Toyota Yaris Cross review - Practicality, comfort and boot space

The front seats in the Yaris Cross offer good support, while standard kit such as a central armrest, a reach and rake-adjustable steering wheel and front cup holders help to make things more comfortable.

Storage could be better, with the Cross featuring a relatively small boot and not much space to keep oddments secure in the cabin. The fabric parcel shelf appears rather cheap, too, which adds to a feeling that Toyota approached its small SUV with a certain cost firmly in mind.

Size

At 4,1800mm long, the Yaris Cross stretches a further 240mm compared to its supermini sibling and, while overall width is similar, the compact SUV stands 95mm taller.

To get a sense of how the Yaris Cross sizes up compared to its close rivals, the Ford Puma is a little longer and wider, although has a lower roofline, while the Renault Captur is the longest of the three and sits between the Cross and Puma in terms of overall width and height.

Leg room, head room & passenger space

Entry to the rear of the Cross’s cabin is more awkward than it should be, due to the tight door openings and sloping roof line, while you’ll find carrying three adult passengers in the back is asking a bit much of the small SUV. It shouldn’t be too much of an issue if you’re just ferrying kids to and fro, however.

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Boot

If you’re prioritising load capacity for the Yaris Cross, then you’ll probably want to go for a front-wheel-drive model which provides 397 litres of luggage space versus the all-wheel-drive version’s 320 litres. More expensive models include a false boot floor that sits flush with the load lip and back seats.

Rivals have the Yaris Cross beat in this area, though, with the Ford Puma offering a 456-litre boot and the Renault Captur providing 422 litres - although the ace up its sleeve is its sliding rear bench, meaning you can push capacity to 536 litres if you need it.