota for leading the green way.

www.toyota.co.uk









The NS4 Advanced Hybrid Concept looks wild, but doable

















By David Young

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