The 3rd generation Toyota Yaris was introduced in mid-2010 featuring a sportier stance, a redesigned front and a roomier interior. The new Yaris uses a single windshield wiper instead of a pair of wipers and has its meter cluster positioned back in front of the driver and behind the wheel compared to its previous models. In European countries, the Yaris is also offered in 6-speed manual transmission for the 1.33L engine, or a CVT transmission often marketed as “7-speed MultiDrive” or “MultiDrive S”. The 7-speed refers to the possibility given to the driver to select a predefined gear ratio among 7 available, emulating a 7-speed sequential gearbox, with steering wheel levers.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing France started to build Toyota Yaris for export to the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico markets.
On 10 October 2012, Toyota recalled 7.4 million vehicles worldwide, including certain Vitz, Toyota Yaris and Corolla models, due to malfunctioning power windows. They include: 2.47 million in the United States, 1.4 million in China and 1.39 million in Europe.
The third generation Vitz was launched on 22 December 2010 in Yokohama, Japan, and it was launched in other countries by the end of 2011.Aerodynamic drag has been reduced with a coefficient drag value of 0.285.
This generation introduces a new 1.3-litre 4-cylinder engine which is as economical as the 1.0-litre engine, according to Toyota Japan.New features include a single windscreen wiper and an engine start-stop system with a claimed 26.5 km/L (3.8 L/100 km; 62.3 mpg-US) for the Japanese streets. The XP130 comes with up to nine airbags: driver and front passenger airbags, front-seat mounted side airbags, a knee airbag for the driver, first and second row side-curtain airbags and two front seat cushion airbags.
Toyota Vitz is offered in F, U, Jewela and RS model grades. The engines available range from 1.0 to 1.5-litres. The 1.5-litre RS model has a CVT Transmission for the automatic. Just like the previous generation, 2WD and 4WD drivetrains are available in Japan.
