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2012 Toyota Yaris Revealed In Leaked Images?

2011 YARIS

Nearing the end of its its fifth year of production, the current second-generation Toyota Yaris (the first-generation was sold in Australia as the Toyota Echo) will be due for retirement in the next couple of years.

Spy photos obtain


2011 YARIS

Nearing the end of its its fifth year of production, the current second-generation Toyota Yaris (the first-generation was sold in Australia as the Toyota Echo) will be due for retirement in the next couple of years.

Spy photos obtained in recent months showed what appeared to be a test mule on the roads of Europe, with the final body styling still to be completed.

This week however, new images purporting to be official brochure shots have surfaced online, suggesting that the spied test car was in fact a heavily-camouflaged production-ready version of the new Yaris.

Bearing styling more in line with the Camry, updated Corolla and the overseas iQ city car, the Yaris represents a new push at Toyota to bring a more uniform face to its line-up - an approach long embraced by the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

The design of the new Yaris follows comments in recent months by Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, eager to have his company work towards improving the 'emotional connection' between its cars and its customers.

"Rather than asking, 'How many cars will we sell?' or, 'How much money will we make by selling these cars?' we need to ask ourselves, 'What kind of cars will make people happy?' as well as, 'What pricing will attract them in each region?' Then we must make those cars," Mr Toyoda said.

In the months before Mr Toyoda's rise to the top spot, Toyota's global design boss Wahei Hirai said that the styling of the 2010 Prius is a preview of things to come.

"Prius is a showcase. We can try many design cues here first," Hirai said at the time. "This has to be symbolic."

When the new Yaris will launch in Australia is unclear at this early stage, and without an official announcement from Toyota's Japanese headquarters, confirmation of an Australian debut will likely be some time away.

Local buyers have plenty to motivate them however, with news this week that Toyota has cut prices across its Australian-delivered 2010 Yaris range, while adding a host of new standard features.

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